Simonetta Vezzoso

@wavesblog.bsky.social My Bluesky Competition/antitrust starter pack

[Simonetta Vezzoso @wavesblog]

American Antitrust: What is Left to Degrade? https://t.co/VeDafZzGCx

[Simonetta Vezzoso @wavesblog]

Why do the Democrats not spend at least part of the next two years drafting laws that could change America for the better, with a clear promise to voters: ready to pass on day one after Trump f* off?

[Lina Khan @linamkhan]

Why should Congressional Democrats investigate corporate America if their mandate is to deliver real economic change? Because investigations are a key catalyst for securing reform and legislation. For much of the last century, Congress used to be the main institutional player working to secure an economy that serves working people. A key tool was oversight. Lawmakers routinely investigated complex markets and major corporations, identifying problems and exposing wrongdoing. A major goal of these investigations was to learn what was driving certain problems and figure out how to fix them.

After Democrats took back the House during the first Trump administration in 2019, I joined the House Judiciary Committee as a staffer on the Antitrust Subcommittee. Under the terrific leadership of @RepJerryNadler and then-Rep @davidcicilline, we pursued an 18-month investigation into Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google, securing key evidence of how their business practices were undermining competition and harming people, setting the basis for both lawsuits and proposed legislation.

A few lessons from that experience:

1. The quality of legislative oversight depends on the staff and the support of top members to confront power. Committee and Subcommittee Chairs that are focused on getting answers and unafraid to take on powerful corporate interests will make the difference between oversight that doesn’t surrender to their evasion tactics and oversight that aims low or flames out.

Even a relatively small number of dogged, talented lawyers ready to dive in can make a big impact. In the 1930s a single congressional lawyer, Ferdinand Pecora, helped reshape our entire banking system by subpoenaing records and interrogating top financiers, including J.P Morgan. The investigation exposed self-dealing, market manipulation, and tax avoidance, and laid the groundwork for foundational New Deal legislation, including the Glass-Steagall Act and the Securities Exchange Act.

2. Eliminating bottlenecks to moving investigations forward is key. For example, the House should make sure that Subcommittee Chairs can issue subpoenas rather than needing the sign-off of the full Committee or its Chair. A credible threat of sending subpoenas is critical for credible oversight.

3. Ensuring that members can develop the muscle to effectively interrogate CEOs requires investing in real preparation. In the lead up to the hearing with Bezos, Pichai, Cook, and Zuckerberg, the Antitrust Subcommittee spent months reviewing millions of documents collected from the firms, interviewing affected parties, briefing members on key evidence, and conducting practice hearings. Members came into the hearing deeply informed and able to rebut and call out CEO dissembling. The result was some of the most effective member questioning of executives we’ve seen in decades. @TheProspect wrote up a great overview: https://t.co/7BYC3UHFbW

4. For decades, institutional capacity in Congress has been extremely weak. Much of this traces back to the Gingrich Revolution, which was effectively the 1995 DOGE-ing of Congress. Republican leadership fired over 600 professional staffers, eliminated the Office of Technology Assessment, and gutted research capacity. None of that capacity was ever meaningfully restored.

As a result, members have way fewer resources to develop serious expertise or go deep on a new topic. Members should start rebuilding that capacity so the institution can fully play its Article I role, where Congress can again do serious policy development and legislating and serve as a real check on the executive and judicial branches.

5. AI markets should be high on the list of investigations. The business decisions of the major AI firms have huge public ramifications, yet the public is at a severe informational disadvantage when it comes to how these markets work and the choices these firms are making. A congressional investigation will help ensure future legislative action is based on a more complete view of what is going on rather than selective and partial corporate disclosures.

[Simonetta Vezzoso @wavesblog]

Why do the Democrats not spend at least part of the next two years drafting laws that could change America for the better, with a clear promise to voters: ready to pass on day one after Trump f* off?

[Matt Stoller @matthewstoller]

Yes delivering should be the core priority, but shouldn’t we think about investigations as a tool for governance rather than making a distinction between oversight and legislating? To deal with costs it helps to know stuff. Right?

[Simonetta Vezzoso @wavesblog]

An approach to antitrust that repeatedly rationalises corporate coercion deserves to be consigned to intellectual oblivion.

[Herbert hovenkamp @Sherman1890]

“The Monopoly Problem” this morning considers the objections of schools that want Google Search in their students’ laptops, but without the AI features. Is that an antitrust problem? https://t.co/Rls1NOoGs1

[Simonetta Vezzoso @wavesblog]

Technically, Google’s AI service doesn't enjoy preferential treatment but is made an inseparable component of the gateway 🤔

[Luther Lowe @lutherlowe]

This is what self-preferencing looks like

[John Mark Newman @johnmarknewman]

Very proud to be a small part of this--antitrust cases have gotten far too complex and expensive to bring. This tech is shockingly good at expanding plaintiffs' (states, law firms, cities...?) capacity. I think of it as basically a force multiplier.

https://t.co/hJGd2XGIr8

[Simonetta Vezzoso @wavesblog]

@IsabellaMWeber @linamkhan I registered for the livestream but didn't receive the link. Any chance of a recording? Thanks!

[Simonetta Vezzoso @wavesblog]

@EU_Competition What a waste of time, honestly: no live stream, waiting for the recording

[Simonetta Vezzoso @wavesblog]

@halsinger US antitrust is dead, not even mentioning it to my Students this term.

[Simonetta Vezzoso @wavesblog]

@johnmarknewman @TerryCollege Online, possibly? 🙏🏼

[Simonetta Vezzoso @wavesblog]

So did the DOJ ethics police 🤡 clear that dinner or not?

[American Economic Liberties Project @econliberties]

MUST WATCH: @SenBooker grills Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche over his role in the DOJ dropping the investigation into Paramount-Warner Bros.

"You approved the decision to close the department's investigation into that merger, yes or no?"

"I was part of the decision..."

[Simonetta Vezzoso @wavesblog]

https://t.co/jlwwKMLZB0

[Lorenzo Ferrante @ferrantelorenzo]

UPDATE 🇪🇺

We passed 10,000 signatures!

EU users want Siri AI too.

Thanks to everyone who signed and shared. Let’s keep going!

https://t.co/ge9Xs92DMk

#Siri4EU

[Antitrust Division @JusticeATR]

The Antitrust Division issued the following statement today in connection with the closing of the Division’s investigation of the merger of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros.: https://t.co/hvr6BytmC8

[Simonetta Vezzoso @wavesblog]

L’alibi di Apple. Il ritardato approdo di Siri con AI in Europa è colpa delle istituzioni. E gli utenti si schierano dalla sua parte https://t.co/1le5GFvau9

[Simonetta Vezzoso @wavesblog]

Apple's Siri EU Drama, Debunked https://t.co/marNFhFi1s

[MaTech @iMathTechs]

🚫 Siri AI en 2026… sauf pour l’Europe.

Pendant que le reste du monde profitera du nouveau Siri, les utilisateurs européens devront attendre.

Si vous voulez faire entendre votre voix, signez la pétition sur https://t.co/UNqxmyzMes

📣 Partagez-la autour de vous.
Plus nous serons nombreux, plus il sera difficile d’ignorer les utilisateurs européens !

#SiriAI #AppleIntelligence @ferrantelorenzo

[Simonetta Vezzoso @wavesblog]

Apple's Siri EU Drama, Debunked

[Simonetta Vezzoso @wavesblog]

Apple's Siri EU Drama, Debunked https://t.co/marNFhFi1s

[Simonetta Vezzoso @wavesblog]

Apple's Siri EU Drama, Debunked https://t.co/marNFhFi1s

[MacGeneration @MacGeneration]

Siri Ai sera-t-il disponible un jour en Europe ? https://t.co/K73xgLlTx2 #Siri #IA

[Simonetta Vezzoso @wavesblog]

@AllanAugereauTV Apple's Siri EU Drama, Debunked https://t.co/marNFhFi1s

[Simonetta Vezzoso @wavesblog]

Apple's Siri EU Drama, Debunked https://t.co/marNFhFi1s

[Applemag.fr @Applemagoff]

Siri AI ne sera pas disponible en France sur iPhone cet automne. 🤔

Apple a proposé un déploiement progressif. 18 mois. Avec un système sécurisé.
L'UE a tout refusé.

Résultat : vous payez le même prix qu'un Américain.
Pour un iPhone avec une IA bridée.

Deuxième fois en deux ans.

C'est Apple qui joue mal, ou l'UE qui protège mal ?

#Siri #DMA #Apple #iOS27 #WWDC2026