George Mason Law & Economics Center Third Annual Conference on Competition Policy in Search and Social Media

Wednesday, May 15, 2013, Law & Economics Center, George Mason University School of Law (Arlington, VA)

The Law & Economics Center's Henry G. Manne Program in Law & Economics Studies will present its Third Annual Conference on Competition Policy in Search and Social Media at George Mason University School of Law, Wednesday, May 15. The conference will run from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm.

OVERVIEW: This conference is organized by Henry N. Butler, Executive Director of the Law & Economics Center and George Mason Foundation Professor of Law, and James C. Cooper, Director, Research and Policy at the Law & Economics Center, and Lecturer in Law, George Mason University School of Law.

Search and social media are ubiquitous in everyday life and are increasingly the focus of competition policy discussions. Understanding the law and economics underlying search and social networks is necessary to facilitating sensible competition policy in this area. The Third Annual Conference on Competition Policy in Search and Social Media seeks to address these issues by inviting experts in the field to present their views and engage in a vibrant discussion about competition policy in this dynamic environment.

REGISTRATION: You must pre-register for this event online at http://www.cvent.com/d/dcqvct/4W

If you have questions, please contact Jeff Smith at jsmithq@gmu.edu or 703.993.8382.

AGENDA:

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

PANEL 1: The FTC's Google Investigation: Implications for the States and Other Countries

The opening panel will delve into the FTC's decision to close its investigation into Google's search practices, and will examine the implications for the remaining state and international investigations.

PANEL 2: Search, Social Media, and the First Amendment

The extent to which companies enjoy First Amendment protection for data collection and use and search algorithms is uncertain. This panel will consider the role of the First Amendment in antitrust and consumer protection regulation of online information platforms.

PANEL 3: The Intersection of Copyright and Antitrust

The FTC considered, but did not bring, an action against Google for its practice of "scraping" content from other websites. The third panel will consider the copyright and antitrust implications of this practice.

PANEL 4: The State of Competition in Search and Social Media

The conference will conclude with a panel examining the state of competition in search and social media, including issues of market definition, and measuring market power and competitive effects in these industries.

CONFIRMED PANELISTS (as of March 20, 2013):
- Marvin Ammori, Founder, The Ammori Group and Bernard L. Schwartz Fellow, New America Foundation
- Jane Y. Bambauer, Associate Professor of Law, James E. Rogers College of Law, University of Arizona
- Michael R. Baye, Bert Elwart Professor of Business and Professor of Business Economics & Public Policy, Indiana University Kelley School of Business
- Stuart M. Benjamin, Douglas B. Maggs Chair in Law and Associate Dean for Research, Duke University Law School
- Julie Brill, Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission
- Eric K. Clemmons, Professor of Operations and Information Management, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
- Stephen D. Houck, Of Counsel, Menaker & Herrmann LLP
- Adam Mossoff, Professor of Law, George Mason University School of Law and Co-Director and Senior Scholar, Center for the Protection of Intellectual Property
- Dawn C. Nunziato, Professor of Law, The George Washington University Law School
- Maureen K. Ohlhausen, Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission
- Frank Pasquale, Schering-Plough Professor in Health Care Regulation and Enforcement, Seton Hall University School of Law
- Mark R. Patterson, Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law
- Randal C. Picker, Leffmann Professor of Commercial Law, University of Chicago Law School and Senior Fellow, The Computation Institute of the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory
- Daniel L. Rubinfeld, Robert L. Bridges Professor of Law and Professor of Economics, University of California, Berkeley
- Gigi Sohn, President and Co-Founder, Public Knowledge
- Ilya Somin, Professor of Law, George Mason University School of Law
- Spencer Weber Waller, Professor of Law and Director, Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies, Loyola University Chicago School of Law
- Christopher S. Yoo, John H. Chestnut Professor of Law, Communication, and Computer & Information Science and Director, Center for Technology, Innovation & Competition, University of Pennsylvania Law School

- Luncheon Keynote by Farhad Manjoo, Technology Columnist, Slate

VENUE:
Founders Hall Auditorium
George Mason University School of Law
3351 Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA 22201

FURTHER INFORMATION: For further information on the Law & Economics Center, please visit