ICLE: DOJ Stance in News Antitrust Suit Has Some Holes
DOJ's statement of interest in the Children's Health Defense lawsuit against news outlets (see 2507110039) clearly supports the plaintiffs even while claiming neutrality, two International Center for Law & Economics scholars wrote Wednesday. The complaint alleges collusion by major news…
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outlets and social media platforms, and "if there is a route for a successful antitrust case involving content moderation and sources of the news, this might well be it," Ben Sperry and Daniel Gilman wrote. However, the statement of interest "avoids or even obscures" major issues, such as how the plaintiffs could establish antitrust standing to bring the complaint and how antitrust remedies might be subject to First Amendment limitations, they said. DOJ didn't mention that the U.S. Supreme Court's 1945 Associated Press decision indicates antitrust remedies can't compel social media platforms to publish material they don't want to publish, Sperry and Gilman said.