One interesting aspect of the hiring of Scott Morton is that the US and the EU have very different approaches to competition. EU has competition law seeking to regulate market behaviour in order to boost competition. The US does not have as strong competition law, but instead has a proud history of antitrust, where companies are split up by force if they manage to get too big (think Standard Oil).
This is interesting because the EU now finds itself challenged by companies that have grown too big, and on which antitrust might be a good option. Meta is the best example: Splitting Whatsapp, Threads, Instagram, and Facebook into separate companies would do wonders for competition in the social media landscape, and it’s no secret that there’s a war going on between the Commission and Meta.
Of course she might just have been hired because she’s the most qualified, but I think hiring an American for this position might also be an indication of the direction the Commission intends to move in.
One interesting aspect of the hiring of Scott Morton is that the US and the EU have very different approaches to competition. EU has competition law seeking to regulate market behaviour in order to boost competition. The US does not have as strong competition law, but instead has a proud history of antitrust, where companies are split up by force if they manage to get too big (think Standard Oil).
This is interesting because the EU now finds itself challenged by companies that have grown too big, and on which antitrust might be a good option. Meta is the best example: Splitting Whatsapp, Threads, Instagram, and Facebook into separate companies would do wonders for competition in the social media landscape, and it’s no secret that there’s a war going on between the Commission and Meta.
Of course she might just have been hired because she’s the most qualified, but I think hiring an American for this position might also be an indication of the direction the Commission intends to move in.