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Journal of Technology Law & Policy

Document Type

Article

Abstract

The year 2015 was a busy year for the Antitrust Division (Division) of the U.S. Department of Justice (Department)—we opened a number of investigations, logged a lot of trial time, and recorded several victories of note, all of which I will quickly highlight in a moment. But while these actions give you a snapshot of what we do on a day-to-day basis, they don’t fully capture our role in helping drive innovation. What I want to discuss first is how all of that work that we do maintaining competitive markets intersects with an economy that is constantly changing. Today, there are many companies, and even industries, that did not exist eighteen months ago. We should be asking ourselves: how do we balance a strong enforcement agenda with promoting growth and innovation in the economy? The answer, I think, is twofold. The first part of the answer is something that we all tend to take for granted, but should not: it is precisely because we do our jobs, and do them in a legal system that is transparent and (as much as we can make it) predictable, that innovators and entrepreneurs feel comfortable investing resources to develop new products. The promise that you will be able to compete and, most importantly, win, if you build something that consumers want, is something American businesses rely on every day. But a second, perhaps equally important part of that answer is that our system demands that we maintain flexibility. Our analyses of these industries must keep up with the changes occurring. By faithfully doing so, antitrust will continue to ensure that innovation and entrepreneurs operate in an environment where it is a foregone conclusion that they have the ability to succeed.

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