ALG FOIAs materials on Microsoft hiring of FTC Google critic

March 5, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government filed a Freedom of Information Act request of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) asking for records related to former deputy assistant director of the Bureau of Competition Randall Long's communications with Microsoft Corporation.

It was announced last week, that Microsoft has hired Long to be its director of regulatory affairs in Washington, D.C.

Bill Wilson, President of Americans for Limited Government filed the FOIA because, "Microsoft's hiring of Long is suspicious, given Long's long history of advocating within the FTC in favor of Microsoft's interests.  It is important to the integrity of the regulatory process that it be clearly established that there is not even a hint of a quid pro quo relationship." 

The FOIA specifically asks for:

1.          All records of communications and the communications themselves between Randall Long and any official or personnel of the Microsoft Corporation, and;

2.          All records of meetings between Mr. Long and any official or personnel of the Microsoft Corporation. 

"Any time you see a regulator become known as a leading internal critic of a rival corporation who gets a revolving door hire to a competitor who benefited from his advocacy it is troubling, and this FOIA seeks to get to the bottom of whether there was any improper conduct between Microsoft and Mr. Long," Wilson added.

The time period covered under the request is on or after Jan. 1, 2009.

Click here for a copy of the FOIA request at www.getliberty.org/files/03-05-12-FTC-FOIA.pdf .

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

###

Americans for Limited Government is a non-partisan, nationwide network committed to advancing free market reforms, private property rights and core American liberties. For more information on ALG please call us at 703-383-0880 or visit our website at www.GetLiberty.org.

CEI - Justice Dept. Should Leave the Microsoft-Yahoo Search Deal Alone

Statements of Ryan Young and Wayne Crews

Washington, D.C., July 29, 2009—Today, Microsoft and Yahoo announced a ten-year partnership of their search businesses in order to better compete against Google. The Department of Justice, citing antitrust concerns, is likely to investigate the deal before allowing it to go through. Competitive Enterprise Institute technology policy experts Wayne Crews and Ryan Young argue that regulators can best serve consumer interests by leaving well enough alone.

Ryan Young, Fellow in Regulatory Studies:

“What is there to investigate? Microsoft and Yahoo are trying to outcompete Google. To succeed, they will need to put together the best search engine they can. The firms believe their announced partnership will help them achieve that goal. They should be allowed to try – their own money is at stake if they fail. Either way, Internet users stand to benefit. Bing and Yahoo Search should improve from the proposed partnership, which will also force Google to make its own search engine better, lest it be left behind. This is how a competitive, contestable market works. The goal of antitrust policy is to benefit consumer welfare, but there is nothing regulators can do to make an already fiercely competitive market even more so.”

Wayne Crews, Vice President for Policy and Director of Technology Studies:

“This administration is already suspicious of allegedly ‘dominant’ firms in the high tech sector – but consumers are better off when regulators let markets evolve naturally, rather than guiding them from above.The Microsoft-Yahoo alliance has the potential to offer great value to consumers. The dangers of arbitrarily blocking such voluntary business arrangements, or needlessly delaying them, are severe.Regulatory intervention in the high-tech sector thwarts the natural evolution of the market. Worse, it distorts the response of competitors.Antitrust investigations steer the market in unnatural directions, creating instabilities in entire industry sectors.

“Consumers have more to fear from government bureaucracies that have the power to stop progress cold than they do from free enterprise looking to create the next big thing. Should the Microsoft-Yahoo partnership not pan out, rivals, partners, consumers, investors, advertisers, and even global competitors are perfectly capable of dealing with any challenges to competition. Consumers stand to lose if Washington gets involved.”