4 ms·

In the US this would not be enough - at a minimum, you'd have to show actual harm, like, for example, showing it has caused (or is very very likely to cause) hi

In the US this would not be enough - at a minimum, you'd have to show actual harm, like, for example, showing it has caused (or is very very likely to cause) higher prices for folks. I don't know enough about stock images to say for sure, but a cursory glance suggests Getty has not been raising prices outside of the norm over time. It would be a very hard case to win without a bunch of unfavorable data.

martin_a 2y ago
I think Getty, Shutterstock and Adobe Stock are _the_ stock image agencies. If two of them merge, wouldn't that be enough for a "market dominating position" and therefore enough to get somebody involved?
- mikeyouse 2y ago
  The FTC is a political organization led by political appointees who mirror the politics of those who appoint them.. I think 2 years ago this would’ve attracted regulatory scrutiny, I don’t think it will as of Jan 20th.
  - Jerrrry 2y ago
    [flagged]
    - mikeyouse 2y ago
      Thanks for the input I guess? Anyway, I was just commenting on Lina Khan vs Andrew Feeguson’s stated intentions for the FTC: https://archive.is/3TXZq https://archive.is/3TXZq > Ferguson will almost certainly scrap Khan’s signature merger policy. The departing F.T.C. chair — along with Jonathan Kanter, the head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division — made a point of opposing far more mergers than many of her forebears. Not every case ended in victory, but legal experts said that her approach helped reshape aspects of U.S. competition law and slowed down the pace of M.&A. That approach is likely to end under Ferguson, an F.T.C. commissioner who has objected to Khan’s activist strategy. (He’ll have the votes at the agency, with Trump having also picked Mark Meador to join as a commissioner, most likely giving Republicans a majority.) > In a pitch for the agency leadership position seen by Punchbowl News, Ferguson, who doesn’t need Senate confirmation, said he would “reverse Lina Khan’s anti-business agenda.”
    - sofixa 2y ago
      Care to elaborate?
bediger4000 2y ago
> at a minimum, you'd have to show actual harm, like, for example, showing it has caused (or is very very likely to cause) higher prices for folks. I'm sure that's the legal criteria, but why do I get a feeling of "time to move along" when I use a product of one of the merged companies? Every telecom merger, every food or book publisher merger, every aerospace company merger, has passed the review you state, but very shortly products are no longer made, services are ramped down, quality degrades. As an employee, I've been through mergers as well, the merged company always sucks more than the original. Sometimes for trivial reasons (CXOs chose the worse of the two time card systems), sometimes for a multitude of reasons. As a consumer and worker, I have acquired a reflexive suspicion and dislike of mergers.

martin_a 2y ago

I think Getty, Shutterstock and Adobe Stock are _the_ stock image agencies. If two of them merge, wouldn't that be enough for a "market dominating position" and therefore enough to get somebody involved?

mikeyouse 2y ago
The FTC is a political organization led by political appointees who mirror the politics of those who appoint them.. I think 2 years ago this would’ve attracted regulatory scrutiny, I don’t think it will as of Jan 20th.
- Jerrrry 2y ago
  [flagged]
  - mikeyouse 2y ago
    Thanks for the input I guess? Anyway, I was just commenting on Lina Khan vs Andrew Feeguson’s stated intentions for the FTC: https://archive.is/3TXZq https://archive.is/3TXZq > Ferguson will almost certainly scrap Khan’s signature merger policy. The departing F.T.C. chair — along with Jonathan Kanter, the head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division — made a point of opposing far more mergers than many of her forebears. Not every case ended in victory, but legal experts said that her approach helped reshape aspects of U.S. competition law and slowed down the pace of M.&A. That approach is likely to end under Ferguson, an F.T.C. commissioner who has objected to Khan’s activist strategy. (He’ll have the votes at the agency, with Trump having also picked Mark Meador to join as a commissioner, most likely giving Republicans a majority.) > In a pitch for the agency leadership position seen by Punchbowl News, Ferguson, who doesn’t need Senate confirmation, said he would “reverse Lina Khan’s anti-business agenda.”
  - sofixa 2y ago
    Care to elaborate?

bediger4000 2y ago

> at a minimum, you'd have to show actual harm, like, for example, showing it has caused (or is very very likely to cause) higher prices for folks. I'm sure that's the legal criteria, but why do I get a feeling of "time to move along" when I use a product of one of the merged companies? Every telecom merger, every food or book publisher merger, every aerospace company merger, has passed the review you state, but very shortly products are no longer made, services are ramped down, quality degrades. As an employee, I've been through mergers as well, the merged company always sucks more than the original. Sometimes for trivial reasons (CXOs chose the worse of the two time card systems), sometimes for a multitude of reasons. As a consumer and worker, I have acquired a reflexive suspicion and dislike of mergers.