Tech-Industry

Tesla May Dodge Over $1 Billion in Regulatory Fines Due to Trump Administration Influence

| Importance: 9/10

Senate Democrats released a report detailing how Elon Musk’s companies could avoid more than $1.19 billion in potential legal and regulatory fines, highlighting systemic regulatory capture under the Trump administration. The report specifically focuses on Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) …

Donald Trump Elon Musk Richard Blumenthal Edward Markey government-contracts regulatory-capture tech-industry federal-investigation
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SpaceX Engineers Onboarded to FAA During Mass Staff Firings

| Importance: 7/10

The Trump administration fired hundreds of FAA air traffic control staff while bringing in three SpaceX engineers as Special Government Employees, raising significant regulatory capture concerns. These engineers were allowed to review air traffic control systems despite potential conflicts of …

Donald Trump Elon Musk Sean Duffy Brady Glantz Theodore Malaska +1 more kleptocracy regulatory-capture tech-industry faa trump-administration
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FTC Approves Amazon-Whole Foods Merger Despite Monopolization Concerns

| Importance: 8/10

The Federal Trade Commission approved Amazon’s $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods Market on August 23, 2017, without an in-depth investigation. This decision demonstrated regulatory challenges in addressing 21st-century tech monopolies, as the FTC did not find substantial anticompetitive …

Amazon.com Inc. Jeff Bezos Whole Foods Market Inc. Federal Trade Commission Lina Khan +1 more regulatory-capture tech-industry antitrust amazon ftc +1 more
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Google's Political Influence Derails FTC Antitrust Investigation

| Importance: 9/10

The Federal Trade Commission closed its 19-month antitrust investigation of Google without bringing charges, despite internal staff recommendations for legal action. With 230 White House meetings in 2012-2013, Google demonstrated unprecedented political access, ultimately avoiding significant …

Federal Trade Commission Google Inc. Larry Page Eric Schmidt FTC Staff Attorneys +2 more regulatory-capture tech-industry antitrust google ftc +2 more
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Facebook IPO Market Manipulation by Morgan Stanley

| Importance: 9/10

Morgan Stanley and other underwriters engaged in selective disclosure during Facebook’s initial public offering, revealing sensitive financial information only to institutional investors. Massachusetts securities regulators fined Morgan Stanley million for creating an ‘unlevel playing …

Morgan Stanley Facebook William Galvin James Gorman securities-fraud market-manipulation tech-industry financial-regulation facebook +1 more
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Facebook Acquires Instagram for Billion to Neutralize Potential Competitor

| Importance: 8/10

Facebook acquired photo-sharing app Instagram for billion, implementing what the FTC would later characterize as a ‘buy or bury’ strategy to eliminate competitive threats. Internal emails revealed CEO Mark Zuckerberg explicitly stated the acquisition was motivated by a desire to …

Facebook Inc. Mark Zuckerberg Instagram Inc. Kevin Systrom Mike Krieger +1 more regulatory-capture tech-industry antitrust facebook meta +1 more
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