Speaking Truth to Power
We're seeing more references to Chevron and the major questions doctrine. Brace, brace, brace.
U.S. Clears Way for Antitrust Inquiries of Nvidia, Microsoft and OpenAI
The US and the EU race to punish innovation, disadvantaging the West in its strategic competition with China on AI.
‘Still, the United States lags behind Europe in regulating artificial intelligence. European Union officials agreed last year on landmark rules to govern the fast-evolving technology, focused on the riskiest ways in which it can be used. In Washington last month, a group of senators released legislative recommendations for A.I., calling for $32 billion in annual spending to propel American leadership of the technology but holding off on asking for specific new regulations.’
Never underestimate the ability of industry to police itself, at least if it wants to stick around for the long haul.
‘The new regulation means that the industry — currently dominated by fintech firms like Affirm, Klarna and PayPal — must make refunds for returned products or canceled services, investigate merchant disputes pause payments during those probes and provide bills with fee disclosures.
‘Major buy now, pay later providers already provide such safeguards for users.
‘“We’ve got an industry that’s moving at light speed and a regulatory process that takes time,” Lux said.’
EU Moves on an EV Truck Law More Rigorous than Biden’s Regulation
Which came first, regulation or the technology?
‘Whether it is the EU version or the U.S. version, consumers will be seeing increased costs as trucks move an enormous amount of goods and the cost of electric trucks are typically two to three times more expensive than diesel trucks. Further, in the United States alone, roughly $1 trillion in new infrastructure and grid improvements will be required to handle the increased electricity the EV trucks will need. And, productivity will be reduced as battery trucks lack the infrastructure, range and capability of their diesel counterparts and will require frequent long charging and idled equipment. Electric semis require bigger and heavier batteries, which means they must carry lighter loads to avoid damaging roads. Fleet operators will have to use more trucks to transport the same amount of goods, which will increase vehicle congestion, especially around ports and distribution centers.’
Stamp of disapproval: The workplace bureaucracy killing productivity
You might be in a bureaucracy if process and secrecy become overwhelming. You know it when you see it.
‘A sign that your company could be suffering from the effects of overzealous bureaucracy is a lack of transparency around the flow of information. Admittedly, no one needs to know absolutely everything and the higher-ups are always going to be subject to a wider bank of company knowledge than their non-managerial counterparts.
‘But some information, for example plans to restructure, changes in HR policy and how labour is assigned, is relevant to everyone within a company. If a business is downsizing for example, then employees should be given the opportunity to find alternative work and financially protect themselves.
‘Senior decision makers have the right to hold back on information deemed irrelevant or premature, but if companies consistently withhold crucial information, then they risk undermining employee trust and loyalty.‘
On the FTC’s Authority to Promulgate Trade Regulation Rules, by Lev Menand and Tim Wu
There is a constant tension in US regulatory agencies regarding the major questions doctrine. When do agencies cross the line between enforcing the law and making new law?
‘We believe this analysis is mistaken for several reasons. The first is a misunderstanding of what, at least according to the Supreme Court, triggers the major questions doctrine. As the West Virginia decision suggested, the MQD is concerned with novel assertions of agency authority, particularly when Congress could have acted but did not. But nothing novel is at issue here. Rather, the FTC is doing what it has been doing since the 1960s: promulgating trade regulation rules, and doing so pursuant to a textually explicit grant of authority on which it has previously relied. The case centers not a new question, but an old one, upon which the courts and Congress have already expressed views on more than one occasion. It is therefore a weak candidate for application of the major questions doctrine.’
Proposed legislation would make it difficult, if not impossible, to establish a central bank digital currency in the US.
‘U.S. crypto regulations seem to be moving in a direction that opposes the launch of a central bank digital currency, is against local banks embracing crypto and is averse to non-compliant stablecoins, JPMorgan (JPM) said in a research report.’
Supreme Court may soon undercut Biden’s regulatory regime
Chevron is going to be huge.
‘The Supreme Court’s evolving approach to administrative law, along with hints it could soon retire Chevron, has brought increased attention to two key doctrines: the nondelegation doctrine and the major questions doctrine. The major questions doctrine arises when the court rejects Chevron by arguing Congress wouldn’t have delegated a question of high significance to an agency. But under both nondelegation and the major questions doctrine, the high court has in the past utilized those standards to minimize agency power and relocate lawmaking power to the legislative branch.’