Matt Stoller from American Economic Liberties Project discusses VeriSign's influence on .com prices, economic termites affecting industries, rising costs due to monopolization, and the importance of competition in markets.
Economic termites concept unveils hidden, compounding issues across industries.
VeriSign's dot com monopoly prompts calls for regulatory action against unjustified price hikes.
Deep dives
Matt Stoller's Background and Role at American Economic Liberties Project
Matt Stoller, the Research Director of the American Economic Liberties Project, shares his background working in Congress during the financial crisis, where he realized the dangers of consolidated financial power. This realization led him to co-found the organization in 2020 to address the issue of private monopoly power.
Economic Termites and Monopoly Power
Stoller introduces the concept of 'economic termites,' describing companies that operate unnoticed but create profitable problems in the economy. He explains how small price increases by various companies across different industries add up, creating difficulties for consumers. Stoller highlights examples such as Grace Notes and industrial gas companies to illustrate the impact of economic termites.
VeriSign as an Economic Termite
Discussing VeriSign's role in domain registration, Stoller emphasizes how the company, holding a monopoly over dot com domains, continuously raises prices, impacting website owners. He critiques the long-standing agreement between VeriSign, ICANN, and the Commerce Department, suggesting it fosters anti-competitive practices and unjustified price hikes.
Challenges in Addressing VeriSign's Contract
Stoller outlines the complexity of challenging VeriSign's contract, particularly the clauses that seemingly prevent modifications without mutual agreement. He raises concerns about the potential anti-competitive nature of the agreement, emphasizing the need for regulatory intervention or contract bidding to ensure fair pricing and competition in the domain registration market.
Why this group thinks Verisign shouldn’t be able to raise the price of .com domains. Last month, a consortium of advocacy groups asked the US government to take action against the .com contract with Verisign (NASDAQ: VRSN). On today’s show, Matt Stoller, research director for American Economic Liberties Project and author of The BIG Newsletter, […]