March 23, 2024

Welcome to Letters from CAMP, a newsletter on anti-monopoly activity in Canada and abroad, brought to you by the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project. In this installment we have:

• The end of the Hudson’s Bay Company and the potential for a new economic future for Canada
• Apple continues its long track record of frustrating entrepreneurs trying to make awesome products
• Trump moves to fire Democrat Federal Trade Commission heads in brazen power grab

Now let’s dive in.

The Bay is Bankrupt, Canada Can Do Better

The Hudson’s Bay Company, Canada's founding monopoly, is bankrupt. Founded in 1670, the Bay is the oldest corporation in Canada, predating the country itself, and profoundly shaped the early development of our nation. The holder of a royally granted monopoly over the fur trade in the lands that now make up a third of modern day Canada, the birth of the country is inextricable from the rise and fall of the Hudson’s Bay Company.

But while Canadians understandably mourn the loss of an icon of our proud history, the company’s collapse is a reminder that Canada cannot look to the past for the answers to today’s problems. In contrast to the Americans, who in their founding threw off the monopoly of the East India Company, Canada’s long-running embrace of monopoly has made us susceptible to the economic instability and vulnerability to external shocks we face today.

The economic model that favoured consolidation over competition has failed to deliver its promised benefits. Instead of nostalgia, the failure of the Bay should inspire urgency for the need to transition to an economy focused on true competition and resilience. In the face of external threats, Canada has the chance to learn from the mistakes of the past and forge a new economic path forward.

As the federal election begins in Canada, CAMP encourages policy makers of all political stripes to adopt an anti-monopoly agenda to set the country on this new path. A moment of crisis is a pivotal opportunity—one where Canada can decisively break from our monopoly past and begin to build an economy that delivers for everyday Canadians and safeguard the independence of our nation.

📚 What We’re Reading 📚

• Konczal, The Abundance Doctrine (Democracy Journal)
• Marczak, et al., Virtue or Vice? A First Look at Paragon’s Proliferating Spyware Operations (Citizen Lab)
• Bruenig, How Many People Live Paycheck to Paycheck? (People's Policy Project)

Apple Gets in the Way of Awesome

Canadian entrepreneur Eric Migicovsky is a frequent flyer when it comes to tangling with tech monopolies. In 2024, Migicovsky’s Beeper tried to break down barriers between mobile operating systems by making texting between iPhones and Androids a seamless process. Apple didn’t love that, and worked hard to shut Beeper down on cooked up security grounds. Now, Apple is once again trying to get in the way of awesome products for consumers.

Long before Beeper, Migicovsky kicked off the smartwatch craze with the development of Pebble all the way back in 2013. Now returning to his roots, the entrepreneur is encountering the exact same resistance from Apple as he resurrects the legacy smartwatch brand with new models. In a blog post this week, Migicovsky lays out the laundry list of restrictions that Pebble has encountered in trying to offer a seamless experience for both iPhone and Android users.

These hurdles that third-party developers face on iOS restrict market entry and innovation, effectively protecting Apple's extensive ecosystem and market share at the expense of users who want options and variety. Apple has always been a famously closed system, but this attitude is now matched with worrying signs that the company is losing its innovative energy.

Influential tech analyst John Gruber recently penned a lengthy piece detailing broader concerns with Apple's internal management and ability to deliver products like the badly lagging Apple Intelligence. As Apple loses the ability to innovate, we should expect to see increasingly defensive behaviour and aggressive restrictions against competitors. To break this downward spiral, Apple desperately needs antitrust action to break these bad habits and get the company back to work on being awesome.

📰 CAMP in the News 📰

• Stofferahn, Canada’s Fight Against Monopoly Power (You’re Probably Getting Screwed)

Trump Fires FTC Commissioners in Brazen Powerplay

This week, President Donald Trump broke with nearly a century of tradition by attempting to fire Democrat Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Slaughter. The move marks an unprecedented escalation in the politicization of the American administrative state and a hand out to Big Tech special interests. Bedoya and Slaughter have been staunch defenders of the interests of American citizens.

The dismissals raise alarms about regulatory independence, particularly given Bedoya and Slaughter were actively involved in significant antitrust actions against companies owned by Trump's billionaire supporters. These terminations will disrupt ongoing enforcement efforts attempting to protect competition and lead to a dangerous acceleration of monopolistic practices.

As American Economic Liberties Project’s Matt Stoller points out, this move undermines the FTC's ability to effectively regulate powerful corporate interests and could clear a path for the unchecked growth of dominant players at the expense of American interests. Around the world, the integrity and independence of regulatory bodies like the FTC are vital for maintaining fair competition and protecting public interests. The current situation underscores the urgency of defending regulatory independence from crass political manipulation and corporate influence.

If you have any monopoly tips or stories you'd like to share, drop us a line at hello@antimonopoly.ca

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