Do As I Say, Not As I Do: Well Known Tech Antitrust Critic Works For Apple And Amazon On The Side

One of the country's most well known antitrust critics, Fiona Scott Morton, happens to be advising two of the biggest tech names in the country, Amazon and Apple, on the side. Morton was labeled a "antitrust crusader" in 2019 by the New Republic.

Scott Morton has consistently said that tech giants are stifling competition and innovation in the country, but failed to recently disclose relationships with Amazon and Apple in papers she recently co-authored, according to Bloomberg. The papers laid out how the U.S. could bring antitrust cases against both Google and Facebook.

She claims that she usually discloses conflicts and that lack of disclosure on the papers shouldn't be an issue because "Apple and Amazon didn’t pay her to write them" and because they "didn't focus" on either company. She failed to address the obvious, however: that those companies are competitors of both Google and Facebook.

“I work for companies that I’m comfortable are not breaking the law. So you’re articulating what is making the market work well and how the company’s conduct is pro-competitive or efficient,” she said.

The consulting work she is doing raises obvious ethics questions, especially as antitrust probes are starting to broaden. Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google are all expected to face significant government scrutiny when they testify July 27 before a House panel.

Scott Morton's past includes serving for the Justice Department's anti-trust division from 2011 to 2012. She claims that consulting is "important to her research and teaching" (and wallet) and declined to offer further details about her work.

George DeMartino, a professor at the University of Denver who specializes in ethic says that Scott Morton "should have disclosed her work for Amazon and Apple in the papers". American Economic Association principles dictate that "economists disclose real and potential conflicts that might influence their work".

https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/do-i-say-not-i-do-well-known-tech-antitrust-critic-works-apple-and-amazon-side