ThinkTankWeekly

Too little, too late: The inadequacy of reactive antitrust enforcement in technology markets

Brookings | 2026-09-18 | economy

Topics: AI, Nuclear, Trade

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English Summary

The Brookings article argues that traditional antitrust enforcement is fundamentally inadequate for regulating modern technology markets, labeling current efforts as 'too little, too late.' It notes that the slow, reactive judicial process allows dominant firms to continue abusing monopoly power for years, often resulting only in mild behavioral remedies rather than structural divestitures. This failure means that antitrust risk is treated merely as a cost of doing business, dwarfed by monopoly profits. Policymakers must therefore rethink the antitrust paradigm, advocating for preemptive, ex ante oversight authority to intervene before gatekeepers can indefinitely exploit markets, particularly in the rapidly evolving field of AI.

中文摘要

該布魯金斯學會的文章主張,傳統的反壟斷執法機制對於規範現代科技市場是根本不足的,並將現行努力定性為「過於遲緩,徒勞無功」。文章指出,緩慢且反應式的司法程序使得市場主導企業能夠長期濫用壟斷權力,其結果往往僅止於輕微的行為補救措施,而非結構性的剝離。這種制度性缺陷導致反壟斷風險僅被視為經營成本,而在巨額的壟斷利潤面前微不足道。因此,政策制定者必須重新思考反壟斷的範式,主張應建立事前(ex ante)的監督權力,以便在「守門人」能夠無限期地利用市場之前進行干預,尤其是在快速發展的人工智慧(AI)領域。

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