The Monopoly Report

By Alan Chapell

In-depth coverage of big tech's antitrust woes from Marketecture.tv. We are covering the Google search and ad tech trials and everything else happening. Subscribe to our newsletter at https://monopoly... more

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FAQs about The Monopoly Report:

How many episodes does The Monopoly Report have?

The podcast currently has 60 episodes available.

The Monopoly Report episodes:

December 24, 2025Episode 60: Did the CJEU just break the Internet?
Professor Daphne Keller joins host Alan Chapell to discuss the implications of the EU Court of Justice decision in Russmedia - demonstrating that "breaking the Internet" is no longer solely the domain of pop stars like Taylor Swift. An expert in platform regulation and intermediary liability, Professor Keller explains how the CJEU's Russmedia decision poses significant challenges for companies operating in the digital media space in Europe.
Daphne Keller's bio may be found at https://law.stanford.edu/daphne-keller/.
The Chapell regulatory outlook report may be found at https://chapellreport.substack.com/.

Takeaways
The Russmedia case shifts the EU rules on intermediary liability significantly.

Intermediary liability laws aim to balance online safety, free speech, and innovation.

The court's decision highlights a long-standing tension as between GDPR and the e-commerce directive.

Platforms may now be considered joint controllers of user data under GDPR.

Identifying harmful content at scale is a major challenge for platforms.

The Russmedia case

Chapters
00:00 Welcome and show premise
02:05 Daphne Keller and why Russmedia matters
04:00 Why intermediary liability shields exist
06:20 Distinction between Section 230 in the U.S. (absolute liability shield) and the EU notice and takedown regime under the e-commerce directive.
08:45 GDPRand right to be forgotten as background context.
11:00 Russmedia facts and Romanian state court path
13:45 Advocate General view processor vs controller
16:00 CJEU view as joint controllership is the lynchpin of the case.
23:30 Proactive checks and the general monitoring contradiction
34:40 What platforms can do now and the practical tradeoffs

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40min
December 17, 2025Episode 59: FTC Commissioner Mark Meador on Digital Media Regulatory
Host Alan Chapell welcomes Commissioner Mark Meador of the Federal Trade Commission to talk about the future of conservative antitrust, the importance of protecting kids and the impact of the regulatory environment on the digital media marketplace.

Commissioner Meador's bio can be found at https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/commissioners-staff/mark-r-meador.

The Chapell Report can be found at https://chapellreport.substack.com/

Takeaways
Privacy and online safety for children are top priorities for the FTC.

The FTC is focused on tangible harms rather than ethereal issues.

Antitrust enforcement has seen a bipartisan consensus on the need for more action.

The FTC uses 6B studies to understand new markets and inform future regulations.

Learning from past FTC experiences is crucial for effective enforcement.

AI and deceptive claims are monitored under existing laws.

Consumer choice is essential in a competitive marketplace.

The FTC is committed to enforcing laws that protect children online.

Regulatory actions should avoid creating unintended consequences.

Chapters
00:00 FTC Priorities for 2026
03:53 Antitrust Focus and Challenges
07:50 Protecting Children Online
12:08 The Role of 6B Studies
15:54 Learning from Past FTC Experiences
19:41 Addressing AI and Deceptive Claims
23:43 Consumer Choice and Market Dynamics
27:43 Key Takeaways for Digital Media Stakeholders

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38min
December 10, 2025Episode 58: The EU Digital Omnibus, Part 2: With Peter Craddock
Peter Craddock joins Alan Chapell to discuss the EU Digital Omnibus proposal - and debate the value of simplification of the digital privacy rules in Europe. Peter views these changes as pragmatic, while Alan is concerned that we’re trading in one set of ambiguities to another.

More on Peter Craddock https://www.khlaw.com/people/peter-craddock.
More on Alan's Regulatory Outlook Substack https://chapellreport.substack.com/welcome

Takeaways
Peter believes the Digital Omnibus changes are intended to add a layer of pragmatism to EU data protection law.

The GDPR was designed to enshrine privacy as a fundamental right, but that doesn’t mean privacy should prevail over everything else.

You also take into account other fundamental rights: fundamental right of information and freedom of expression.

Chapters
00:00 Peter returns and sets the stage for what the EU Digital Omnibus is and why it exists.
04:20 How the proposal and Court of Justice rulings reshape the meaning of personal data for ad tech.
10:00 What pseudonymous companies can argue today under SRB and related cases.
15:40 Why ePrivacy consent rules still bite even if GDPR does not apply.
20:40 Browser-based consent controls and why industry expects pushback.
26:10 How regulators may respond, and why pragmatism is becoming more visible.
35:40 Legitimate interest for AI training versus consent for monetization.
41:00 Whether the changes help smaller players and what uncertainty remains.

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51min
December 03, 2025Episode 57: The EU Digital Omnibus with Dr. Gabriela Zanfir-Fortuna
The Digital Omnibus proposal seeks to upend the EU data protection rules. In part 1 of our coverage, Alan Chapell chats with Dr Gabriela Zanfir-Fortuna of the Future of Privacy Forum about what's driving the Digital Omnibus, and whether it is likely to have a positive impact. More on Gabriela at https://fpf.org/person/dr-gabriela-zanfir-fortuna/. More on Alan's Substack at https://chapellreport.substack.com/.
Takeaways
The Digital Omnibus aims to simplify, reduce compliance burden and boost EU competitiveness, but may introduce new ambiguities and complexities.

Narrowing the definition of personal data could let some pseudonymous ad tech processing fall outside GDPR coverage.

A browser level do not track style signal is proposed, yet timelines and technical feasibility remain uncertain given past failures and current standards backlogs.

AI model training via legitimate interest raises difficult questions about privacy choices.

Some EU regulators are likely to resist these shifts, meaning enforcement may stay privacy forward - creating a lack of certainty for those seeking to comply with these new rules.
Chapters
00:00 Alan introduces the show, the guest, and why the Digital Omnibus matters for GDPR and the AI Act.
03:40 Gabriela shares her privacy origin story and why privacy harms can be systemic, not just individual.
11:40 The pair unpack the Commission’s stated goals of simplification and competitiveness, and why Gabriela doubts the path.
17:00 They examine the proposed narrowed definition of personal data and the risk of fresh compliance confusion.
20:50 Discussion of a new consent revocation signal and the long road to workable standards.
26:40 A media services carve out is questioned, especially its impact on consent fatigue and digital ads.
32:00 Gabriela outlines the biggest AI related proposals, especially legitimate interest for training and use.
44:40 They predict regulator pushback and what that means for enforcement over the next decade.
50:30 Closing reflections on why the Omnibus may fail its simplification promise and what comes next.

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52min
November 19, 2025Episode 56: The People of Vermont want privacy too!
In this episode, Alan chats with Vermont State Representative Monique Priestley about her multi-year attempt to get a privacy law passed in the State of Vermont. They discuss Vermont's approach, what Monique has learned from the successes and failures of other state efforts, and what a "good" privacy law looks like.

Rep Priestley's bio may be found at: https://priestleyvt.com/about/

The discussion re: Private Rights of Action in Privacy Laws with Dr. Lauren Scholz is available at: https://www.youtube.com/live/RVb8xXWkYPQ?si=sb89gvUiT_WzKYsp&t=2448.

My reaction to Dr. Scholz's testimony is available on my Substack at: https://chapell.substack.com/p/more-on-the-private-right-of-action
Takeaways
Lobbying pressure shapes privacy bills long before the public ever sees them.

Consumer rights only work if people can actually enforce them.

Data minimization is essential but difficult to regulate.

Political campaigns are major contributors to data misuse.

States struggle to keep definitions aligned as technology shifts.
Chapters
00:00 Origin story of Rep. Priestley
03:15 How lobbying shapes privacy legislation
08:10 What a strong privacy law should include
13:20 Why data minimization is so complicated
18:45 The role of political campaigns in data abuses
24:30 Data brokers and updates, states are pushing
31:40 Authorized agents and deletion requests
36:30 How Vermont approaches sensitive data

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40min
November 12, 2025Episode 55: A truly EPIC discussion about Apple ATT
Alan Butler from the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) joins Alan Chapell to discuss EPICs recent blog post critiquing the March 2025 decision of the French competition authority holding that Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) is anti-competitive. This is a robust discussion pitting the views of the advocacy community against those of the business community... and demonstrating the tension that can sometimes exist between privacy and competition law.

The discussion referenced a number of articles and consumer research.
Epic's blog post on ATT is at https://tinyurl.com/2avfss69
The French Competition decision is at https://tinyurl.com/27tav2dv
Research from Columbia Univ is at https://tinyurl.com/399az6ht
Research from USC is at https://tinyurl.com/55d76n87

Takeaways
EPIC saw Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) as a rare, meaningful win for user privacy amid decades of unchecked data collection.

Alan Butler draws a distinction as between first-party tracking and third-party behavioral tracking - a distinction that may be at odds with competition regulators such as the UK Competition and Markets Authority.

Butler argued that consent pop-ups and CMPs are manipulative, not genuine privacy controls - Chapell agreed, but noted that Apple uses its own form of manipulation with ATT.

European regulators viewed ATT as anti-competitive, but Butler said ATT rightly prioritizes user privacy over ad-tech interests.

Chapell provided research suggesting that Apple's cohort tracking might not be as user-friendly as some advocates have suggested.

Apple’s ad revenue growth in the wake of ATT raised competition and fairness concerns.

Butler called for ad models that allow publisher sustainability without compromising user privacy.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and EPIC’s role in privacy advocacy
02:30 Apple’s App Tracking Transparency explained
04:45 Ad-tech backlash and regulatory scrutiny in Europe
06:15 First-party vs. third-party data use distinctions
09:50 How tracking and profiling differ across contexts
12:40 Consent mechanisms and why they fail users
15:50 The “double consent” debate under EU law
20:00 Competition concerns and privacy as a design choice
24:30 Publisher monetization and skepticism of tracking’s value
28:00 Intersection of privacy, competition, and market power
31:30 Consumer understanding of ATT and tracking preferences
34:00 Apple’s data use and the question of transparency
37:00 Whether ATT unfairly advantages Apple
41:00 Broader implications for competition and privacy balance
45:30 Parity between ATT and consent systems discussed
48:30 Closing reflections on privacy, fairness, and user control

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54min
November 05, 2025Episode 54: The Enshittification of Everything (including digital media)
Cory Doctorow is a prolific writer of both fiction and non-fiction. His latest book is Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Went Wrong and What To Do About It. Cory and host Alan Chapell discuss the three stages of enshittification, its root causes, and the underlying social movement that is critical to addressing (and perhaps even reversing) its impact.
Recognizing that they come at this from very different perspectives, Alan and Cory also go deep into some of the endemic challenges of the ads space while wrestling with pro's and con's of data minimization, contextual advertising and how to offer a private right of action to the enforcement of privacy laws. Alan's Substack on CIPA the VPPA and anti-SLAPP laws is at https://chapell.substack.com/p/can-anti-slapp-save-ad-tech-from and should complement the discussion.
Cory's bio is at ⁠https://craphound.com/bio/⁠ and you can find out more about his book Enshittification at ⁠https://tinyurl.com/y7u698a6⁠.

Takeaways
Enshittification describes how digital platforms decay under monopoly power, shifting value from users to advertisers and then shareholders.

Monopoly and weak regulation allow corporations to capture markets and regulators, eroding user rights and competition.

Loss of interoperability and restrictive IP laws (like the DMCA) prevent users from fixing or improving technology.

Privacy and data exploitation are central to tech monopolies’ power, stronger, simpler rules are needed over complex consent systems.

Behavioral advertising should be replaced by contextual models to reduce surveillance and restore balance for publishers.

Private right of action can help enforce privacy rights when regulators fail.

Global antitrust movements in Europe, Canada, and Asia show more progress than the U.S.

Coalition building across privacy, labor, and antitrust advocates is key to countering corporate concentration.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Enshittification explained
04:20 How monopolies cause platform decay
11:15 Market consolidation and regulatory capture
13:30 Tech worker power and the loss of interoperability
20:25 Key issues, privacy, competition, and IP
27:25 Problems with consent-based privacy systems
29:45 Case for banning behavioral advertising
41:25 Enforcement and the role of private litigation
51:00 Antitrust progress and shifting global momentum
55:30 Building coalitions to fight tech monopolies

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1h 7min
October 29, 2025Episode 53: A successful career in privacy.
The care and feeding of a successful career - particularly in privacy or regulatory circles remains an under-discussed topic. Career coach Doug Miller joins Alan to discuss the changing role of the privacy pro over the past two decades and the challenges we all face as we try to juggle the goals of making an impact while finding happiness.
Takeaways
Privacy executives must engage with the organization to change minds.

Building alliances is crucial for effective privacy advocacy.

It's important to connect with C-suite members beyond the CEO.

Understanding product launch goals can align privacy initiatives.

Strategic thinking is essential for future planning in organizations.

The context of the industry influences product implementation.

Collaboration across teams enhances privacy efforts.

Privacy considerations should be integrated into product development.

Long-term planning is vital for organizational success.

Effective communication can bridge gaps in understanding privacy needs.

Career burnout for privacy and regulatory pros is real - Doug shares a number of tips for career development.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction & Evolution of Privacy
04:20 Early Privacy Careers & AOL Story
07:30 Mergers, Culture & Lessons Learned
09:20 Shifting from Reactive to Proactive Privacy
16:30 Convincing Leadership & Building Value
20:50 Career Growth, Burnout & Reinvention
38:40 Curiosity, Purpose & Closing Thoughts

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48min
October 22, 2025Episode 52: State Privacy Law with Senator James Maroney
On this episode, Alan Chapell is joined by Connecticut State Senator James Maroney as the Senator shares the backstory regarding how he got involved in pushing for a privacy law in Connecticut, how those efforts are impacted by lobbying efforts, and how different states are collaborating to create the privacy and AI patchwork.

The Senator also shares what's on his mind when it comes to future privacy and AI laws for Connecticut. The Senator's bio is available at https://www.senatedems.ct.gov/senator/james-maroney/bio"
Takeaways
Privacy policymaking often starts accidentally, not by design.
Lobbying pressure remains the biggest barrier to passing strong privacy laws.
Persistence and bipartisan cooperation helped Connecticut succeed after three years.
The Global Privacy Control requirement made Connecticut a national privacy leader.
Simplified opt-out processes improve user empowerment and enforcement.
Consent fatigue weakens privacy protections; minimization is a better path.
Broad definitions of personal data can discourage privacy innovation.
Data brokers and AI oversight are the next frontiers in state privacy policy.
Multi-state collaboration is reshaping privacy and AI governance in the U.S.
Federal law should set a strong floor, not a ceiling, for privacy protections.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Senator Maroney’s background
01:00 How privacy legislation found him
02:32 Early challenges and heavy lobbying resistance
05:04 Lessons from failed attempts and building allies
07:46 Adding the Global Privacy Control requirement
10:02 Balancing consent fatigue with real user protection
12:45 Defining personal vs. de-identified data
15:31 Strengthening Connecticut’s law through updates
17:47 Considering data broker oversight and the DELETE Act
20:31 Multi-state collaboration and AI policy efforts
23:45 Regulating sensitive data and consent standards
27:00 Authorized agents and consumer rights limits
31:02 Rulemaking challenges and avoiding patchwork laws
35:32 Federal preemption, enforcement, and private actions
40:30 Enforcement, lawsuits, and the search for balance
43:00 Closing remarks and UConn basketball predictions

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45min
October 15, 2025Episode 51: What does "Apple in China" have to do with the digital media regulatory space?
Journalist Patrick McGee joins host Alan Chapell to discuss his book "Apple in China" as Alan draws additional pearls of wisdom from Patrick's work that can be used to guide everyone working in the digital media and regulatory world. From an in-depth discussion of geopolitics, a funny Seinfeld reference and (and a less funny one about Michael Moore) and important lessons for regulatory folks looking to hold your attention.... this is a great discussion. It's also helpful for everyone in the ads space to have a clear sense of Apple's motivations. You can buy Apple in China here - https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Apple-in-China/Patrick-McGee/9781668053379

Takeaways
Apple’s design-first philosophy thrived in China’s uniquely flexible manufacturing ecosystem.

The partnership between Apple and China turned into a masterclass in innovation — and imitation

“China speed” gave Apple unmatched production agility, but also trained future competitors.

Apple underestimated how much intellectual property and know-how it was exporting.

Patrick McGee frames Apple’s China story as both a business triumph and a geopolitical shift.

Privacy remains central to Apple’s brand — but compromises in China tell a more complex story.

The book reveals how Apple’s success fueled China’s tech dominance and influenced global policy.

Regulatory lessons: even the biggest players can be blinded by their own success.

Patrick’s storytelling turns a complex supply chain saga into an engaging, human narrative.Alan Chapell emphasizes that clear storytelling is key to making policy and economics resonate.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome
00:52 The Premise Behind Apple in China
03:10 How Apple’s Design Culture Met China’s Flexibility
05:40 Training the Competition: The Hidden Cost of Outsourcing
08:15 “China Speed” and the Rise of Domestic Tech Rivals
12:20 Apple’s Privacy Paradox in the Chinese Market
15:05 Lessons for Regulators and Global Businesses
17:45 Storytelling as a Tool for Complex Topics
19:30 Reflections on Apple’s Future and Geopolitical Risks
21:00 Supporting Local Bookstores and Final Thoughts

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58min

FAQs about The Monopoly Report:

How many episodes does The Monopoly Report have?

The podcast currently has 60 episodes available.

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