Is Amazon Evil? Part 2 Professor Ari Lightman & Attorney Michael A. Finio

Heinz Radio

In the last episode, we spoke to two distinguished professors of economics at Heinz College, doctors Lowell Taylor and Martin Gaynor, to explore the economics of how a company like Amazon could grow so quickly to control half of the US online retail market, what the consequences could be for consumers, and whether we should be worried about a complete monopoly.

Today, we will explore how existing anti-trust laws could be maneuvered to deal with Amazon and other tech giants. We spoke with Attorney Michael A. Finio, and Prof. Ari Lightman from Heinz College.

Ari is a Distinguished Service Professor, Digital Media and Marketing at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy. Ari is an internationally recognized expert in digital transformation and technology disruption focusing on online communities, digital collaboration, information dissemination and content analysis. He has worked with organizations across entertainment, technology, manufacturing, Consumer Packaged Goods, finance and healthcare.

Mike hails currently from Camp Hill, PA where he and his wife Amy live with their two dogs - Newfoundland Harper, and hound mix Ollie. After spending his formative years in Southwest Philadelphia and Springfield (Delco) PA, he went to the University of New Hampshire, in Durham, NH and then the (Penn State) Dickinson School of Law, in Carlisle PA. He’s been practicing law since 1983 and over his 38 years at the bar, he has from one client matter to the next over time increasingly focused on antitrust, merger review and control and other competition matters, and those things now occupy almost all of his lawyering time. He’s also an Adjunct Professor of Law at Penn State Dickinson, where he teaches Antitrust Law.