Abstract:

This talk by Prof. Anindya Ghose of NYU Stern will discuss how IS research and quantitative research methodologies have influenced high stakes antitrust and privacy litigations launched by the US Govt. and European commission against tech firms such as Google and Meta. In the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) vs. Google case, the federal government mounted one of the most aggressive antitrust challenges to a technology company since the Microsoft case of the late 1990s, alleging that Google had monopolized the digital advertising technology stack. Prof. Ghose served as one of Google’s testifying experts. His expert analysis provided a rigorous, empirically grounded framework for understanding competition in digital advertising markets, directly countering the government’s theory of market dominance. Google prevailed on the critical advertiser-side antitrust claims against the DOJ, a result that validated the analytical rigor and persuasive force of expert testimony. In Federal Trade Commission (FTC) v. Meta, the FTC pursued a monopoly maintenance case, seeking to unwind Meta’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp. Prof. Ghose served as one of Meta’s testifying experts, tasked with dismantling the FTC’s competition theories. His expert work in these cases drew directly on over a decade of research in digital platforms, relying on academic research methodologies that proved decisive under the most intense legal scrutiny. Meta also defeated the FTC’s antitrust claims in a historic win. Leveraging his ringside testifying experiences in these high-stakes global litigation matters, Prof. Ghose will dissect these landmark antitrust and privacy cases to showcase the real world impact academics can have. The talk will also include a discussion on potential antitrust trust issues emerging in the AI ecosystem.

Bio:

Anindya Ghose is the Heinz Riehl Chair Professor of Technology and Marketing at New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business, where he holds a joint appointment in the TOPS and Marketing departments. He is the author of TAP: Unlocking The Mobile Economy (MIT Press), a double winner of the 2018 Axiom Business Book Awards, translated into five languages (Korean, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Japanese, and Taiwanese). His second book, THRIVE: Maximizing Well-Being in the Age of AI, is the Gold Medal winner of the 2025 Axiom Business Book Awards and has been translated into Mandarin and Korean. His rise from assistant to full professor in 8.5 years at NYU Stern is widely regarded as one of the fastest in the history of several disciplines in business schools globally.