Hadi Houalla
Hadi Houalla is a research assistant for antitrust policy at ITIF. He holds a B.A. in economics and statistics from the University of Virginia.
Research Areas
Recent Publications
Who Is the New Vestager? EU Names Teresa Ribera as Competition Commissioner
While it remains uncertain what Ribera’s tenure will bring, early signs indicate she could drag sustainability into competition policy and pursue an unacceptable double standard of pushing European firms to grow while singling out American ones for aggressive enforcement.
It’s Time for Pro-Innovation, Atlanticist European Leadership
The EU is at a strategic crossroads when it comes to techno-economic policy. As the new Commission and Parliament take office, they must choose between fidelity to the transatlantic alliance and “strategic independence,” as well as between maintaining regulatory hostility toward large tech companies and unleashing innovation in Europe.
The EU’s DMA Investigations Place Innovation Under Microscope
Across the board, the DMA is being misapplied to target benign business conduct at the expense of both EU consumers and businesses as well as American tech companies.
EU Steering in Wrong Direction With DMA Investigations
The EU Commission is charting the wrong course by investigating large American technology companies under the Digital Markets Act for competitive behavior like anti-steering rules.
What You Need to Know as the DMA Goes Live
The EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) is attempting to chip away at the alleged dominance of the so-called tech giants, but not for the better.
Turkey’s DMA Spinoff Is Another Threat to Global Innovation
Turkey’s looming digital market regulation is yet another instance of EU anti-innovation policy being exported around the world.
Corporate Giants Break the Grip of Local Monopolies
In pursuing an anti-corporate agenda, antitrust enforcers jeopardize the very companies that made local markets competitive in the first place.
Mega Firms Are More Crucial Than Ever for Innovation
Mega firms have played an increasingly important role in creating new technology over the past two decades. An antitrust paradigm that ignores this would have the perverse effect of exporting American innovation to other countries with less regulatory interference.
Big Tech’s Free Online Services Aren’t Costing Consumers Their Privacy
There is no evidence that breaking up big online platforms will improve digital privacy, but there is overwhelming evidence that breaking up these services or restricting them from collecting user data will harm consumers and workers.
The UK’s Latest Antitrust Grab Could Be the Final Blow for Its Tech Sector
If enacted, the UK’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill could ruin the UK’s ability to compete with other leading tech sectors.
The Great Revealing: Taking Competition in America and Europe Seriously
With its provocative claim that America now has less economic competition than the EU, Thomas Philippon’s book The Great Reversal has become a bible for neo-Brandeisians. But reports of the death of competition in America are highly exaggerated: While U.S. antitrust remains effective, EU competition policy has failed to stimulate innovation, productivity, or growth.
Concentrated Markets Are More Productive
Strengthening antitrust laws purely based on a big-is-bad ethos will not benefit consumers and, in many circumstances, will impede the most effective businesses from expanding.