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Rory Van Loo

@vanloo.bsky.social
7.9K followers 378 following 22 posts

Law professor at Boston University focused on digital technologies, consumers, markets, and regulation. Previously consulted at McKinsey after law school, made sandwiches in Paris during college, and sold newspaper subscriptions door-to-door in 5th grade.

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Reposted by Rory Van Loo
Boston University School of Law @bulaw.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
#BULawProf @vanloo.bsky.social discusses the use of AI shopping agents to combat manipulative advertising. “The frontier battle is going to be between these AI agents and the sellers who are going to try to undermine them,” he says. Read more ➡️ spr.ly/63321CUx9B
spr.ly
AI, E-Commerce Test Limits of the Reasonable Consumer Standard
The rise of e-commerce and data-driven digital advertising is chipping away at the reasonable consumer standard, a foundational legal concept historically used to determine whether business practices are deceptive, consumer law professionals warn.
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Reposted by Rory Van Loo
Mark Lemley @marklemley.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
My paper with @vanloo.bsky.social and @lanemiles.bsky.social showing that more than 15% of US companies have potentially illegal interlocking board members is now published in the Columbia Law Review columbialawreview.org/content/anti...
columbialawreview.org
ANTICOMPETITIVE DIRECTORS - Columbia Law Review
“The practice of interlocking directorates is the root of many evils. It offends laws human and divine.” — Justice Louis Brandeis. Introduction Antitrust law prohibits competing corporations from shar...
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Rory Van Loo @vanloo.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Link to book: global.oup.com/academic/pro...
global.oup.com
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Rory Van Loo @vanloo.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Glad to join @jessicasilbey.bsky.social and Woody Hartzog in discussing @rcalo.bsky.social's important new Law & Technology book. Insightful comments, great company, and lots of laughter.
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Reposted by Rory Van Loo
Mark Lemley @marklemley.bsky.social · 29/08/2025
Lane Miles, @vanloo.bsky.social, and I have a new blog post in the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance Overlapping Directors as a Competition Problem, corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2025/08/29/o...
corpgov.law.harvard.edu
Overlapping Directors as a Competition Problem
Antitrust law prohibits competing corporations from sharing board members—called “interlocking directorates”—and has for more than a century. ...
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Reposted by Rory Van Loo
Mark Lemley @marklemley.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
My newest empirical study, with Rory Van Loo and Lane Miles, finds that more than 10% of companies in the US share board members with a direct competitor, a per se violation of the antitrust laws papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com
ANTICOMPETITIVE DIRECTORS
In search of answers for declining competition, antitrust scholars have in recent years devoted considerable attention to a few institutional owners—such as Bla
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Reposted by Rory Van Loo
Boston University School of Law @bulaw.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
Watch #BULawProf @vanloo.bsky.social testify before the US Senate Committee on the Judiciary today during the "Big Fixes for Big Tech" hearing. Prof. Van Loo will speak before the subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights. ➡️ www.judiciary.senate.gov/committee-ac...
judiciary.senate.gov
Big Fixes for Big Tech | United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
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Reposted by Rory Van Loo
Cori Crider @coricrider.com · 01/04/2025
Big week for Big Tech antitrust. TODAY, Senate hearing - w @kint.bsky.social, @vanloo.bsky.social, + more - on break 'em up: www.judiciary.senate.gov/committee-ac... Weds @ycombinator.com.web.brid.gy's Little Tech fest w/ @teresaribera.ec.europa.eu + US enforcers: www.linkedin.com/posts/luther...
judiciary.senate.gov
Big Fixes for Big Tech | United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
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Rory Van Loo @vanloo.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
I’m looking forward to testifying tomorrow in the Senate! www.judiciary.senate.gov/committee-ac...
judiciary.senate.gov
Big Fixes for Big Tech | United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
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Reposted by Rory Van Loo
UChicago Law Review @uchilrev.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
Volume 92.2 is now live, featuring pieces by @bdgesq.bsky.social & Aziz Huq; Jonathan Gould & @vanloo.bsky.social; Kathryn Judge & Lev Menand; @stomarova.bsky.social & Brian Richardson; Christina Parajon Skinner; Yesha Yadav & Joshua Younger; and David Zaring. lawreview.uchicago.edu
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Reposted by Rory Van Loo
UChicago Law Review @uchilrev.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
Jonathan Gould and @vanloo.bsky.social discuss Congress’s capacity to confront future threats. Noting that the playing field is tilted against Congress taking action, they propose mechanisms that Congress should utilize to regulate the risk of major crises when it has the opportunity.
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Reposted by Rory Van Loo
Boston University School of Law @bulaw.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
#BULaw is proud to be tied at #5 for law schools with the highest number of Top 100 Legal Scholars of 2024, with #BULawProf @vanloo.bsky.social at #14, Scott Hirst at #20, and @hartzog.bsky.social at #48. Learn more ➡️ papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
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Rory Van Loo @vanloo.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
CC @tesswilkry.bsky.social @hoffprof.bsky.social @danielschwarcz.bsky.social
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Rory Van Loo @vanloo.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com
RSVP: Symposium on the First Restatement of Consumer Contracts
Join the Harvard Business Law Review, the American Law Institute, and the HLS Program on the Foundation of Private Law on Saturday, January 25th, 2025 at Harvard Law School to hear experts from around...
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Rory Van Loo @vanloo.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
Should be a fun conference tomorrow at Harvard on the state of consumer contract law:
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Rory Van Loo @vanloo.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
I interpret your post to mean that if the conference participants I call on give valuable feedback, I get some credit for improving your paper. Seems reasonable.
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Rory Van Loo @vanloo.bsky.social · 30/12/2024
True story. I finished well over 500 distinct books this year outside of work. Here’s how. 1. Made regular trips to the public library to fill my backpack after a quick glance, sometimes with awesome librarian help. 2. Read a few each night to my 5-year-old daughter. Happy new year!
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Rory Van Loo @vanloo.bsky.social · 17/12/2024
A warm Bluesky welcome to Chinmayi Sharma (@chinmayisharma.bsky.social), who is doing interesting and valuable research on trustworthy AI and other tech law topics.
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Rory Van Loo @vanloo.bsky.social · 13/12/2024
Yes, reducing unwanted marketing emails should be bipartisan--like stopping robocalls.
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Reposted by Rory Van Loo
Denise Howell @denisehowell.info · 13/12/2024
It would be nice on the policy front if Congress/the FTC prevented vendors from harvesting/subscribing customers to marketing emails simply because they’ve made a purchase. Yes, I aggressively use a decoy email for retail. They worm their way into the main acct anyway (through Apple Pay, etc).
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Reposted by Rory Van Loo
Dru Stevenson @drustevenson.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
go.bsky.app/AMzLXXk
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Rory Van Loo @vanloo.bsky.social · 03/01/2024
Many thanks to the Southern California Law Review editors for being so fantastic to work with on this, my RAs for the excellent research, and all those who provided feedback, especially Yair Listokin with whom I'll have a follow up article soon.
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Rory Van Loo @vanloo.bsky.social · 03/01/2024
Delighted to see my inflation article up. It asks whether we should rely so heavily on Fed interest rate hikes, which risks great sacrifice. Another option is to first fight as much inflation as possible through policies that strengthen the economy. southerncalifornialawreview.com/2023/12/27/i...
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Rory Van Loo @vanloo.bsky.social · 29/12/2023
In a heartbreaking year, some bore a heavier burden. I was inspired by those deeply connected to tragic world events who still somehow continued to function, be kind, and give to others. One of my hopes for the coming year is that the world gives them more back.
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Rory Van Loo @vanloo.bsky.social · 20/12/2023
Applying consumer protection laws "more systematically to Amazon’s price manipulation would make antitrust the least of Amazon’s legal concerns."
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Rory Van Loo @vanloo.bsky.social · 20/12/2023
"Amazon regularly buries the lowest-price, high-quality items in lower search results. Consumers choosing the first item, as almost half of all regular customers do, may pay nearly a third more than they would on a lower-priced item with equal ratings." (ssrn.com/abstract=443...)
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Rory Van Loo @vanloo.bsky.social · 20/12/2023
A few excerpts: Even if the recent antitrust lawsuit is successful, like most companies, from auto dealers to banks, without monopoly power Amazon could still employ an arsenal of tactics that exploit human psychology to steer consumers toward higher-priced items.
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Rory Van Loo @vanloo.bsky.social · 20/12/2023
Excited to share something I co-wrote in the Chicago Tribune, reporting findings suggesting that Amazon buries the best deals low in search results. (w/ Nikita Aggarwal) www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/comm...
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Rory Van Loo @vanloo.bsky.social · 16/11/2023
A warm welcome to my tech colleague and friend Ngozi Okidegbe, who just joined Bluesky! @ngoziokidegbe.bsky.social www.bu.edu/law/profile/...
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Rory Van Loo @vanloo.bsky.social · 11/11/2023
Hooray! Super easy case of course.
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Rory Van Loo @vanloo.bsky.social · 09/11/2023
The biggest accomplishment of my academic year so far: doing my daughter’s (and my) first ballet bun. When I asked the teacher who requested it if she had any feedback: “(Pause) Well, it lasted the whole practice…I really appreciate the effort.”
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Rory Van Loo @vanloo.bsky.social · 27/09/2023
Thanks, Luke, for sending along!
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Rory Van Loo @vanloo.bsky.social · 27/09/2023
We’ve posted the updated “Amazon’s Pricing Paradox.” It examines how Amazon’s search algorithm and interface design influence prices. It’s relevant to the recent FTC antitrust case but adds another layer. Comments welcome! ssrn.com/abstract=443... @nikitaggarwal
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