ILSR Press Releases and Selected Media Coverage

New Report: Amazon’s Fees on Small Businesses Have Soared

Virgil McDill

December 1, 2021

A new report from ILSR finds that Amazon has exploited its power as a monopoly gatekeeper to impose increasingly steep fees on the independent businesses that sell on its site. Amazon now pockets a 34 percent cut of the revenue  READ MORE

ILSR's 2021 Annual Report

Jess Del Fiacco

November 29, 2021

Our 2021 annual report highlights the work we’ve done -- through on-the-ground technical assistance, in-depth research and analysis, and coalition building with grassroots organizations -- to instill racial and economic justice throughout our economy and empower local communities.   READ MORE

New Research Shows How Failed Federal Policy Has Allowed Monopoly Internet Providers to Mislead Customers

Jess Del Fiacco

November 11, 2021

A new report from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) examines Internet Service Providers’ (ISPs) transparency — or lack thereof — around the Internet service packages they offer. Shopping for Broadband: Failed Federal Policy Creates Murky Marketplace finds that locally-controlled broad  READ MORE

ILSR Joins New York Labor Unions, Small Businesses, And Community Organizations To Form New Coalition Calling for Legislation to Combat Corporate Power in NY

Virgil McDill

November 10, 2021

Today, ILSR joined labor organizations, small business owners, and community organizations to rally outside an Amazon bookstore and offices to launch a new statewide coalition, New Yorkers for a Fair Economy (NYFE), which aims to hold powerful corporations like Amazon,  READ MORE

ILSR Statement on the Introduction of the Big Tech Merger Bill in the Senate

Virgil McDill

November 5, 2021

Statement from Stacy Mitchell, Co-Director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, on the introduction of the Platform Competition and Opportunity Act of 2021, legislation that would set a high bar for acquisitions and mergers by Big Tech firms.  READ MORE

Statement from Institute for Local Self-Reliance on Antitrust Legislation Unveiled in the U.S. Senate Today  

Virgil McDill

October 14, 2021

The following statement was issued by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, in response to legislation released today in the United States Senate aimed at addressing the concentrated corporate power of the Big Tech companies.   READ MORE

Statement from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance on Today’s Reintroduction of the Bank Merger Review Modernization Act

Jess Del Fiacco

September 30, 2021

The following statement was issued by Stacy Mitchell, co-director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, in response to legislation reintroduced today by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.) that would ensure greater regulatory scrutiny of mergers in th  READ MORE

ILSR Welcomes Alvaro Bedoya's Nomination to the FTC

Virgil McDill

September 13, 2021

After President Biden nominated Alvaro Bedoya to the Federal Trade Commission, ILSR issued a statement applauding the nomination and urging Bedoya's speedy Senate confirmation.  READ MORE

Institute for Local Self-Reliance Announces New Staff Union

Virgil McDill

August 9, 2021

Leadership and staff at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance announced today that they have signed an agreement recognizing the formation of a staff union.  READ MORE

Statement: Biden Repudiates Decades of Pro-Monopoly Policies and Takes a Major Step Toward Restoring Fair Markets for Small Businesses, Farmers, and Workers

Virgil McDill

July 9, 2021

In today’s speech and executive order, President Biden forcefully rebuked the destructive antitrust framework that has allowed monopoly power to grow unchecked for more than 40 years. The order includes more than 70 specific provisions, many of which reflect ILSR’s lon  READ MORE