regulatory capture

First described in The Theory of Economic Regulation (1971).[1]

regulatory capture (countable and uncountable, plural regulatory captures)

1. The situation where a regulatory agency, created by government to act in the public interest, instead advances the commercial or political concerns of special interest groups that dominate the affected industry or sector.

   Coordinate term: elite capture

   • 2014, Charles Seife, “Capture”, in John Brockman, editor, What Should We Be Worried About?, Harper Collins, →ISBN, page 36:

     This process, known as “'regulatory capture,” turns regulators from watchdogs into lapdogs. You don't have to look far to see regulatory capture in action. Securities and Exchange Commission officials are often accused of ignoring warnings about fraud, stifling investigations, even helping miscreants avoid paying big fines or going to jail.

   • 2022 August 5, Jerusalem Demsas, quoting Marc Andreessen, “The Billionaire’s Dilemma”, in The Atlantic‎:

     The problem is regulatory capture. We need to want new companies to build these things, even if incumbents don’t like it, even if only to force the incumbents to build these things. And the problem is will. We need to build these things.

• iron triangle