The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update

Issues in the News

1. BUSINESS

Competitors renew complaints about the dominance of Microsoft as the company prepares to release Windows Vista for consumers.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Vice President for Policy Clyde Wayne Crews, Jr. on how European regulators have caused difficulties for Microsoft—for no consumer benefit. 

“Antitrust actions against successful businesses, such as the European Union’s antitrust penalties against Microsoft, threaten to disrupt innovation and economic growth by substituting political management for market processes, by protecting competitors rather than competition. Americans are increasingly less confident that ‘competition policy’ and antitrust regulations yield any real advantages to consumers or producers—but that they offer many opportunities for firms to use government to cripple innovation or their competitors.”

2. HEALTH

Japan identifies an outbreak of bird flu from the H5N1 strain of the virus.

“Vaccination to prevent viral and bacterial diseases is modern medicine’s most cost-effective intervention. Vaccines to prevent the expected avian flu pandemic could save the lives of millions—if vaccine R&D were not in such a sorry state, as the result of an unfortunate confluence of biology and public policy.”

3. INTERNET

Google founders address the decision to censor search engine results to users in China, as demanded by the Chinese government.

CEI Experts Available to Comment: Vice President for Policy Wayne Crews on why U.S. tech companies should stay engaged in China: 

“Leaving China disconnected, as some suggest, would hinder developing internet infrastructure and would deny Chinese citizens access to the many useful services these companies provide. Just 110 million people out of China’s 1.4 billion now have net access; there’s still a monumental “digital divide.” Most Chinese citizens do not experience a limited or censored Internet, but no Internet at all.”