The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News
1. TECHNOLOGY
Social networking site MySpace prepares to expand operations into China.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Vice President for Policy Wayne Crews and Technology Analyst Peter Suderman on why U.S. tech companies shouldn’t run from investment in China:
“…the recent attack by human-rights activists and some legislators on U.S. technology firms like Google, Microsoft and Yahoo isn’t just misguided— it’s a direct threat to the spread of freedom. Ban-happy Chinese censors, not U.S. companies, should be the target of the activists’ ire.”
2. HEALTH
A presidential commission recommends that federal agencies restrict their use of Social Security numbers to help thwart identity theft.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Vice President for Policy Wayne Crews and Policy Analyst Brooke Oberwetter on the free market solutions to identity theft and data security breaches:
“Numerous high-profile cyber-attacks have spawned intense calls for government intervention into information security practices. Tired of the many online threats—including identity theft, data security breaches, and destructive viruses—the public and even some industry representatives are increasingly open to using government regulation to deal with electronic security issues.”
3. ENVIRONMENT
A new study finds that eating certain kinds of fish can lower a woman’s cancer risk.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Study author Sandy Szwarc on the unfounded worries surrounding women’s health and mercury in fish:
“With increasing urgency over the past few years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, and environmental groups have issued alarming consumer warnings about the dangers of eating fish. Allegedly, fish consumption has become dangerous due to the presence of methylmercury, an organic compound produced when certain bacteria in soil or water ingest inorganic mercury. … However, there is no evidence that the levels of methylmercury in the fish that Americans consume are cause for any health concern. In fact, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control found that all American women of childbearing age are many times below exposure levels even theorized as posing a risk of detrimental effects for either themselves or their babies.”
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FOR MORE INFORMATION
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