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Issues in the News

1. TECHNOLOGY

AT&T launches a new Internet TV service.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Vice President Wayne Crews on the need for regulatory reform to speed the deployment of TV content online:

“Nearly a decade has passed since Congress addressed significant telecommunications reform, and in that time technology has grown by leaps and bounds. It is essential that Congress allow a free and competitive market in which new technologies can flourish.”

2. BUSINESS

Former HealthSouth CFO Mike Martin is sentenced to 3 years in prison over corporate fraud.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Economic Policy Fellow John Berlau on the impact of recent corporate finance scandals:

“Because the Enron bankruptcy and Enron shenanigans occurred before Sarbanes-Oxley was passed, the government had to convict Lay and Skilling with preexisting law. It was successful. But it was unsuccessful in getting a conviction for Richard Scrushy of HealthSouth, even with the new crimes and penalties in Sarbanes-Oxley. The Enron and WorldCom convictions show that the law before Sarbanes-Oxley was more than adequate go after corporate fraud.”

3. PRIVACY

The University of Minnesota notifies 13,000 students of a data privacy breach resulting from the theft of two laptop computers.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Director of Technology Studies Wayne Crews and Policy Analyst Brooke Oberwetter on how private industry can protect data better than government mandates: 

“Government solutions tend to dis-incentivize honesty and cooperation among industry players in the long term, leading to even greater problems of imperfect information.  Intervention can also interfere with prices, meaning a less efficient allocation of resources.  In addition to economic inefficiency, regulations can define industry standards down and reduce innovations in the field of cybersecurity, leading to lower levels of security than we have now.” 

Blog feature: For more news and analysis, updated throughout the day, visit CEI Open Market.

Watch the latest video episode from the Bureaucrash Activist Network: Vodcrash #3.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

To contact a CEI expert for comment or interviews, please call the CEI communications department at 202-331-2273 or email to [email protected].