Study
Repeal #NeverNeeded Antitrust Laws that Hinder COVID-19 Response
Big technology firms have been invaluable in easing the burden of quarantine for millions of consumers[1] and businesses.[2] Unfortunately, the Department of Justice, the Federal…
News Release
Antitrust Investigations against Tech Threaten to Hamper Pandemic Response and Recovery
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) released a new report today arguing that large technology companies are making invaluable contributions to our quality of life…
Products
Repeal #NeverNeeded Antitrust Laws that Hinder COVID-19 Response
View Full Document as PDF Big technology firms have been invaluable in easing the burden of quarantine for millions of consumers…
News Release
New CEI Report Finds Bipartisan Embrace of Harmful, Interventionist Tech Policies
Neither major political party holds a monopoly on bad ideas when it comes to federal policy towards the technology sector, according to a…
Study
Terrible Tech 2.0
View Full Document as PDF Executive Summary If you are looking for bipartisanship in Washington, D.C., the technology policy sector may be your…
The Bulwark
Taking Up Trump’s Sec. 230 Petition Would Be a Mistake
News Release
House Hearing with Big Tech Companies Unwarranted on Antitrust Grounds
The Subcommittee on Antitrust, Administrative and Commercial Law of the House Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing Wednesday noon on ““Online Platforms and Market Power,…
Inside Sources
Government Contact Tracing Won’t Help Get Americans Back to Work, but Innovation Will
Contact tracing identifies people who have an infectious disease (cases) and people they came in contact with (contacts) who may have become infected.
Blog
How Narrowly Are We Going to Define Markets for Tech Antitrust?
One of the key points of contention in any antitrust analysis is defining the scope of the market in question. Ignoring existing competitors by narrowing…
News Release
Repeal #NeverNeeded Regulations Hindering Use of Tech at Home During Deadly Pandemic
The COVID-19 crisis has severely tested individuals and businesses, making access to technologies and services that enabled large swaths of the American economy to move…
Study
Repeal of #NeverNeeded Regulations Can Help People Stay Home and Safe During the COVID-19 Crisis
As individuals and businesses continue to address the COVID-19 health crisis, access to technologies and services that have enabled large swaths of the economy to…
Blog
A Bright Spot for Tech on USMCA Day
Today the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement goes into effect. Despite its many flaws, it contains a beneficial provision related to the tech sector. The language of…
Blog
A Cellular Network or a Jobs Program? Sprint/T-Mobile Critics Launch Misguided Attacks
The recently-approved Sprint/T-Mobile merger is already coming under fire after layoffs were announced. But even the harshest critics begrudgingly acknowledge that the jobs being eliminated…
News Release
CEI Opposes EARN IT Act
The Senate Judiciary Committee today will mark up S. 3398, the EARN IT Act, a bill that would condition Section 230 protections for tech companies…
Blog
The Flawed EARN IT Act: Rights and Common Sense Should Not Have to Be Earned
The EARN IT Act is set for a markup in the Senate Judiciary Committee as early as this Thursday. Essentially the bill conditions intermediary liability…
Blog
House Judiciary Setting up Political Theater Disguised as Tech Antitrust Hearing
Sometime next month, the House Judiciary Committee is expected to hold a hearing on competition and antitrust featuring the CEOs of Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple,…
The Bulwark
The GOP Section 230 Strategy Will Benefit Trump and Only Trump
By now most people will have seen various Republican politicians, including President Trump, lash out at tech giants in one way or another. The attacks…
Breitbart
Online Divisions: Twitter, Facebook Diverge on Trump’s Words
Breitbart cites Research Fellow Patrick Hedger on President Trump and social media censorship: “It’s really a no-win scenario’’’ for social media companies, said…
The New York Times
Trump’s Order on Social Media Could Harm One Person in Particular: Donald Trump
The New York Times cites Research Fellow Patrick Hedger on President Trump’s executive order on social media: “Conservatives must appreciate the fact that…
Bloomberg Law
Charter Fights FCC Subsidies in Upstate New York Broadband Push
Bloomberg Law cites Research Fellow Patrick Hedger on FCC subsidies: Patrick Hedger, a research fellow for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said Charter likely…
News Release
Executive Order Compelling Private, Online Platforms to Host Speech is Unconstitutional
President Trump today announced his intention to sign an Executive Order aimed at compelling companies that own private online platforms to host speech against their…
Blog
Glaring Problems with Latest Right-Wing Attack on Section 230
A recent opinion editorial in Newsweek is the latest salvo from the political right against Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Couched in criticisms…
Blog
Let Local News Outlets Bail Each Other Out
Allowing common ownership of newspapers and broadcast stations would allow them to achieve economies of scale in their sales departments and other keys aspects of…
The Washington Examiner
Contact Tracing: Let the Private Sector Lead
As state and local restrictions begin to relax, the essential questions for many people are remarkably similar to what we asked in March. What will…
Washington Examiner
Contact tracing: Let the private sector lead
Blog
Decades of Internet Freedom Left America Better Suited for the Pandemic
Broadband investment has rebounded since the FCC rolled back public utility-style rules for Internet service providers. The decades-long trend of more significant Internet usage, enabled…
Blog
CEI Submits Comments to FCC Reinforcing Public Safety Benefits of Internet Freedom
Last year, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld virtually all of the FCC's Restoring Internet Freedom Order. This order, issued in 2017, rolled back…
News Release
CEI Praises FCC Decision to Open Up Spectrum for Business Use
In an effort to make efficient and effective use of the nation’s spectrum resources, today the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced it will move forward…
Blog
Apple and Google Demonstrate Big Tech Done Right Can Make Big Government Obsolete
Many see the purpose of government as solving problems that otherwise wouldn’t be efficiently addressed in its absence. Yet, despite the steady growth of government,…
Blog
Don’t Combine COVID-19 Treatments of Government Spending and Internet
Government spending is ramping up in the face of the COVID-19 crisis. A significant chunk of the economy has shifted to telecommuting. There are now…
Blog
Potential Phase 4 COVID-19 Bill Must Not Turn Broadband Charity into a Tax
As the COVID-19 crisis ransacks our economy, the old adage “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” carries increasingly important wisdom. By any objective account,…
Blog
Gingrich Praise of Huawei is Dangerously Misguided
After attempting to cover up the spread of the novel coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chinese Communist Party is now engaged in a…
News Release
CEI Experts Blast Attempts to Politicize COVID-19 Relief Bill
While the nation suffers, Washington has descended into an unseemly squabble over the latest COVID-19 relief bill. Politicians from all quarters are attempting to expand…
Blog
CEI Comments to FCC on Proposed Reallocation of 5.9 GHz Band
On March 9, CEI submitted comments to the FCC on its proposal to reallocate a portion of the 5.9 GHz band from Intelligent Transportation Systems…
Comment
CEI Comments on 5.9 to FCC
On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (“CEI”), we respectfully submit these comments in response to the Federal Communications Commission’s (“Commission”) Notice…
Blog
Regulatory Hurdles Already Impeding Competition to Big Tech
Calls to regulate “big tech” firms continue to grow louder. Concerns range from the ability of these firms to influence the political landscape to allegations…
Blog
Net Reality: Five Years Since the Open Internet Order
If you’re reading this, the Internet is alive and well. If you’re wondering how the Internet is doing, just picture a rocket—symbolizing both the incredible…
Blog
So-Called Conservative Tech Proposal Is an Affront to the First Amendment
Several conservative groups have signaled their support for what some are calling a “small-government solution” to perceived anti-conservative bias by tech platforms. The solution that…
Blog
FCC to Vote on Crucial Spectrum Auction this Month
At the FCC open meeting on February 28, the commissioners will vote on a critical matter regarding a proposed public auction for what is known…
News Release
New Sen. Hawley FTC Proposal Would Empower Government
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) today released a new proposal to “overhaul” the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), claiming the agency “lacks teeth.”…
News Release
DC Court of Appeals Declines to Reconsider So-Called Net Neutrality
WASHINGTON, DC -- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia declined to reconsider a decision by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to…
Blog
FCC Offers New, Promising Approach on TV White Spaces
Today, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced a new proposal on the use of television white spaces, unallocated bands or allocated and unused bands of spectrum…
Blog
Trump Administration Expected to Adopt Socialized Medicine Drug Pricing Control Scheme
Regardless of the outcome of the Iowa Caucuses on Monday night, the successive presidential campaigns of Democratic Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) have dragged the…
Fox News
Pelosi, Progressive Caucus Clash over Drug Pricing Legislation
Fox News cites Research Fellow Patrick Hedger on Nancy Pelosi’s proposed “Lower Drug Costs Now Act.” But according to the right-leaning Competitive Enterprise…
C-Span
VIDEO: Patrick Hedger Discusses Efforts to Regulate “Big Tech”
Research Fellow Patrick Hedger joins C-Span to discuss efforts to regulate “big tech” companies.
Blog
USMCA Won’t Protect Tech from Trudeau
A point of contention in the debate over the new U.S., Mexico, Canada (USMCA) trade agreement has been whether or not the final deal will…
News Release
House Bill Setting Price Controls on Medicines Would Endanger Patients, Harm Innovation
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer plan to bring H.R. 3, the Lower Drug Costs Now Act, to the floor for a…
Blog
Attorneys General Shouldn’t Hold Mergers Hostage
Last week the attorneys general of Texas and Nevada announced the withdrawal of their support of a multistate lawsuit to block the merger of cellular telephone…
Citation
VIDEO: The Impact of Prescription Drug Price Controls: An International Policy and Patient Perspective
To address the cost of prescription medicines, the Trump administration and congressional leaders have proposed instituting international reference pricing policies, like the International Pricing Index…
News Release
CEI Praises FCC for Breaking Impasse on 5.9 GHz Spectrum Band
Today, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the 5.9 GHz band of spectrum. For the last…