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US move to ban TikTok a troubling signal for our great experiment in self-determination
As a part of a foreign aid funding package, the Senate passed a bill mandating TikTok’s divestiture from Chinese-based parent company, ByteDance. Biden…
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Off-the-rails FTC wrong answer for keeping kids safe online
This week the Washington Post reported that the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) is poised to pass the Senate, but faces hurdles in…
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Silver lining? New federal merger guidelines: 11 bad ideas instead of 13!
Today the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) jointly issued their final version of the 2023 Merger Guidelines.
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Justice Department ignores consumers, boosts Bing in Google antitrust trial
The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) case accusing Google of having and unlawfully maintaining a monopoly in search is in full swing in US District…
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Lina Khan’s whole new level of economic bloodletting
The Biden administration in its Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy and, more pointedly, the Federal Trade Commission in many of…
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When the Policy is This Bad, Politics Might Be the Only Explanation
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently proposed a tech agenda as his “Digital Bill of Rights” for the state’ blessedly short 60-day legislative session. While there…
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Trust, but Verify via Congressional Oversight
Is the Federal Trade Commission’s request that Twitter hand over the names of “all journalists and other members of the media to whom” the social…
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Some Things are Just Business, Not Politics – and That’s a Good Thing
The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) was the predictable venue for Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy to portrait DirecTV’s recent decision to stop carrying the channel…
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Trust, but Verify via Congressional Oversight
Is the Federal Trade Commission’s request that Twitter hand over the names of “all journalists and other members of the media to whom” the social…
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Collusion Is Harmful and Illegal—Except When a Federal Agency Does It?
The Wall Street Journal reports today, thanks to FOIA requests by the Chamber of Commerce, that it appears the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) conspired…
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State of the Union: Heavy-Handed Tech Regulation Fails to Appeal to Many Democratic Voters
President Biden should take advantage of breaking spy balloon news to talk about that—or anything else—instead of re-upping calls for regulation aimed at big tech…
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FTC Should Not Trade Consumer Welfare for an Antitrust Crystal Ball
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The Federal Trade Commission Is in Dire Need of an Intervention
In recent years, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has become increasingly aggressive in its antitrust actions and policies. This expansion will be harmful to American…
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Gonzales v. Google: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Algorithms
Today the Supreme Court agreed to hear Gonzales v. Google, LLC, a case that evaluates how broadly the liability protection is for platforms in…
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Current Antitrust Proposals No “Laffing” Matter
A new report by Laffer Associates released today, Read ‘Em and Weep: How the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (S. 2992) and Other…
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Elon vs. the Regulators
A $43 billion sale of Twitter to Elon Musk looks more and more like a done deal. Depending on who you ask, Musk will…
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“Letter” Rip: The Justice Department Would Like More Power, Please
In its first backing of specific antirust legislation, the Justice Department (DOJ) sent a letter in support of the American Innovation and Choice…
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All Social Media Will Need to Moderate Content
Roughly a year after being booted off the most popular social media networks, former President Trump launched his own digital platform last weekend, Truth…
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Staying the Course for Liberty
At the Competitive Enterprise Institute, we focus on policy issues ranging from tech and telecommunications to energy and the environment to financial regulation and monetary…
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Don’t EARN IT
Bad policy made with good intentions still delivers poor results. That is the case with the Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies…
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Protect Consumers, Not Competitors
The Open App Markets Act (S. 2710) is the latest in a parade of antitrust legislation aimed at reining in “big tech” companies that…
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A Dangerous Antitrust Game for Microsoft and Consumers
Microsoft’s couldn’t have picked a more inauspicious day to announce its planned acquisition of gaming company, Activision Blizzard. The news came concurrently with antitrust regulators…
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The American Innovation and Choice Online Act Would Regulate Away Consumer Benefits
Perhaps Congress’ enthusiasm for ongoing government oversight of business decisions, embodied in tomorrow’s closed door markup of the American Innovation and Choice Online Act…
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In Russia, Government Tells Internet What to Say
As a general rule, if you’re on the same regulatory page as Russia, you should probably turn the page—if not set fire to it. But…
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An Option Isn’t an Option When It’s Mandatory, Even Online
Later this year, Instagram users will have the option of a chronological feed of the accounts they follow. This option is already available to…
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New York State of Mind Wrong on Social Media Regulation
Recent injunctions, in both Florida and Texas, against state-level social media laws championed by Republicans illustrate the difficulties of regulating content moderation online.
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The Platform Competition and Opportunity Act Will Harm Innovation and Competition
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Social Media in Parallel Universes
The chasm between the political discourse at yesterday’s House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing on social media platforms and the legal decision…
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Facebook Leaks Are Hardly Newsworthy
The frenzied media coverage of Facebook document leaks seems to confuse hosting disagreeable content with the platform being the cause of humanity’s ills. Worries…
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Let the Market Make Corrections and Leave the Red Tape out of It
YouTube banned anti-vaccine content on its platform, Instagram is accused of being “toxic” for its teen users, and Facebook’s Oversight Board is routinely…
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Texas May Still Be the Wild West, But Its Social Media Shouldn’t Be
The Texas legislature passed and Governor Greg Abbott recently signed into law H.B. 20, which he described as “safeguarding the freedom of speech by…
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ABA Antitrust Event with Jessica Melugin
On Monday, June 28, at 1 pm EDT, I’ll be joining the American Bar Association for an antitrust event entitled, “Big Tech in the Cross-Hairs:…
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Why Increase the Cost and Scope of Antitrust?
Widely regarded as the least controversial of the five antitrust bills introduced in the House last week, the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act would…
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Platform Competition and Opportunity Act Is An Innovation Killer That Won’t Serve Consumers
One of five antitrust bills introduced last week, The Platform Competition and Opportunity Act, would prohibit leading tech platforms from acquiring companies that are…
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ACCESS Bill Would Increase Consumer Privacy Risks and Stifle Innovation
One of five antitrust bills introduced last week, the Augmenting Compatibility and Competition by Enabling Service Switching Act (they did a lot of heavy…
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PRO-SPEECH Act Seeks to Reintroduce Problem Solved 25 Years Ago
For those generally skeptical of Congress’ ability to make good policy, the existence of Section 230 in the 1996 Communications Decency Act evokes a…
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Overboard over the Oversight Board
Yesterday’s decision by Facebook’s Oversight Board that the company was correct in restricting then-President Trump’s ability to post on January 7, 2021 and that…
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Decentralization Offers a Way out of the Social Media Content Wars
Thursday brought another politically charged installment of “a tale of two hearings” about online content moderation in the House of Representatives. Republicans scolded big…
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As California Goes on Regulation, so (Unfortunately) Goes the Nation
Last month, a federal judge upheld California’s net neutrality regulations. That led to AT&T’s announcement this week that they will no longer exempt…
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Lawmakers Should Tread Carefully When Trying to Balance Privacy with Security
It’s been said that a compromise is the art of dividing a cake in such a way that everyone believes he has the biggest…
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Those Who Forget the Antitrust Mistakes of the Past Are Bound to Repeat Them
Yesterday’s Senate antitrust hearing was broad in its discussion of reforms, but one point deserves clarification. A witness from Open Markets centered much of…
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Virginia, Famed for Its Ham, Delivers a Turkey on Privacy
The Virginia House of Delegates and Senate recently passed consumer privacy legislation, the Virginia Consumer Protection Act. The bill has elements similar to its…
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New Legislation Aims to Give More Power to Antitrust Enforcers
Today, incoming head of the Senate antitrust subcommittee, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced the Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act. The contents of…
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The Danger in Blurring the Private and Public Boundaries with Government Regulation
The recent decisions of many technology companies to remove users and customers from their platforms have deeply divided Americans. Many Americans feel censored and discriminated…
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Amazon’s Private Labels Don’t Threaten Competition
A recent Wall Street Journal article raises concerns about Amazon’s generics offerings and the online retailer’s business practices surrounding diaper sales. In evaluating…
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Facebook Antitrust Suits Disregard Consumer Welfare
Today the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 48 state attorneys general announced antitrust suits against Facebook, asserting the social media company’s acquisitions of…
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On Online Speech, Sasse Stands Alone
There was an almost total lack of skepticism of expanding government regulation of online content moderation at yesterday’s Senate hearing with the CEOs of…
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Biden Tech Policy Preview
Joe Biden has been declared the president-elect (I’m pretty sure). Here’s what a Biden administration and a (presumably) divided Congress might mean for tech issues.
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SAFE DATA Act a Risk for Consumers
Republican members of the Senate Commerce Committee recently introduced the SAFE DATA Act. While the bill includes much needed federal preemption of state privacy laws,…
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Don’t Panic Over Ad Tech
The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold an antitrust hearing on September 15 to examine Google’s 90 percent market share in online advertising. Senators who would…