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FCC Should Free Spectrum for 5G
5G is the future of mobile broadband. Freeing up spectrum to facilitate the use of the airwaves is more important than ever. To that…
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FCC Takes Another Step away from Net Neutrality
After 15 years of unrelenting regulation and litigation, the days of net neutrality as a live policy issue in Washington may be numbered.
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FCC Approves More Critical Mid-Band Spectrum for 5G
Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) held a meeting where the commissioners voted to adopt two orders that will make more spectrum available…
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FCC Chairman Pai Proposes More Spectrum for 5G
Yesterday, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai announced that at the agency’s upcoming September meeting, the FCC will vote on two…
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CDC’s Eviction Moratorium is Unlawful, Unconstitutional
On Friday, September 4, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an emergency order imposing a nationwide moratorium on certain residential…
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Facebook’s $5 Billion Privacy Fine Almost Certainly Too High
Facebook has faced intense criticism from lawmakers and regulators since last spring, when The Observer and The New York Times reported that data from over…
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Most of Federal Government Action Would Survive Even Strict ‘Gundy’ Analysis
The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Gundy v. United States “suggests that the way our government works will be substantially changed towards greater democratic involvement,”…
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California’s Attempt at Net Neutrality Clearly Unconstitutional
On September 30, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law SB-822, a set of regulations on Internet service providers that’s slated to go into…
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Justice Department Shouldn’t Second-Guess Shareholders in T-Mobile-Sprint Merger
T-Mobile and Sprint—the third and fourth largest mobile carriers in the United States, respectively—are in the process of merging into a single company…
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Congress Should Reform Antitrust Law with SMARTER Act
When an American company wishes to merge with or acquire another company, reaching an agreement that satisfies both firms’ owners and managers is not always…
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Congressional Review Act Wrong Way to Legislate on Net Neutrality
On Wednesday, May 16, the Senate is expected to vote on a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval that purports to undo…
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Congress Impatient for Zuckerberg Privacy Testimony
With Facebook in Congress’s crosshairs, America’s leading Internet companies—sometimes known as “big tech”—arguably face a greater risk of regulation than at any time in their…
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A Highly-Skilled Opportunity for Trump on Immigration
If the president wants to make America great again, he should call for an expansion of high-skilled immigration to improve the competitiveness of U.S. companies,…
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Tech Crystal Ball 2018
Expert predictions on top tech issues for the new year.
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Disney and Fox Merger Will Boost Competition; That’s Good for Everyone
The Walt Disney Company has come to an agreement to buy most of 21st Century Fox’s assets for $52.4 billion, but before the deal…
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Remove Barriers to Broadband Deployment to Help Consumers
The government should unleash the forces of market discipline in the broadband sector by reducing barriers to competition.
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Net Neutrality ‘Day of Action’ Endorses Government Power to Suppress Free Speech
This week's net neutrality “Day of Action” seeks to defend a regulatory regime that ultimately facilities the suppression of free speech by a federal agency:…
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Feds Back Down After Seeking to Unmask ‘Rogue’ Agency Twitter Account
Hopefully this saga marks the end of this administration’s efforts to unconstitutionally unmask anonymous critics.
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A New Approach to Allocating Broadcast Spectrum
More technology that uses the internet means demand on the spectrum can quickly outpace supply. Luckily, private markets have a solution.
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FTC Launches Economic Liberty Task Force to Fight Overregulation
Federal agencies have a well-deserved reputation for issuing regulations, publishing guidance documents, and bringing enforcement actions against American businesses. But when the stars align, agencies…
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Six Reasons FCC Rules Are Not Needed to Protect Privacy
The Competitive Enterprise Institute has been long been skeptical of the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) approach to regulating how Internet service providers (ISPs) use subscriber…
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Broadband Privacy Regulations Need to Be Revised by FCC or Repealed by Congress
The Federal Communications Commission does not have the authority to rewrite the Wiretap Act to suit its policy preferences.
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Restraint, Humility Needed at Federal Trade Commission
As President Trump evaluates candidates to chair the Federal Trade Commission, he should look for a person who appreciates the importance of letting markets evolve…
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FCC Could Move Soon on Long-Delayed CEI Cable Merger Petition
Chairman Ajit Pai has signaled that the FCC may revise conditions on the Charter cable merge, hopefully granting a long-delayed CEI petition in the process.
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AT&T-Time Warner Deal Highlights Need for FCC Reform
Interference by Democratic senators in the merger of AT&T and Time Warner is a reminder of the need to reform the FCC’s authority to regulate…
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Public Interest Groups Urge Update of Email Privacy Protections
This week, CEI joined dozens of public interest groups, trade associations, and companies in sending a letter to Congress in support of the…
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Minimum Prices Have Consumer Benefits: Contact Lens Case Study
Allowing competing manufacturers to decide for themselves how to influence how their products are sold at retail is the best way to promote innovation and,…
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New Congress Needs to Modernize Tech Policy
With respect to tech and telecom, lawmakers should avoid imposing new mandates and prohibitions in response to new technologies that might seem threatening, absent exceptional…
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How Should the President-elect Uphold the Rule of Law?
Under the Obama administration, executive branch departments and independent agencies issued numerous regulations and guidance documents that should be withdrawn or reversed through rulemaking.
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Facebook Makes the Case for “Free Basics” Internet Access
Facebook is lobbying the White House for the government’s blessing to offer its “Free Basics” service in the United States, according to a story reported…
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Federal Communications Commission Delays Vote on Cable Box Rules
How would the proposed rules change cable set-top boxes?…
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Senators Examine Internet Naming Authority
This morning, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights and Federal Courts will hold a hearing entitled “Protecting Internet Freedom: Implications…
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Worst Procedural Abuses of the Obama Era: Net Neutrality
Under the federal Administrative Procedure Act (APA), before an agency may issue a new rule, it must usually publish a notice of proposed rulemaking in…
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Congress Must Rein in FCC on Net Neutrality
Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the FCC’s 2015 “Open Internet Order” in US Telecom Association v. FCC.
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Court Will Soon Decide Fate of FCC’s Ill-Conceived Internet Regulations
Any day now, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit is expected to release its decision in U.S. Telecom Association v. FCC.
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CEI Asks Court to Sanction U.S. Virgin Islands AG for Baseless, Retaliatory Subpoena
On Monday, U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Claude Walker agreed to revoke a subpoena he obtained from the D.C. Superior Court last month,…
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Facebook’s Alleged “Curation” of Conservative News Isn’t the Government’s Business
Facebook is under fire for allegedly manipulating its “Trending Topics” section to reduce the visibility of conservative topics and stories about the social media platform,…
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FCC’s Cable Box Mandate: Costly, Illegal, and Unnecessary
Regulators at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) want to dictate how cable and satellite television providers design their so-called “set-top boxes”—a fancy term for…
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Congress Must Pass Email Privacy Act
This week, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on the Email Privacy Act (H.R. 699) sponsored by Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-Kan.). The Competitive Enterprise…
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CEI to AG Walker: Withdraw Un-American, Unlawful Subpoena or Expect a Fight
Yesterday, the Competitive Enterprise Institute responded to U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Claude Walker, who recently sent us a subpoena demanding we turn over…
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Congress Should Strip the FCC of the Power to Regulate Broadband Prices
The U.S. House of Representatives will soon vote on a bill known as the “No Rate Regulation of Broadband Internet Access Act.” Just as…
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Netflix’s Throttling Scandal: Possibly Illegal, But Not an FCC Matter
As one of the chief agitators behind the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) controversial effort to regulate Internet service providers like public utilities, Netflix has long portrayed…
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After the Incentive Auction: Reimbursing Broadcasters for Channel Relocation Costs
This month, the FCC will kick off a much-awaited incentive auction that could reshape America’s airwaves.
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FCC’s New Privacy Mandates – What’s Next, Internet Czar?
Today, the Federal Communications Commission unveiled a proposal to regulate how broadband providers may collect and use their customers’ information. If the FCC’s impending privacy…
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UnChartered Cronyism: The FCC’s Attempts to Block Cable Merger
When you hear about “crony capitalism,” what comes to mind? The Export-Import Bank? The ethanol mandate? Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? Tax credits and loan…
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CEI Joins Coalition Supporting Bill to Curb Abusive Lawsuits Targeting Free Speech
Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute joined seven other free market organizations in a coalition letter expressing our strong support for the SPEAK FREE Act, which would…
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Coalition Tells Congress to Keep the Internet Tax-Free
Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute joined 44 organizations in signing a coalition letter urging Congress to extend and make permanent the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA).
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CEI to Appeals Court: FOIA Covers Agency Officials’ Work-Related Emails Stored on Private Server
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit could soon deliver a pivotal ruling in the case of Competitive Enterprise Institute v. Office of Science…
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Why the Omnibus Shouldn’t Include Cybersecurity Legislation
Later this week, the House is slated to vote on a $1.1 trillion “omnibus” spending bill to fund the federal government through next fall. Naturally,…
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Passcode for Liberty: Why the Government Shouldn’t Restrict Encryption (Video)
Most Americans own a smartphone and use cloud computing services such as Gmail, Dropbox, and Facebook. Increasingly, we store sensitive data on our devices and…