The Open Market Blog

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/11/2008

The libertarian CEO of Whole Foods, John Mackey, called out Bill Gates in a speech on the virtues of capitalism. Gates’ view is that…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/11/2008

Get ready for a horrible new net neutrality precedent. Chairman Martin has publicly stated that he wants the FCC to rule against Comcast in…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/10/2008

Ars reports that Verizon has just settled a case claiming that the company violated California law by imposing early termination fees on the customers…

• By: Ryan Young
• 07/10/2008

Dairy farmers in the EU are upset that milk prices are lower than they prefer. Production quotas were raised by two percent in…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/10/2008

Last month, I posted about the rollout of Europe’s first WiMax network in Amsterdam. Just after my post, Sprint announced that it will…

• By: Hans Bader
• 07/10/2008

The mortgage bailout bill sailing through Congress gets weirder and weirder.  It turns out that in order to circumvent the Constitution, which says that tax…

• By: Hans Bader
• 07/10/2008

Ted Frank explains in the Wall Street Journal just how feeble courts are at reining in excessive punitive damages awards, contrary to what…

• By: Hans Bader
• 07/10/2008

The Virginia House of Delegates rejected a Democratic plan to raise several taxes to pay for transportion.  The proposal was the same as one earlier…

• By: Hans Bader
• 07/09/2008

The Religious Left and liberal groups are currently defending the “Red Lion” doctrine, under which judges allow the government to restrict speech on the radio because of the…

• By: Hans Bader
• 07/09/2008

The Senate has passed the FISA reform bill by a 69-to-28 vote, providing the phone companies with immunity from the multibillion dollar lawsuits against them…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/09/2008

Ars reports on the hysteria surrounding rising prices of some precious metals needed for electronics. The notion is that we’re quickly running out…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/09/2008

I reported earlier about the FCC’s attempt to end local franchising, since such arrangements have been stifling cable competition for years. Now, a…

• By: Fran Smith
• 07/09/2008

Well, it’s about time. According to Reuters, the progressive Democratic Leadership Council today called upon the next president to focus on the multilateral trading…

• By: Hans Bader
• 07/09/2008

ACORN is a radical left-wing group with ties to liberal politicians that will receive taxpayer subsidies through the Congressional mortgage bailout legislation nearing passage.  (Bush has expressed…

• By: Hans Bader
• 07/09/2008

Congress is poised to enact the ADA Restoration Act.  That law is based on the unfounded notion that the federal courts have too narrowly interpreted…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/09/2008

Public Knowledge just dug up some dirt on Comcast. Comcast has been fighting charges of violating net neutrality principles at the FCC by claiming…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/09/2008

My colleague Ryan Radia has a great post at the Technology Liberation Front about the Google-Viacom suit. Ryan points out that the discovery…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/09/2008

I reported earlier on the FCC’s plan to nationalize the failures of all municipal wireless projects by auctioning off a big block of spectrum…

• By: Hans Bader
• 07/08/2008

Even longtime ACLU leader Morton Halperin is endorsing the FISA bill, which authorizes and regulates federal antiterror surveillance programs.  Halperin says that the “bill…

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 07/08/2008

The UK National Children’s Bureau recently issued a 366-page guide on how to spot and discourage racist behavior in children. Three-hundred and sixty-six pages…

• By: Hans Bader
• 07/08/2008

Congressional mortgage bailout legislation would create a costly “affordable housing trust” that would spawn new slums at taxpayer expense, and enrich the politically-connected developers…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/08/2008

Apparently, the FISA bill is much worse than many commentators have made it seem. The bill goes way beyond telecom immunity. As Ars…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/08/2008

Tech news source ArsTechnica reported last night that more than 200 civil rights groups are panicking about the transition to digital TV and asking…

• By: Hans Bader
• 07/07/2008

Since ethanol mandates cause deforestation and skyrocketing food prices, the European Union is now reconsidering its biofuel mandates.  Ethanol subsidies have many bad effects. …

• By: Hans Bader
• 07/07/2008

Washington, D.C. recently tried to put cheap private buses out of business, by preventing them from picking up passengers anywhere but the inconvenient, forbidding location…

• By: Hans Bader
• 07/07/2008

An “excess profits” tax on oil companies — which liberal Congressional leaders support — may well harm you by taking money out of your retirement fund,…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/07/2008

Google decided to give into demands from California legislators and post a link to its privacy center on its homepage. Jim Harper…

• By: Doug Bandow
• 07/07/2008

A British hospital says no.  But a suspicious number of foreign liver transplants have been done at one hospital.  Reports the BBC:…

• By: Hans Bader
• 07/06/2008

A global food crisis has resulted in skyrocketing food prices, riots, and starvation in many poor countries like Afghanistan, Haiti, Egypt, and…

• By: Doug Bandow
• 07/05/2008

It’s long been obvious that you don’t want to get cancer in Great Britain.  (Obviously, you don’t want to get it anywhere, but especially in…

• By: Hans Bader
• 07/04/2008

The Washington Post cites Colombia’s dramatic rescue of American hostages to endorse passage of the free trade agreement between Colombia and the U.S.   (The…

• By: Hans Bader
• 07/04/2008

Researchers are discovering that Vitamin D cuts deaths from a host of illnesses.  Exposure to the sun provides crucial Vitamin D, especially for lactose-intolerant people.  Yet…

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 07/03/2008

The story of the Colombian army’s daring, flawlessly executed, rescue of hostages held by the FARC terrorist group has an interesting detail: The stunning…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/03/2008

Today, a bunch of telcos got together to form a consortium to create standards for developing mobile-friendly websites – an important task as more…

• By: Hans Bader
• 07/03/2008

Fairfax County, Virginia, is going to spend millions of taxpayer dollars to try to prop up the housing bubble a little longer.  They’re planning to buy…

• By: Hans Bader
• 07/03/2008

A law called NEPA requires costly and expensive environmental assessments before the government does a lot of things — even if what the government is…

• By: Fran Smith
• 07/03/2008

The Financial Times noted today that the OECD’s recently released report on employment prospects in the developed world showed an uptick in unemployment…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/03/2008

The ACLU and EFF are filing a Freedom of Information Act request to find out how the government decides when to use…

• By: Hans Bader
• 07/03/2008

The Washington Examiner argues that recent proposals to increase federal tax rates to 55 percent on households making over $250,000 per year would result…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/03/2008

On the heels of a report showing the odd, politically-driven fluctuations in indecency complaints submitted to the FCC, two advocacy groups are claiming…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/02/2008

What is it with delayed mergers and agreements today? I just reported about the DoJ beginning its investigation of Google-Yahoo. Now, Ars reports…

• By: Hans Bader
• 07/02/2008

A New York appellate court has ruled that former state attorney general Eliot Spitzer lacked the authority to challenge the huge pay package of…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/02/2008

The Justice Department has begun an investigation of the Google-Yahoo advertising deal. What exactly the DoJ will do to the deal is as yet…

• By: Fran Smith
• 07/02/2008

Senator John McCain, the Republicans’ presumptive presidential candidate, continued his strong support for free trade with a visit to Colombia and discussions with…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/02/2008

The Copyright Office just released a report asking Congress to end the practice of forcing broadcast TV stations to give their signals to cable…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/01/2008

Valentine v. Chrestensen was a landmark 1942 Supreme Court ruling declaring that the Constitution does not protect commercial speech. This precedent has allowed Congress…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/01/2008

The TSA is finally allowing laptop designers to make cases that can pass through TSA security with the laptop inside. With an older…

• By: Hans Bader
• 07/01/2008

The Rhode Island Supreme Court overturned a trial court ruling against paint companies sued by Rhode Island’s attorney general in a huge lead-paint lawsuit.  The companies had been found…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/01/2008

CNET reports that you may soon be able to draw a doodle to gain access to ATMs, computers, or websites. The two computer scientists…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/01/2008

The French company LVMH has won a court case against eBay holding the internet company liable for some users’ sales of fake Louis Vuitton…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/01/2008

Google has launched a partnership with Seth MacFarlane, the creator of Family Guy. MacFarlane will produce high-budget short (less than two minutes) episodes of…

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 06/30/2008

My friend Tom Palmer says that whenever he sees somebody sporting a Che Guevara t-shirt, he likes to ask the wearer, “That’s a great…

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/30/2008

This article from CNET News does a (perhaps unintentionally) brilliant job of describing the Bootleggers and Baptists forces behind California’s new law banning…

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/30/2008

Ars reports that the RIAA is lobbying the government to sneak rules mandating web filtering into the secret Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). The proposed…

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/30/2008

Wired reports that: In their eagerness to visit justice on a 49-year-old woman involved in the Megan Meier MySpace suicide tragedy, federal prosecutors in…

• By: Hans Bader
• 06/30/2008

Congress is now pushing for the creation of a taxpayer-subsidized “affordable housing trust” in mortgage bailout legislation nearing passage.  The Boston Globe has a story…

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/30/2008

Broadband Reports has news: The FCC made changes to cable franchise rules last year which prevent “local franchising authorities from unreasonably refusing to award…

• By: Hans Bader
• 06/30/2008

Taxpayer-funded AIDS subsidies are being used to subvert successful anti-AIDS programs in African countries like Uganda that succeed by instilling a politically-incorrect truth: fidelity saves lives.  That’s what Sam…

• By: Doug Bandow
• 06/29/2008

I just criticized the ditzy Europeans for banning the sale of undersize kiwifruit. But now as I go through accumulated emails I come across…

• By: Doug Bandow
• 06/29/2008

Because you’ll get treatment sooner as a dog!  Reports Macleans magazine: Dr. Danny Joffe is only half joking when he says that if he’d…

• By: Doug Bandow
• 06/28/2008

The line “I’m from the government and I’m here to help you” has long been a comic favorite. As well it should. The Daily…

• By: Doug Bandow
• 06/28/2008

The U.S. is still the largest and most productive economy, but the warning signs are there. The latest is that America is losing its lead…

• By: Doug Bandow
• 06/28/2008

All you have to do is read British publications to see what the mess otherwise called the National Health Service.  Yet the NHS is a…

• By: Doug Bandow
• 06/27/2008

American politicians are busy talking about how to socialize the U.S. health care system.  But in Canada the father of the nationalized system is prepared…

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/27/2008

Today, Bill Gates left Microsoft. As Cord Blomquist pointed out, Bill Gates has created more value for the world in his time at…

• By: Hans Bader
• 06/27/2008

Richard “Dickie” Scruggs, the crooked trial lawyer who helped orchestrate multibillion dollar settlements between the States and the big tobacco companies, was sentenced today to…

• By: Doug Bandow
• 06/27/2008

Airplanes emit greenhouse gases, so airlines–and ultimately passengers–are about to pay for the privilege of flight. Reports the New York Times: The…

• By: Doug Bandow
• 06/27/2008

You’d better close your trash bin tightly, or else.  At least if you live in England.  Reports the New York Times: But when Gareth…

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/27/2008

Ars reports that the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is giving out grants as part of its new Games for Health program. Performing modern electronic…

• By: Ryan Young
• 06/27/2008

I had the pleasure of seeing distinguished trade economist Jagdish Bhagwati speak yesterday. He is promoting his new book, Termites in the…

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/27/2008

Last week, I reported on public safety agencies holding up lots of spectrum, preventing Sprint Nextel from getting access to the company’s new electromagnetic…

• By: Hans Bader
• 06/27/2008

Yesterday, the Supreme Court struck down the District of Columbia’s gun ban in a 5-to-4 vote in District of Columbia v. Heller.  What was most…

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/27/2008

The San Jose Mercury News reports that ICANN, the internet’s main governing body, relaxed its rules to allow hundreds or thousands more domain extensions…

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/26/2008

Chrysler annouced that it will begin offering an optional wireless internet service in its vehicles for about $500, plus $29 a month. The network…

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/26/2008

The Washington Post reports on a voluntary agreement between Microsoft, Google, WebMD, the Consumers’ Union, and others regarding electronic health record privacy. Fear of…

• By: Hans Bader
• 06/26/2008

The Supreme Court voted 5-to-4 to strike down Washington, D.C.’s municipal ban on handguns, ruling that the ban violated the Second Amendment, as…

• By: Lene Johansen
• 06/26/2008

I seem to remember from statistics class that anything less than 95 percent probability is junk science. This is an editorial from the most recent…

• By: Fran Smith
• 06/26/2008

American Express will be $4 billion richer, thanks to the U.S. Department of Justice and a 2004 antitrust suit against Visa and MasterCard. According…

• By: Hans Bader
• 06/25/2008

The Wall Street Journal explains how federal and state regulations block competition with the rating agencies that fueled the mortgage crisis by giving ridiculously rosey ratings…

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/25/2008

For a while now, the UK has had a fairly extensive network of closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras recording its citizens’ movements in the…

• By: Fran Smith
• 06/25/2008

Environmentalists are ecstatic over the state of Florida’s announced purchase from United States Sugar of a vast tract of land —…

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/25/2008

Major ISP Charter Communications is indefinitely suspending its use of NebuAd, a tool that would use customers’ browsing habits to send them better-targeted…

• By: Hans Bader
• 06/25/2008

The Supreme Court today struck down Louisiana’s law allowing courts to sentence convicted child-rapists to death.  The facts of the case are horrific: the…

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/25/2008

A DC law firm just published a report claiming that the US is falling behind other countries in broadband deployment. The report, like…

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/25/2008

Ars reports that New York is very close to passing a video game law that would require video game companies to do what they’re…

• By: Hans Bader
• 06/25/2008

The Supreme Court cut, but did not eliminate, the punitive damage award against Exxon in the Exxon Valdez oil spill case, as I…

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/24/2008

Ars reports on a Congressional hearing called to address the failings of the Universal Service Fund, which is supposed to provide telephone access to…

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/24/2008

Ars reports that the FCC has today banned Verizon’s practice of trying to woo back customers who are in the process of switching their…

• By: Hans Bader
• 06/24/2008

The Senate voted by a lopsided 83-to-9 vote to expedite passage of a bloated, pork-filled mortgage bailout bill.  The president has threatened to veto it, although…

• By: Ryan Young
• 06/24/2008

Who knew bananas could be controversial? The U.S. and the EU are locked in a heated dispute over banana tariffs. Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras,…

• By: Hans Bader
• 06/24/2008

Private lenders, chastened by the mortgage crisis, have stopped issuing risky mortgage loans requiring little or no downpayment from subprime borrowers.  But the federal…

• By: Hans Bader
• 06/24/2008

NASA’s James Hansen, Al Gore’s shrill advisor, is advocating the prosecution of people in the energy industry who disagree with him about the scope, cause, or existence of global warming. …