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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…