Jessica Melugin is director of the Center for Technology & Innovation at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Her research focuses on technology issues including antitrust, online privacy, artificial intelligence, telecommunications, social media content and net neutrality regulation. Her writings have appeared in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, USA Today, Bloomberg Law, National Review and others. She has been cited in The Washington Post, Politico, U.S. News and World Report and Variety. Ms. Melugin is a frequent cable news television and radio guest.
She is an Innovators Network Antitrust and Competition Policy Fellow.
Ms. Melugin graduated magna cum laude from Claremont McKenna College, with a degree in government and art history. Her honors thesis explored the development of American antitrust law as it pertains to the Microsoft trial. She lives in Virginia’s horse country with her children.
Authored by Jessica Melugin
News
AI Executive Order preempts state regulation, promotes US competitiveness: CEI analysis
President Trump on Dec. 11 signed an executive order to preempt states from regulating artificial intelligence and establishing a federal framework focused on child…
Melugin: Preempting state-level AI regulation shouldn’t come at the expense of speech rights and parental responsibility
The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade will hold a hearing this morning on several bills related to technology,…
Google Ruling Rightly Rejects Most DOJ Demands, But Appeals Still Warranted
A federal court largely rejected DOJ efforts to break up Google, declining to spin off its Chrome browser or impose sweeping payment bans. But the…
Blog
For the sake of user privacy, keep Google search remedies narrow and germane
- By: Jessica Melugin
The movement in the Biden and Trump administrations of antitrust officials away from consumer welfare and towards a federal judiciary of active regulation is on…
A light in the darkness: Federal preemption for AI regulation
- By: Jessica Melugin
The joy of federal preemption may soon be upon us. The House Energy and Commerce Committee included a ten-year moratorium on state AI regulation…
Otherwise Objectionable episode 6: ‘The Rest of the World’
- By: Jessica Melugin
The sixth episode of Otherwise Objectionable, the narrative-driven podcast that tells the true story of Section 230 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, focuses on…
Op-Eds/Articles
Civitas Outlook
In the Long Run, the Meta Case Is Dead
- By: Jessica Melugin
It’s: Meta is not illegally monopolizing the “personal social networking” (PSN) market through its 2012 purchase of Instagram and 2014 purchase of WhatsApp. The Federal…
The Dispatch
Antitrust Law Has Never Been Static
- By: Jessica Melugin
Last week a federal judge ruled that Meta was not an illegal monopoly, citing the changes in the social media landscape since the company bought…
Civitas Institute
The First Amendment Vise
- By: Jessica Melugin
It’s been a rough ride for freedom of speech lately. The reads, “Congress shall make no law…prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of…
Studies
FTC Flunks Interim Report
Introduction The Federal Trade Commission published its interim staff report on Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) on July 9, 2024, after launching an initial inquiry in…
M&As Are A-Okay
- By: Jessica Melugin
Fretting about “killer acquisitions” and “kill zones” is common among regulators in Washington these days, but entrepreneurs and investors at work in the tech industry…
Don’t Confuse the Platform with the Train
Executive Summary Should social media companies be regulated like common carriers? To answer that question, this paper describes the functions and origins of social media…
Citations
The Daily Wire
Australia’s Novel Social Media Ban For Kids Sparks Debate As Some Platforms Get A Free Pass
- By: Jessica Melugin
The Daily Wire cited CEI’s expert on kids safety online “We haven’t really seen a plan like this be put into action,” said Jessica Melugin,…
Fox Business
Social media giants scramble to control Charlie Kirk assassination videos after Utah shooting
- By: Jessica Melugin
Fox Business cited CEI’s expert on content moderation Jessica Melugin, director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Technology and Innovation, told FOX Business…
Reason
The Justice Department’s Proposals for Breaking Up Google’s Dominance Won’t Work
- By: Jessica Melugin
Reason quoted CEI’s expert on antitrust atmosphere Jessica Melugin, director of the Center for Technology and Innovation at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, tells Reason that a…
Regulatory Comments
Reply Comments of the Competitive Enterprise Institute in Support of Charter Communications, Inc. and Cox Communications, Inc.
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) appreciates the opportunity to file reply comments on the application to transfer control of Cox Communications, Inc. (Cox) to Charter…
CEI comments on Regulatory Reform on Artificial Intelligence
RE: Request for Information: Regulatory Reform on Artificial Intelligence Docket No.: OSTP-TECH-2025-0067 The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) appreciates the opportunity to comment on the Office…
CEI comments on the Justice Department and National Economic Council’s Request for Information Regarding State Laws with Extraterritorial Economic Impacts OLP182; Docket No. DOJ-OLP-2025-0169
RE: Justice Department and National Economic Council Effort to Identify State Laws with Out-Of-State Economic Impacts OLP182; Docket No. DOJ-OLP-2025-0169 On behalf of the Competitive…
Podcast Episodes
How the World Works Podcast with Jessica Melugin
Kevin D. Williamson is joined by Jessica Melugin, director of the Center for Technology & Innovation at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. They discuss training horses,...