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, Internet taxation, 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, Forbes, Fortune, The Hill, Washington Examiner, The Washington Times, FoxNews.com, CNBC.com, various regional papers. She has been cited in The Washington Post, Politico, U.S. News and World Report and Variety, among many other publications. Ms. Melugin has appeared on Fox News, CSPAN’s Washington Journal, CNBC’s Power Lunch, and Varney & Co. on Fox Business Network. She’s been featured on NPR’s Marketplace, The David Webb Show on SiriusXM, and is regularly interviewed on terrestrial radio programs.
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
Court Rules Apple App Store Rules Do Not Violate Antitrust Laws
A federal district court today ruled that Apple’s rules regarding payments on its App Store do not violate antitrust laws. The case, brought by video…
Former FTC Policymakers Find FTC Complaint Against Illumina-GRAIL Merger Lacking in New CEI Paper
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) published a new paper today by former Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Timothy J. Muris and former director…
FTC’s Latest Antitrust Case Against Facebook a Conflict-of-Interest in Search of a Crime
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted to re-file an antitrust case against Facebook, accusing the social media company of being a monopoly and seeking to…
Blog
Texas May Still Be the Wild West, But Its Social Media Shouldn’t Be
- By: Jessica Melugin
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…
ABA Antitrust Event with Jessica Melugin
- By: 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:…
Why Increase the Cost and Scope of Antitrust?
- By: Jessica Melugin
Widely regarded as the least controversial of the five antitrust bills introduced in the House last week, the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act would…
Op-Eds/Articles
National Review
Property Rights and Infinite Cyberspace
What is the one force that can prevent the purported Big Tech villains such as Facebook and Google from being displaced as the dominant platforms? Republicans.
The Orange County Register
Conservative Social Media Platforms Can’t Succeed Without Content Moderation
- By: Jessica Melugin
The latest social media platform from the Trump team, Gettr, went from an intended safe space for conservative beliefs to a hellscape of imposter accounts, offensive memes and…
The Orlando Sentinel
If Businesses are Liable for Internet Posts, Consumers Lose
- By: Jessica Melugin
Even amid Washington gridlock, one thing almost everyone seems to agree on is that the way companies moderate online content that makes people mad, and that…
Studies
Preserving Section 230 Is Key to Maintaining the Free and Open Internet
- By: Jessica Melugin
Passed as part of the Telecommunications Decency Act of 1996, Section 230 was intended to clarify liability rules online and to encourage sites to create…
U.S. Antitrust’s Greatest Misses
- By: Jessica Melugin
Today’s advocates for expanding antitrust regulation often cite famous antitrust cases of the past to suggest that stricter antitrust enforcement can enhance consumer welfare,…
Repeal #NeverNeeded Antitrust Laws that Hinder COVID-19 Response
Big technology firms have been invaluable in easing the burden of quarantine for millions of consumers[1] and businesses.[2] Unfortunately, the Department of Justice, the Federal…
Citations
The Arkansas Democrat Gazette
Lawsuits by Trump Aimed at Sites’ Bans
- By: Jessica Melugin
The Arkansas Democrat Gazette cites Director of the Center for Technology and Innovation on Trump’s legal actions against social media platforms: Jessica Melugin, director of…
The Washington Times
Trump Announces Lawsuits Against Twitter, Facebook and Google
- By: Jessica Melugin
The Washington Times cites Director for the Center for Technology and Innovation Jessica Melugin on Trump’s legal actions against social media platforms: The free-market…
The International Business Times
US States Accuse Google of App Store Monopoly
- By: Jessica Melugin
The International Business Times cites Director of the Center for Technology and Innovation Jessica Melugin on a recent lawsuit against the Google Play Store:…