Consumers get forgotten in all the politics. The best way to protect consumers is to protect an open, competitive market process, in which companies succeed or fail based not on their political connections or ideological correctness, but on how well they serve consumers.
Antitrust regulation’s problems are structural and incurable. The Competitive Enterprise Institutes advocates abolishing antitrust law, removing remaining government monopolies, and preventing the creation of new ones.
Featured Posts
News Release
Kroger-Albertsons merger blocked by federal judge: CEI analysis
Today, a federal judge sided with the Federal Trade Commission in its lawsuit to stop a merger between Kroger and Albertsons. CEI experts weigh in…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Big tech, antitrust, and the courts with Patrick Hedger
In this week’s episode we cover the DOGE effort to reform government spending, review survey results about US transportation choices, and…
Blog
Fred Smith and the Hourglass of Market Evolution
Our much–loved CEI founder Fred L. Smith Jr. would often insist that we not refer merely to antitrust or antitrust policy, but…
Search Posts
Study
FTC’s Subscription Deception
Proposed Negative Option Rule has no opt-out from bureaucratic overreach Introduction The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a Negative* Option Rule Notice of…
Blog
House Republicans continue to grill the FTC for its overreach
The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Thursday of last week entitled “Oversight of the Federal Trade Commission.” Lines of questioning were heated…
News Release
Court dismisses meritless FTC case, allows Microsoft-Activision merger to go ahead for now
A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Microsoft could proceed with its acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, despite the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) efforts to stop the…
National Review
FTC Continues War on Bigness by Opposing Microsoft Video-Game Acquisition
The FTC is doubling down on its opposition to Microsoft’s acquisition of video-game company Activision Blizzard by filing to block the merger in a…
Blog
Lina Khan’s whole new level of economic bloodletting
The Biden administration in its Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy and, more pointedly, the Federal Trade Commission in many of…
Blog
‘Passive-aggressive’ regulators are a growing headache for American business
“The Future of Independent Agencies: Fallout from Problems at the Federal Trade Commission,” was an event hosted by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) to alert…
News Release
Surgeon General lacks evidence for warning against social media for young people
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy today issued a public advisory against alleged risks of social media use to the mental health of…
The American Institue for Economic Research
The FTC should answer its Call of Duty to Gamers
The American Institute for Economic Research cites Vice President for Strategy Iain Murray on the Microsoft-Activision merger: The Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Iain Murray has also …
News Release
EU’s Massive Fine Against Meta Could End Up Harming European Consumers
The European Union announced a new enforcement actions today against Meta, the parent company of Facebook. The action penalizes Meta for data transfers that…
The Washington Post
Social media’s effects on children are not yet clear
In their May 12 op-ed, “We must protect kids online,” Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and…
News Release
Supreme Court Declines to Rule on Section 230, Leaving Protections for Third Party Content in Place
The Supreme Court today in Google v. Gonzales and Twitter v. Taamneh declined to rule on the meaning of Section 230 of the…
News Release
CEI Expert Warns One-Size-Fits-All Regulation of Artificial Intelligence will Hamper Innovation, Invite Rent-Seeking
The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony today from technology executives overseeing artificial intelligence (AI) programs. Those executives were asked about oversight of the new…
Blog
Calling legislation the AMERICA Act doesn’t make it a good bill
The Competition and Transparency in Digital Advertising Act is back but under a new name: The Advertising Middlemen Endangering Rigorous Internet Competition Accountability Act…
News Release
EARN IT Act Would Have Dangerous Unintended Consequences for Consumers
The Senate Judiciary Committee is meeting today for a markup for S. 1207, the EARN IT Act of 2023. Director of CEI’s Center for…
National Review
Politicians Are Squandering America’s Chance to Get It Right on TikTok
National-security concerns about the world’s most popular app, TikTok, might be legitimate, but addressing them is proving a master course in Washington dysfunction. Significant questions remain…
National Review
U.K. Laws Are Harming American Companies — U.S. Authorities Pleased
America has made it almost 250 years independent of its colonial master, Great Britain. Now, in one area at least, you might as well tear…
News Release
UK Competition and Markets Authority Anti-Merger Ruling Undermines Consumer Interests
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is blocking Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of video game developer Activision Blizzard out of fear the deal…
News Release
Court Ruling for Apple in Antitrust Case Underscores Marketplace is Succeeding
Today a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel upheld a lower court finding that Apple App Store policies do not violate federal antitrust law. CEI…
Duluth News Tribune
Pro/Con: Proposed ‘Right to Repair’ Electronics Law Would Break a System that Doesn’t Need Fixing
Some state lawmakers want to regulate the repairs of countless consumer gadgets and equipment, from smartphones and microwave ovens to farm tractors and medical devices.
Comment
CEI Comments on Non-Compete Clause Rule
On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), we respectfully submit comments regarding the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) proposed ban of non-compete agreements in employment…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Opposing New Broadband Middle Mile Funding
Dear Member of Congress, On behalf of the millions of members and supporters of the undersigned organizations, we write in opposition to any legislation that…
Bloomberg Law
California Follows Europe’s Lead on USB-C Mandate for Devices
Bloomberg Law cites Research Fellow Alex Reinauer on the USB-C mandate. The environmental arguments for the bill are mostly symbolic because…
News Release
Ideologically Driven Attack on Tech Mergers and Acquisitions Threatens Innovations for Consumers and U.S. Position as Global Tech Leader
In a new Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) study, technology policy expert Jessica Melugin writes that concern about “killer acquisitions” – a market leader purchasing…
Study
M&As Are A-Okay
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…
News Release
FTC Antitrust Overreach Threatens Health of Americans at Risk of Cancer Diagnosis
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) today ordered Illumina to unwind its acquisition of Grail, a $7 billion deal that would add an early cancer…
News Release
RESTRICT Act Threatens Americans’ First Amendment Rights
Debate in Congress over calls to ban Chinese social media platform TikTok has led to the introduction of the RESTRICT Act by Senator Mark Warner…
Blog
After Too Big To Fail, Too Big To Merge?
Did antitrust ideology play a role in the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and the slight contagion that destabilized the global banking system thereafter?…
Blog
Rep. Duncan Leads Letter Expressing Concern over Foreign Regulatory Overreach
I’ve written before about the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, its main antitrust regulator. It has already blocked one US company from taking over another…
Blog
Some Things are Just Business, Not Politics – and That’s a Good Thing
The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) was the predictable venue for Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy to portrait DirecTV’s recent decision to stop carrying the channel…
Blog
Trust, but Verify via Congressional Oversight
Is the Federal Trade Commission’s request that Twitter hand over the names of “all journalists and other members of the media to whom” the social…
Blog
Congress must ensure more efficient and transparent broadband funding
Improved Internet connectivity can help reduce socioeconomic inequality at home and improve America’s global economic competitiveness abroad. Thanks to growing private investment, competition, and innovation,…
News Release
Report: Right to Repair Laws Undermine Consumer Interests, Raise Security Concerns
Should consumers have the legal right to repair their own stuff? A new report from the Competitive Enterprise Institute discusses repair rights consumers have already…
Study
Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Right to Repair
Should you have the legal right to fix your own stuff? At first glance, the answer would seem like a simple “yes.” That simple answer…
Blog
Collusion Is Harmful and Illegal—Except When a Federal Agency Does It?
The Wall Street Journal reports today, thanks to FOIA requests by the Chamber of Commerce, that it appears the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) conspired…
News Release
New CEI Paper Warns Against Turning Back the Clock on Antitrust Merger Guidelines
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) published a new paper today reviewing the evolution of merger screening at federal antitrust agencies and warning against…
Study
Turning Back the Clock: Structural Presumptions in Merger Analyses and Revised Merger Guidelines
Introduction Since 1950, when Congress closed a loophole in Section 7 of the Clayton Act,[1] the federal antitrust agencies have investigated actively, and prosecuted diligently, mergers the government…
National Review
FTC Runs into the Judicial Wall
The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) antitrust crusade has run into an obstacle: the judiciary. Indeed, the agency wants to expand its authority and broaden enforcement standards so…
News Release
CEI TV Ad “Versus” to Run Sunday During NBC’s Meet the Press as Part of Eye on FTC Campaign
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) will run a 30 second television ad as part of its Eye on FTC campaign on Sunday,…
News Release
Why DOJ’s Antitrust Suit Against Google’s Digital Ad Business Misses the Mark
The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against Google today, a division of parent company Alphabet, alleging the company has a monopoly over digital…
Citation
FDA’s Medical Interference, Time for ESG Antitrust Action and other commentary
Libertarian: FDA’s Medical Interference The Wall Street Journal quoted Joel Zinberg on FDA banning practices: “Secreted within the 2023 omnibus appropriations…
Fox Business
VIDEO: CEI’s Jessica Melugin Joins Fox Business to Discuss McCarthy’s Actions as Speaker & Big Tech Collusion
Director of the Center for Technology & Innovation Jessica Melugin reacts to Kevin McCarthy’s decision to remove Dems from committees and White House-FBI-Big Tech collusion.
News Release
House GOP Oversight of Alleged Collusion Between Government and Technology Companies More Productive than Anti-Tech Legislation
The new Republican House Majority will reportedly charge a new select committee with providing oversight of communications about content moderation decisions between technology companies…
Blog
Microsoft’s Acquisition of Activision Faces Needless Challenges
Emboldened antitrust bureaucrats on both sides of the Atlantic are flexing their muscles with challenges to Microsoft’s planned acquisition of the game developer Activision, maker…
Products
Corporate Governance
Retirement Security Congress passed the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), which governs private pensions, in 1974, in response to widespread concerns at the time…
News Release
CEI Releases Pro-Growth Regulatory Reform Agenda for the 118th Congress
Today the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) offered a set of important policy reforms for the 118th Congress to consider when it convenes in…
Products
Free to Prosper: Antitrust
Efforts to expand the scope and enforcement of antitrust law are playing out on a global scale and, so far, have mostly targeted large technology…
Products
Free to Prosper: Online Speech and Section 230
Section 230 of the Telecommunications Decency Act of 1996 governs liability online. It clarifies that the creator of speech, not its carrier, bears legal responsibility…
Blog
The Federal Trade Commission Is in Dire Need of an Intervention
In recent years, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has become increasingly aggressive in its antitrust actions and policies. This expansion will be harmful to American…
Barrons
Opinion: Two App Stores Don’t Make a Monopoly
Elon Musk and others’ complaints about the fees Apple and Google ‘s App Stores charge developers are putting pressure…
National Review
Antitrust’s Cloudy Crystal Ball
Even in the wake of Meta’s biggest mass layoff ever and a $71 billion loss this year, antitrust regulators around the world are peering into crystal…
Staff & Scholars
Richard Morrison
Senior Fellow
- Antitrust
- Business and Government
- Capitalism and Free Enterprise
Iain Murray
Vice President for Strategy and Senior Fellow
- Banking and Finance
- Trade and International
Clyde Wayne Crews
Fred L. Smith Fellow in Regulatory Studies
- Business and Government
- Consumer Freedom
- Deregulation
Ryan Young
Senior Economist
- Antitrust
- Business and Government
- Regulatory Reform
Jessica Melugin
Director of the Center for Technology & Innovation
- Antitrust
- Innovation
- Media, Speech and Internet Freedoms
Alex Reinauer
Research Fellow
- Antitrust
- Innovation
- Tech and Telecom