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
The Wall Street Journal
‘Net Neutrality’ Faces a Stiff Judicial Test
The Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday along partisan lines to reclassify broadband internet access service as a common carrier telecommunications service under Title II of…
Blog
FTC tightens grip over its in-house judges
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) possesses one of the most conflicted administrative law court (ALC) systems. The agency recently began hiring new administrative…
News Release
Spirit Announces Furloughs after Biden, Court Scuttle Merger with JetBlue
In the wake of an adverse court ruling and a Biden administration threat to stop a merger between budget airlines Spirit Airlines and JetBlue, the…
Search Posts
The Washington Times
Trump Announces Lawsuits Against Twitter, Facebook and Google
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
The International Business Times cites Director of the Center for Technology and Innovation Jessica Melugin on a recent lawsuit against the Google Play Store:…
KRWG
Donald Trump Sues Facebook, YouTube And Twitter For Alleged Censorship
KRWG cites Director for the Center for Technology and Innovation Jessica Melugin on Trump’s legal actions targeting social media platforms: “These social media platforms…
The Seattle Times
Trump Files Class Action Lawsuits Targeting Facebook, Google and Twitter over ‘Censorship’ of Conservatives
The Seattle Times cites Director for the Center for Technology and Innovation on Trump’s legal actions against social media platforms: Jessica Melugin, director of…
News Release
Trump Class Action Suit Against Social Media Platforms for Political Gain, Not a Serious Legal Argument
Former President Donald Trump filed a class action lawsuit against social media platform CEOs Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Sundar Pichai of Google, and Jack Dorsey…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Urging Lawmakers To Reject Frivolous Spending Request
Dear Chairs Klobuchar and Cicilline and Ranking Members Lee and Buck: We, the undersigned organizations, representing millions of taxpayers and consumers, urge you to reject…
The Orlando Sentinel
If Businesses are Liable for Internet Posts, Consumers Lose
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…
Fox Business
Experts Warn Big Tech Antitrust Bills Could ‘Shackle Innovation and Hurt Consumers’
Fox Business cites Director of the Center for Technology and Innovation Jessica Melugin on proposed antitrust bills: Jessica Melugin, director of the Center for…
The Teller Report
American Elected Officials Attacking Tech Giants: Overhaul or Demolition?
The Teller Report cites Vice President for Strategy Iain Murray on antitrust laws and Apple: “In general, the experience of the average consumer would…
The Foundation for Economic Education
Breaking Down the Latest Bipartisan Assault on Big Tech—And How It Could Blow Up in Consumers’ Faces
The Foundation for Economic Education cites Vice President for Strategy Iain Murray on a series of proposed antitrust bills targeting “Big Tech”: The Competitive…
News Release
New EU Antitrust Investigation into Google More Proof European Antitrust Policy is Untethered from Consumer Harm Standard
The European Union announced today it is launching a new antitrust investigation into Google, alleging the company is using anticompetitive practices in its advertising…
National Review
When Antitrust Is Anti-Consumer
Lina Khan, a noted proponent of expanding and altering U.S. antitrust law, was confirmed last week as a commissioner to the Federal…
The World News
Huge Changes Coming Soon for Internet and Big Tech Under US Antitrust Proposal
The World News cites Vice President for Strategy Iain Murray on antitrust laws and Apple: Iain Murray, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise…
Bloomberg Law
Podcast: Would Reforming Section 230 Break the Internet?
Director of the Center for Technology and Innovation Jessica Melugin joins Unchecked to discuss Section 230: Click here to read more.
Letters
CEI Joins HJC Letter Opposing Cicilline Jayapal Bills
Dear Members of the House Judiciary Committee: At a time when voters are looking to Congress to address the country’s most pressing challenges, it seems…
Letters
25+ Conservative Groups and Activists Urge Congress to Reject Democrat Antitrust Power Grab
Dear Member of Congress: We urge you to reject the package of European-style over-regulation in the antitrust bills spearheaded by Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) and…
Blog
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…
News Release
Billions in Taxpayer Funded Subsidies for Broadband Unnecessary to Expand Internet Connectivity
A bipartisan group of United States Senators introduced the Broadband Reform and Investment to Drive Growth in the Economy Act (BRIDGE Act), which would…
Blog
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…
National Review
Why Ohio’s Attempt to Regulate Google as a ‘Common Carrier’ Is a Terrible Idea
A decade ago, when Google search was first accused of self-preferencing its own results, a colleague of mine created a meme with text over…
Blog
What Do We Want from Our Platforms?
Two recently introduced House bills seek to restructure antitrust law, supposedly to tackle purported abuses by “big tech” firms. They aim to change how the…
News Release
House Judiciary Committee Antitrust Bills Would Compromise U.S. as Global Leader on Tech and Harm Consumers
Several antitrust bills were introduced today by members of the House Judiciary Committee, including the “American Innovation and Choice Online Act,” the “Platform Competition and…
News Release
Facebook’s Content Moderation Decisions Preferable to One-Size-Fits-All Government Regulation
Facebook announced today it suspended former President Donald Trump from the platform for two years retroactive to January 7, 2021. Responding to a ruling against…
Real Clear Policy
Government Regulation of App Stores Could Wind Up Costing Consumers
App stores are in the crosshairs of regulators around the world, threatening the privacy and security of consumers in jurisdictions throwing the red tape at…
News Release
DC Antitrust Suit Against Amazon Could Actually Harm Consumers by Making Online Goods More Expensive
The District of Columbia’s Attorney General filed a lawsuit today against Amazon, alleging the tech company is engaged in anti-competitive behavior by controlling retail…
Blog
Microsoft to Retire Internet Explorer: Lessons for Today’s Antitrust Cases
Microsoft just announced it will retire its Internet Explorer browser next year. This is the same program that was at the heart of an…
National Review
It’s Time to Exempt News Organizations from Antitrust Restrictions
Congress is currently considering a bill that would allow news organizations to collectively negotiate with online-content distributors, such as Google and Facebook. If passed,…
Blog
One of Google’s Antitrust Cases Dismissed, for Now
A District judge on Thursday dismissed a private antitrust case against Google brought by a group of advertisers. It does not affect separate cases…
The American Conservative
Why Small Firms Sell Out
Among some conservatives’ main complaints about Big Tech is the way it acquires smaller competitors, stopping them from displacing them like Facebook displaced MySpace. The…
Cleveland.com
Why You Shouldn’t Trust The Big-Tech Trustbusters: Tom Haren
Cleveland.com cites Vice President for Policy Iain Murray on antitrust enforcement: Ian Murray, a vice president and senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise…
News Release
EU Antitrust Action Against Apple – Bad for Trade, Bad for Consumers
The EU Commission declared today that “Apple has a monopoly” in the distribution of music streaming apps to owners of Apple devices, the upshot of…
Fox News
Hawley To Introduce Bill To ‘Bust Up’ Big Tech, Targeting Companies Like Google And Amazon
Fox News cites Director for the Center for Technology and Innovation Jessica Melugin and Senior Fellow Ryan Young on Hawley’s efforts to regulate the tech…
Real Clear Policy
How to Expand Broadband Access Without Spending $100 Billion
The Biden administration thrust the issue of rural broadband into the spotlight when it released the $2 trillion “American Jobs Plan,” which …
News Release
Hawley Antitrust Plan Would Limit Innovation and Harm Consumers
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) today touted a new proposal he calls a “trust busting plan” that calls for a new standard for antitrust intervention to…
National Review
Should Social-Media Companies Be Considered ‘Common Carriers’?
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s concurrence in Joseph Biden v. Knight First Amendment at Columbia University recommends regulating social-media platforms as if they were…
C-SPAN
VIDEO: CEI’s Jessica Melugin Joins “The Communicators” to Discuss Antitrust and More
Director of the Center for Technology and Innovation Jessica Melugin joined C-SPAN‘s “The Communicators” to discuss technology issues that included antitrust, social media content, and…
News Release
Supreme Court Decision Upholding Relaxed Media Ownership Rules a Win for Local News and Consumers
The United States Supreme Court today upheld a decision by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to relax media ownership rules, freeing up the industry…
Fortune
Don’t Put Big Tech or Big Government in Charge of the Truth
The divide among Americans on a wide range of issues is being amplified by social media. Charges of misinformation and censorship online are raising the…
News Release
FTC Nominee Khan’s Antitrust Views Will Have Negative Consequences for Consumers if Made Official Policy
Competitive Enterprise Institute experts reacted to today’s announcement the White House intends to nominate Lina Khan to be a Commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission,…
Inside Sources
Government Antitrust Lawsuit Against Facebook Should be Dismissed
Facebook’s filing to dismiss antitrust lawsuits by the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) and state attorneys general is a chance to pause unwarranted political punishment of…
Blog
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…
Real Clear Policy
Biden Administration Should Take a Restrained Approach to Fighting Disinformation
As the Biden administration counters foreign disinformation, it faces growing calls to impose stricter restrictions on social media and online platforms. While tech companies should…
Blog
Why Facebook’s Antitrust Cases Should Be Dropped
Facebook filed today to dismiss antitrust lawsuits against it today by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and several state attorneys general. One of the…
Seattle TImes
Biden administration needs a more nuanced approach toward Chinese apps
As the Biden administration recalibrates its policies toward China, it should carefully balance economic and security interests in reviewing Chinese mobile applications, such as TikTok…
News Release
CEI Experts: Courts Should Dismiss Antitrust Lawsuits against Facebook
Facebook today asked courts to dismiss antitrust lawsuits brought by the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general, an outcome supported by the Competitive Enterprise…
USA Today
Protecting Publius: Online Anonymity is Critical for Protecting Freedom to Dissent
The bipartisan loathing of Section 230, the liability shield that protects online platforms from being legally responsible for what their users post, has…
National Review
Antitrust Litigation Usually Causes More Harm Than Good. Big Tech Is No Different
Advocates of expanded antitrust regulation often cite past cases to demonstrate the benefits of pursuing litigation against today’s Big Tech firms. But when the details of…
Blog
Proposed European Tech Regulations Will Backfire, Badly
The European Union recently proposed two major tech regulation bills aimed at America’s tech industry, the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital…
The Foundation for Economic Education
Economic Nationalists and Anti-Corporate Progressives Both Want More Government Power
Last month President Biden designated Rebecca Slaughter as acting chair of the Federal Trade Commission, where she has served as a commissioner since 2018. During a…
Blog
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…
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