Whether it is lifting net neutrality regulations, allowing AI to reach its full potential to benefit mankind, educating policy makers about content moderation, clearing legacy regulations at the Federal Communications Commission, advocating for greater spectrum efficiency, or defending business practices that benefit consumers but are disliked by antitrust enforcers, CEI punches above its weight. Coalition activity, relationships with tech and telecom journalists, media appearances, policy events, Capitol Hill outreach, op-eds, and in-depth studies combine to make CEI influential in the tech and telecom policy area.
Tech and Telecom Issue Areas
Featured Posts
Blog
Time’s up for the equal time rule
Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines “anachronism” as a person or thing that is chronologically out of place, “especially: one from a former age that is…
Blog
Otherwise Objectionable episode 6: ‘The Rest of the World’
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…
Blog
How valuable will anonymous comments be to the Ferguson FTC?
Comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for its “Inquiry on Tech Censorship” are due next month on May 21, 2025, and the public has…
Search Posts
Blog
Time’s up for the equal time rule
Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines “anachronism” as a person or thing that is chronologically out of place, “especially: one from a former age that is…
Blog
Otherwise Objectionable episode 6: ‘The Rest of the World’
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…
Blog
How valuable will anonymous comments be to the Ferguson FTC?
Comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for its “Inquiry on Tech Censorship” are due next month on May 21, 2025, and the public has…
Washington Examiner
FTC’s antitrust crusade against Meta contradicts key parts of the Trump agenda
We’re all about to find out if it’s the White House or what’s left of the administrative state that’s calling the shots on…
Blog
Otherwise Objectionable episode 5: ‘Blowback, and the Dust Settles’
The fifth episode of Otherwise Objectionable, the narrative-driven podcast that tells the true story of Section 230 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, recounts how the…
News Release
Competitive Enterprise Institute documentary selected for Anthem Libertarian Film Festival, begins streaming on SalemNow May 7
Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) is proud to announce the release of a special documentary project, Dear Mr. President: The Letters of Julia…
Blog
Otherwise Objectionable episode 4: ‘The Solution’
The fourth episode of Otherwise Objectionable, the narrative-driven podcast that tells the true story of Section 230 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, picks up…
Testimony
Jessica Melugin Testimony before House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust
Chair Fitzgerald, ranking member Nadler, and distinguished members of the subcommittee, thank you for holding this hearing and inviting me to testify today. My name…
Blog
Otherwise Objectionable episode 3: ‘Law and Disorder’
The third episode of Otherwise Objectionable, the narrative-driven podcast that tells the true story of Section 230 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, moves beyond…
Blog
Otherwise Objectionable episode 2: ‘The Dawn of the Internet’
The second episode of Otherwise Objectionable, the narrative-driven podcast that tells the true story of Section 230 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, focuses on…
Los Angeles Times
The Trump administration schooled Europe on free speech. Why ignore the lesson at home?
Vice President JD Vance’s wise words to Europe about U.S. commitments to free speech are on a collision course with some of what’s happening stateside.
Blog
Otherwise Objectionable Podcast episode 1: ‘The Most Misunderstood Law on the Internet’
Otherwise Objectionable is the brand-new limited series podcast that tells the true story of how a previously-obscure defamation law, Section 230 of the 1996…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Broadcasting liberty with Jeff Westling
In this week’s episode we discuss Trump tariffs (via AEI’s Jim Pethokoukis and Apricitas Economics’s Joey Politano), the death…
News Release
New Podcast “Otherwise Objectionable” Explores the Law That Built the Internet—And Why Everyone Wants to Change It
Section 230 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act prevents the internet services we rely on from being sued into oblivion. It’s the reason social media platforms,…
Blog
With Section 230 under threat, Otherwise Objectionable tells the true story of the most misunderstood law on the internet
Section 230, the foundational law that governs defamation liability online, has been under attack by partisans on both the left and the right in recent…
The Daily Economy
Bud Light Returns to Merit, Profit After ESG Backlash Cost Billions
Most Americans have heard about Bud Light’s controversial marketing collaboration with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in April 2023 from the ensuing boycott against the brand, which tanked…
Letters
Urge to Protect Americans’ Digital Speech, Secure Encryption, and Data
Dear Secretary Rubio, Attorney General Bondi, Acting Secretary Pelter, and Director Kratsios, We write to urge you to take immediate action to protect Americans’ digital…
Blog
Animal personalities, individualism, and economics
One of my hobbies is finding economics in unexpected places. The biologist and animal rescuer John Shivik’s 2017 book Mousy Cats and Sheepish Coyotes: The…
Blog
Big tech: threat or America’s best hope in global AI race? Questions for Trump antitrust appointees
Continued scrutiny of tech companies by antitrust authorities is expected under the Trump administration, with two new nominees awaiting confirmation to the Department of…
Blog
Free speech at risk: Why website blocking bill goes too far
Content creators have long complained about copyright infringing websites that deprive them of compensation. The Motion Picture Association claims infringement costs “hundreds of thousands…
Restoring America
Trump must cancel CFPB censorship
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and tech entrepreneur Marc Andreessen dropped bombshells on the popular Joe Rogan Experience about political persecution from financial…
Blog
Risks remain after Congress’s deregulatory net neutrality choice is affirmed
This past decade’s net neutrality saga recently received much needed clarity thanks to the federal 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. Its decision rules on the…
Broadband Breakfast
Think Tank Analysts Outline Pro-Growth Broadband Reforms
Broadband Breakfast WASHINGTON, Jan. 20, 2025 — Analysts at the Competitive Enterprise Institute are urging Congress to enact broad telecommunications reforms as outlined in…
Blog
Safeguarding innovation from bureaucracy: The techno-libertarian pivot
The just-concluded 2025 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) highlighted the relentless pace of technological innovation—from robotics and AI to rollable laptops and transparent TVs. Yet, amid…
NTD
Facebook’s Fact-Checking Change Will Create More Open Environment, Not ‘Wild West’ of Free Speech: Expert
NTD interviewed CEI’s expert on Meta’s Fact-Checking policies. Mark Zuckerberg has promised to create a more open environment on Facebook. To learn more, NTD…
Blog
Hayek on Facebook’s community notes
Meta is going to stop using professional fact-checkers for Facebook posts. My colleague Jessica Melugin is relieved that Meta is finally publicly acknowledging…
News Release
Meta’s new content moderation is a step in the right direction: CEI analysis
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced major changes to its content moderation system today. The company says it aims to allow as…
Op-Eds
Targeting Digital Platforms
President Biden’s antitrust regulators have filed a pair of lawsuits targeting tech platforms, claiming they abuse their position as intermediaries between consumers and third parties.
National Review
Please, Somebody Google ‘Hubris’
The pretense of knowledge is on full display in the Department of Justice’s proposed remedies for the Google trial. The government’s…
Forbes
A Trump 2.0 Agenda For Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence represents an unprecedented economic opportunity as well as a complex security challenge for the United States. As Trump gets set to begin his…
News Release
CEI Report: Wi-Fi success shows permissionless innovation is a competitive advantage
Wi-Fi is ubiquitous in the United States. It provides Americans with broadband access in countless locations, including homes, schools, hotels, coffee shops, offices, airports, and…
Study
No Permission Needed
Robust, resilient, and high-capacity internet service is critical to America’s economic prosperity and success. A key part of internet service is Wi-Fi, which provides Americans…
Blog
A blueprint for digital censorship in the US?
Internal documents from the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), as revealed by digital censorship journalist Matt Taibbi, showed that the group’s primary…
Blog
Congressional lessons learned: Prioritize private risk capital investment
There is always a temptation for Congress to act during a lame duck session to show it is hard at work doing good for the…
Blog
The FCC’s curious curiosity about broadband data caps
With less than three months remaining in the current administration, the FCC has released a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) on broadband data caps. Data…
Blog
Principles for the new administration: Leave old rules with old technologies
There will be a new administration in January regardless which party wins the election, making this a good moment to recall President Reagan’s advice…
Reason
The Justice Department’s Proposals for Breaking Up Google’s Dominance Won’t Work
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…
Blog
Searching for a remedy that makes sense
The Department of Justice recently sent its proposed remedies to the federal judge who found Google guilty of illegally monopolizing web search. Specifically,…
Forbes
NIST AI Guidelines Misplace Responsibility For Managing Risks
Policymakers are scrambling to keep pace with technological advancements in artificial intelligence. The recent release of draft guidelines from the U.S. AI Safety Institute, a…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: AI and the future of work with Patrick Carroll
In this week’s episode we report from the State Policy Network’s annual meeting in Phoenix, Arizona and some of the great reform proposals…
RealClear Markets
Global Regulators Want To Hamstring AI Innovation
RealClear Markets cited CEI on technological innovation Like many efforts at economic planning, subverting market forces — the forces that drive creative destruction — driving…
Blog
The social significance of the Consolidated Audit Trail
Personal privacy is important. The ability of citizens to communicate and do business with one another – and to do so with some degree of…
Blog
Consumers can see a net benefit from FCC’s net neutrality rule stall
The saga of broadband regulation is finally taking a positive turn. On August 1st, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay of…
News Release
Judge gets Google antitrust ruling wrong
A federal judge ruled today that Google violated antitrust law, declaring “Google is a monopolist” in online search. Competitive Enterprise Institute antitrust, legal, and economic…
National Review
AI Could Make the Google Court Decision Moot
In a decision by the District Court of the U.S. District of Columbia, Google has been found guilty of monopolizing its leadership in…
National Review
AI Could Make the Google Court Decision Moot
In a decision by the District Court of the U.S. District of Columbia, Google has been found guilty of monopolizing its leadership in…
Blog
EU’s Digital Markets Act: An obstruction to AI innovation?
European consumers are being left behind in the AI revolution due to tightened regulations. Apple’s decision to withhold its new AI features from the European…
Reason
Senate To Vote on Web Censorship Bill Disguised as Kids Safety
Reason cites Jessica Melugin on KOSA safety flaws “KOSA would trigger mandatory uploading of government id’s, face scans or social security numbers of…
The Washington Times
KOSA is a poor substitute for parenting
Good parenting was always a lot of work, but guarding kids’ online mental health has added to the parental load. Not every problem has a…
Blog
Could AI regulation hamper the next agricultural revolution?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to revolutionize the agricultural industry, along with other sectors of the economy. Already, AI has reduced…
Staff & Scholars
Jessica Melugin
Director of the Center for Technology & Innovation
- Antitrust
- Innovation
- Media, Speech and Internet Freedoms
Clyde Wayne Crews
Fred L. Smith Fellow in Regulatory Studies
- Business and Government
- Consumer Freedom
- Deregulation
Fred L. Smith, Jr.
Founder; Chairman Emeritus
- Automobiles and Roads
- Aviation
- Business and Government