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Congress should fight piracy, not make ISPs internet police
Online piracy is a serious problem for content creators and rightsholders. Studies estimate that unauthorized streaming and downloads cost the US economy billions…
Study
Don’t Panic: A Skeptic’s Guide to the AI Jobs Doomsday
As technology advances it has periodically bred the fear that progress will destroy jobs and livelihoods. History teaches that these fears are usually misplaced.
News Release
House-passed KIDS Act harms access to protected speech and substitutes parents’ judgment in favor of regulators’
The House of Representatives passed the KIDS Act today, a package that includes incentives for age verification and onerous directives for product design.
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Blog
Congress should fight piracy, not make ISPs internet police
Online piracy is a serious problem for content creators and rightsholders. Studies estimate that unauthorized streaming and downloads cost the US economy billions…
Study
Don’t Panic: A Skeptic’s Guide to the AI Jobs Doomsday
As technology advances it has periodically bred the fear that progress will destroy jobs and livelihoods. History teaches that these fears are usually misplaced.
News Release
House-passed KIDS Act harms access to protected speech and substitutes parents’ judgment in favor of regulators’
The House of Representatives passed the KIDS Act today, a package that includes incentives for age verification and onerous directives for product design.
Comment
CEI Comments on Petition for Declaratory Ruling of KTRK Television, Inc. and American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (“CEI”) respectfully submits these comments in response to the Media Bureau’s Public Notice in the above-captioned proceeding.[1] CEI…
Letters
CEI Joins Taxpayers Protection Alliance Coalition’s Letter Opposing ASAA and KOSA Online Regulations
Dear Chairman Cruz, Ranking Member Cantwell, and Members of the Committee, We, the undersigned coalition of public-policy groups, think tanks, and nonprofits, write…
News Release
AICOA’s heavy-handed approach would harm consumers, stifle innovation, and degrade security and privacy
Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) re-introduced a modified version of the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA), which introduces new…
Washington Examiner
The government has no business in AI
People worry about the ways artificial intelligence will change jobs, education, creativity, and daily lives, according to polling. But…
Blog
The GUARD Act dis-GUARDs the First Amendment and competition
When looking at Sen. Josh Hawley’s (R-MO) GUARD Act (S. 3062 – Guidelines for User Age-verification and Responsible Dialogue Act), the puns write…
Blog
Review of Michael Sheridan’s The Red Emperor: Xi Jinping and His New China
In my continuing quest to learn more about the US’s number one strategic rival, I recently finished reading (i.e., listening to it on Audible)…
News Release
‘Tech Panic’ Wins in Court, at the Expense of Free Speech
Today a California jury found Meta and Google liable for depression and anxiety suffered by a 20-year-old woman who claimed to have been addicted…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Big Tech, Europe, and free speech with Spence Purnell
In this week’s episode we cover the Supreme Court’s recent decision on tariff powers, myths of the Great Recession, and fiduciary…
Blog
A year end blessing: No net neutrality
As we approach the end of the year, it’s a natural time to reflect on what we’re grateful for. While many blessings come to…
News Release
New CEI paper: FCC should stop regulating news content
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has long used its role in licensing spectrum to broadcast television and radio stations to regulate those outlets under…
Blog
Free Speech Week: The speech that ignited a revolution — and still speaks to us today
A Richmond story, a Virginia legacy, and the American ethos Richmond is my home city. My family has lived in Virginia for generations,…
Blog
Closing the window on public media funding
A door has closed, but windows remain open. Recently, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced that it would discontinue operations in…
Comment
CEI Comments on Proposed Social Media Rulemaking
On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), I appreciate the opportunity to comment on the social media rules proposed by the Attorney General’s…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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 …
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:…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
News Release
Supreme Court decision on state social media laws portends free speech victories
Today, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Moody v. NetChoice & CCIA and NetChoice & CCIA v. Paxton, two related cases reviewing…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Censorship by proxy with Jenin Younes
In this week’s episode we cover Gen Z job satisfaction, dumb biotech policy in the European Union, and figuring out…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Politically homeless with John Tillman
In this week’s episode we cover an environmental conference in Miami, allegedly underfunded government schools, Google’s AI diversity debacle, and…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: (De-)regulating tech and AI with Adam Thierer
In this week’s episode we cover social mobility in the 50 states, Elizabeth Warren’s revolving door with Wall Street, the latest…
Forbes
AI Economics Must Avoid The Ethical Mistakes Of Climate Economics
Artificial intelligence (AI) has garnered significant public attention in recent months, especially since the groundbreaking launch of the large language model, ChatGPT. Some of…
Arkansas Democrat Gazette
Seriously bad bill
I admit it: I’m an Arkansas General Assembly junkie. Even though I haven’t been a state legislator for more than a decade, I still…
News Release
Congress Shouldn’t Compound Silicon Valley Bank Collapse with Bailouts and Bad Ideas
The Silicon Valley Bank collapse has spurred some terrible policymaking ideas in Congress, exacerbating bad decisions by the bank that has led to its…
Blog
NTIA Report Ignores Relevant Competition in Its Study of App Ecosystem
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released its report on “Competition in the Mobile Application Ecosystem” this past Wednesday. I submitted…
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…
Blog
Meta’s Drop in Stock Price Unlikely to Dissuade Antitrust Inquiries, but It Should.
“We don’t even know what it is yet.” That’s how the theatrical depiction of Mark Zuckerberg described “The Facebook” to his then co-founder…
Fox Business
Elon Musk says Twitter purchase ‘accelerant’ to creating X, ‘the everything app’
Fox Business spoke with Jessica Melugin on Elon Musk purchase of Twitter: Watch the latest video at foxbusiness.com Click here…
Blog
Gonzales v. Google: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Algorithms
Today the Supreme Court agreed to hear Gonzales v. Google, LLC, a case that evaluates how broadly the liability protection is for platforms…
Blog
New CEI Paper Lays Out the Worst in Tech Legislation
Bipartisanship in Congress is rare, but it shouldn’t always be celebrated. Bad ideas, despite consensus, still lead to bad results. And recent congressional efforts…
Blog
Ten Terrible Tech Bills from the 117th Congress: Filter Bubble Transparency Act
In Book VII of Plato’s Republic, Socrates introduces his allegory of the cave. Prisoners are chained in an underground cavern since birth. Their necks…
Blog
Ten Terrible Tech Bills from the 117th Congress: EARN IT Act
There is no shortage of legislation addressing Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act introduced in the 117th Congress, with some legislators seeking to…
Blog
Elon vs. the Regulators
A $43 billion sale of Twitter to Elon Musk looks more and more like a done deal. Depending on who you ask, Musk…
Action Institute
Do Libertarians Have a Political Home Anymore?
For many years, libertarians and economic conservatives lived in harmony. The philosophy of fusionism said that the conservative party, when it governed, would seek…
Blog
Biden’s Escalating Fusion of Regulation and Censorship Requires Decisive Pushback
President Joe Biden’s “whole of government” advancement of numerous elements of an-interventionist “Building a Better America” agenda is accompanied by an alarming…