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
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
US move to ban TikTok a troubling signal for our great experiment in self-determination
As a part of a foreign aid funding package, the Senate passed a bill mandating TikTok’s divestiture from Chinese-based parent company, ByteDance. Biden…
Blog
Major questions on net neutrality: A new report
A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report, Major Questions on Net Neutrality: A primer on the FCC’s brewing broadband legal fight, analyzes the FCC’s effort…
Search Posts
National Review
Breaking Up Platforms Has Sickening Implications
Hipster antitrust sickens me. Literally. I was under the weather last week. Feeling ill, I spent a good amount of time at local pharmacies, searching…
News Release
Washington Bureaucrats Should Stay Out of T-Mobile-Sprint Merger
Today, the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law will hold a hearing on the proposed merger between T-Mobile and Sprint. The…
News Release
Plan to Break Up Tech Companies “Bad News for Consumers, Innovation”
According to reports, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is set to announce a new plan to use antitrust regulations to “break up” large and innovative technology…
News Release
Congress Should Stay Out of Broadband Regulation and “Let the Free Market Keep Working”
Today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will roll out a new piece of legislation aimed at reversing the FCC’s decision to repeal so-called “net neutrality” rules…
Politico
Takeaways from the DOJ’s Merger Defeat
Politico cited Associate Director of the Center for Technology and Innovation Jessica Melugin on the AT&T and Time Warner merger. The Justice Department’s headline-grabbing…
News Release
Court Rejects Antitrust Lawsuit Against AT&T/TimeWarner Deal: CEI Comment
Today, a federal court rejected an antitrust challenge to a merger deal between AT&T and TimeWarner. CEI technology policy expert Jessica Melugin praised the ruling…
Blog
Net Neutrality Regulation Still a Bad Idea
The debate at today’s House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing was largely between making blocking, throttling, and fast lanes illegal and going further to…
News Release
Real World Outcomes Show Vacuity of Arguments Supporting so-called “Net Neutrality”
On Friday, supporters of so-called “net neutrality” regulations will take their case to the Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit in Mozilla v. FCC,…
Fox Business
VIDEO: Ryan Radia Discusses Facebook Privacy Concerns on Cavuto Coast to Coast
Competitive Enterprise Institute Research Fellow Ryan Radia joined Cavuto Coast to Coast to discuss Facebook privacy concerns.
Blog
Agenda for the 116th Congress: Tech and Telecom
As technology and telecommunications evolve, new challenges inevitably arise for policy makers. New mandates or prohibitions should be avoided in all but the most exceptional…
Blog
New Cable Franchise Rules to Benefit Consumers
In September of last year, the Federal Communications Commission issued a further notice of proposed rulemaking clarifying how the amount that cities are allowed to…
News Release
CEI Asks Court to Invalidate the FCC’s Costly Conditions on 2016 Charter Cable Merger
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) and four cable customers yesterday filed the opening brief in their challenge to the wide-ranging conditions imposed by the FCC…
Forbes
Working Together, We Can Keep Country People off the Internet (Just Kidding; Jumpstart 5G This Way)
A buddy of mine living in Charlottesville was wishing for more subsidized rail to travel to Washington. I told him it was cheaper for me…
Blog
End of the Road for Net Neutrality Comeback Attempt
The end of the 115th Congress meant the end of using the Congressional Review Act to void the Federal Communication Commission’s repeal of Obama-era net…
Products
Free to Prosper: Technology and Telecommunications
View the full chapter on technology and telecommunications here Few economic sectors rival the technology and telecommunications industries in terms of how rapidly—and momentously—they…
Blog
Year in Review 2018: Internet Sales Tax
On June 21, 2018, in South Dakota v. Wayfair, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed fifty years of precedent by allowing states to collect sales taxes…
News Release
CEI: Rumored DOJ Memo to Restrict States’ Power to Regulate Intrastate Gambling Would be “Dangerous Precedent”
According to reports, the Department of Justice is considering releasing a memo that reverses a 2011 decision by the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) which…
Cavuto Coast to Coast
VIDEO: Iain Murray Discusses Google Bias Concerns on Cavuto Coast to Coast
Competitive Enterprise Institute Vice President for Strategy Iain Murray joined Cavuto Coast to Coast to discuss the fallout from concerns of bias at Google.
Fox Business
Conservatives should resist the urge to regulate Big Tech
Nearly every day there seems to be another story that demonstrates that Big Tech is biased against conservatives. Recently, we saw the “lifetime” ban of conservative…
News Release
Claims that Google Suppresses Conservative Views Lack Evidence
As Google’s CEO testifies in the House of Representatives today, Competitive Enterprise Institute technology policy expert Ryan Radia disputes claims that the technology company has…
Blog
Don’t Blame Google for a Feature Consumers Want
It’s very rare I disagree with the great freedom-loving journalist John Stossel, but his column at Townhall this week made me raise an eyebrow. In…
Study
Antitrust FAQ
1. What is antitrust? Today’s body of antitrust laws is the culmination of over one hundred years of unclear objectives, contradictory interpretations, and controversial court decisions.
Inside Sources
What’s Next For Net Neutrality In A Democrat-Controlled House?
Inside Sources cited CEI’s Senior Fellow Ryan Radia on net neutrality. Ryan Radia, a research fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), however,…
Blog
What Do the Midterms Mean for Big Tech?
For the big technology firms, the midterm elections were never going to change much. Whatever the result, they were going to face more scrutiny over the…
Blog
Feds, Telecom Industry, Mayors Pledge Cooperation on Building Smart Cities
Charter Communications here in D.C. held a fascinating policy event this morning, “Partnering with Communities Today to Build the Smart Cities of Tomorrow.” The…
Inside Sources
Cities Should Stop Slowing Down America’s 5G Revolution
The Federal Communications Commission recently approved a proposal to speed up deployment for the next generation of wireless service, known as 5G. The plan puts states and…
USA Today
Tesla Shareholders, Not the Government, Should Hold the CEO Leash
Depending on whom you talk to, Tesla CEO Elon Musk is either the next Henry Ford or the next P.T. Barnum. Musk’s explosive tweets reverberate…
Blog
Discard Static Market Analysis, Let Sprint and T-Mobile Merge
The Competitive Enterprise Institute has been making a convincing case for a swift and condition-free approval from regulators of the proposed Sprint and T-Mobile…
Blog
How to Articulate a Free-Market Vision for the Future
The Competitive Enterprise Institute views most market failure rationales for government intervention as wrong, overstated, or unproven (or all of the above). The Competitive Enterprise Institute…
Blog
California’s Attempt at Net Neutrality Clearly Unconstitutional
On September 30, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law SB-822, a set of regulations on Internet service providers that’s slated to go into…
News Release
CEI Appeals Unlawful Conditions FCC Imposed on Cable Provider Merger
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) and four individuals – John France, Daniel Frank, Jean-Claude Gruffat, and Charles Haywood – filed an appeal today with the…
The Daily Caller
Opinion: Why the Government Should Stand Aside and Allow T-Mobile and Sprint to Merge
On Sept. 11, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced it needed more time to review the pending merger of T-Mobile and Sprint. Meanwhile, the Department…
News Release
CEI: Dept. of Justice is Right to Challenge Legality of California “Net Neutrality” Law
The Department of Justice recently filed a lawsuit against the state of California, claiming the state’s newly-signed law regarding “net neutrality” seeks to regulate interstate…
Linux Insider
Despite Emmys, Road Ahead Is Bumpy for Streaming Services
Linux Insider cited CEI’s Research Fellow and Regulatory Council Ryan Radia on streaming services. “Wireless networks regularly suffer from congestion, including when too…
Multichannel News
FCC Approves 5G Rollout-Related Reforms
Multichannel News cited CEI on FCC 5G reforms. “The FCC’s plan to cut red tape is a step in the right direction for…
News Release
CEI Commends FCC Vote to Streamline 5G Buildout – America’s Next Generation of Wireless Technology
Today, the Federal Communications Commission voted to streamline the buildout of 5G infrastructure, America’s next generation of wireless technology. The Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Jessica Melugin,…
Washington Examiner
13 State Reps To Meet With Justice Department On Antitrust Action Against Social Media Giants
Washington Examiner cited CEI’s joint letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions. A group of technology activists and think tanks recently …
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Requesting Restraint on Social Media Bias Action
We write to express our concern over your plans to convene a meeting of state attorneys general later this month “to discuss a growing concern…
Washington Examiner
Conservatives To Jeff Sessions: Attacking Facebook Will Empower ‘President Elizabeth Warren’
Washington Examiner cited CEI missive letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “Suppose that, after years of President Elizabeth Warren tweeting…
Fox News
Sessions Urged Not To Go After Social Media Companies By Technology Activists
Fox News cited CEI’s Vice President For Strategy and Senior Fellow Iain Murray on social media letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions. In a …
News Release
CEI Applauds Sensenbrenner Bill to Stem Fallout from Supreme Court Decision on Internet Sales Tax
Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) introduced the Online Sales Simplicity and Small Business Relief Act of 2018 today, aimed at protecting taxpayers and online entrepreneurs from…
The Hill
If a Conservative Facebook is Such a Good Idea, Why Hasn’t it Happened?
Donald Trump Jr. has joined in his father’s attacks on social media — but with a twist. He told Axios that “if a Trump supporter…
Blog
Ditch Antitrust Regulation in Favor of Competing Bigness
The Federal Trade Commission (born in 1914, fathered by Woodrow Wilson) is hosting a series of hearings and discussions on “Competition and Consumer Protection…
Politico
Real Talk on Capital Gains
Politico cited CEI’s platform economy video. CEI has a new video out today “extolling the benefits of the modern digital ‘platform…
PJ Media
Here’s Why Bureaucrats See a Lethal Threat in the ‘Platform Economy’
PJ Media cited CEI’s platform economy video. The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) has a great new video out explaining why the Platform Economy —…
The Sun
Online Firms Like Amazon Face Higher Taxes to Help Struggling High Streets, Philip Hammond Hints, but Will it Put Up Prices?
The Sun cited Associate Director of the Center for Technology & Innovation Jessica Melugin on Internet Sales Tax. “But experts have warned that…
Blog
Real Sin for Social Media Companies Not ‘Censorship,’ but Getting into Bed with Government
Social media outlets have been filled with commentary this week about the decisions by Apple, Facebook, YouTube, and Spotify to remove content created by…
The Joint Economic Committee
Ryan Radia Testifies Before the Joint Economic Committee in Congress on Digital Trade
Ryan Radia, Research Fellow and Regulatory Counsel, gave testimony before the United States Congress Joint Economic Committee on the need for U.S.
Forbes
Networking and Automation are Upending the Scholarly Study of Entrepreneurship
The changing nature of work via the sharing economy, automation and networking is one among a profusion of variables (such as economic liberty) affecting modern…
Comment
Testimony of Ryan Radia: The Need for U.S. Leadership on Digital Trade
Chairman Paulsen, Ranking Member Heinrich, and Members of the Committee, thank you for giving me the opportunity to testify before you today. My name is…
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