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
News Release
Market-based Reforms Needed to Correct Failures of Universal Service Subsidies, Congress Urged to Act
A new report from the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) highlights the pervasive failures of the Universal Service Fund (USF) subsidies and calls on Congress…
Blog
Good things happen when spectrum is allocated to the marketplace
There has been recent legislative activity on spectrum allocation, so it is a good time to remind ourselves why moving as much spectrum as…
Blog
For the sake of user privacy, keep Google search remedies narrow and germane
The movement in the Biden and Trump administrations of antitrust officials away from consumer welfare and towards a federal judiciary of active regulation is on…
Search Posts
Blog
State Officials, Department of Justice Should Green-Light Sprint-T-Mobile Merger
Yesterday’s filing by ten state attorneys general to block the proposed merger of wireless carriers T-Mobile and Sprint is the latest threat to the innovations…
TechNewsWorld
T-Mobile-Sprint Merger Teeters Between FCC Approval, DOJ Rejection
TechNewsWorld cites Associate Director Jessica Melugin on competition between wireless carriers. “No one can be sure of the ‘right’ number of competitors in…
Fox News
Conservatives Who Want Facebook, Other Social Media Regulated Should Think Twice
There are growing calls from both sides of the political aisle for government regulation of speech on social media platforms, but letting government dictate what…
Blog
Liberate Local TV Programming from Price Controls
The Senate Commerce Committee plans to hold a hearing on the state of the media marketplace on June 5 and the debate around reauthorizing The…
Blog
Costs of Loss of Anonymity in Administrative Surveillance State
The ability of citizens to communicate privately and to retain anonymity if desired are foundational rights slipping away in the regulatory panopticon of the administrative…
Blog
Federal Communications Commission Wisely Steps out of Way of Sprint/T-Mobile Merger
Today the Federal Communications Commission signaled it will likely vote to approve the merger of Sprint and T-Mobile.
Blog
White House Uses Discredited Complaints Tactic against Social Media Companies
My colleague Wayne Crews has already slammed the White House for a first step towards government regulation of online speech in its “tech bias” complaints…
Blog
Breaking up and Regulating Facebook: Unfair, Un-American, Unacceptable
Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, former publisher of The New Republic, argues in a long essay for The New York Times that the company should be…
Blog
Don’t Let Facebook Team up with Big Government to Censor the Web
Facebook’s expulsion of several controversial figures from its platform last week is an example of a company managing its own private property to what it…
CNBC
VIDEO: Ryan Radia Discusses Facebook and FTC on CNBC Power Lunch
Adjunct Fellow Ryan Radia joined CNBC’s Power Lunch to discuss Facebook and the FTC.
News Release
DOJ Wrong to Intervene in Merger Between Sprint and T-Mobile
Today, the Wall Street Journal reported that antitrust enforcement staff at the Department of Justice have told T-Mobile and Sprint the proposed merger between the…
CNS News
Facebook Moves on from ‘Move Fast and Break Things,’ Calls for Regulation
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s motto used to be “Move fast and break things.” Now that his company is under increased political scrutiny—and facing calls for…
Bloomberg BNA
Talking Cars Speaking Different Tongues May Make FCC Pick Winner
Bloomberg BNA cited Senior Fellow Marc Scribner on the NCTA’s request to allow unlicensed use of 5.9 GHz airwaves for Wi-Fi calls. Potential…
Blog
Americans Optimistic about Role of Tech and Platforms
At a time when big tech companies are being attacked over bigness, privacy, elections, and the ordering of their news feeds, the Charles Koch Institute…
News Release
House Bill Seeks to Resurrect Unnecessary, Heavy-Handed Regulation of the Internet
The House of Representatives passed a bill today aimed at reinstating heavy-handed regulation of the Internet put into place under the Obama Administration. The bill…
News Release
SEC Threatens Access to Cryptocurrency and Other Digital Goods
The Competitive Enterprise Institute today released a report warning that government regulation of cryptocurrency as a “security” threatens innovation in financial transactions and other consumer…
Study
Cryptocurrency and the SEC’s Limitless Power Grab
Many questions are being asked about cryptocurrency. Is it a major innovation that will improve standards of living in ways we cannot yet imagine? Or…
Blog
Sharing Economy Is Opposite of Servant Economy
In a bleak take on the sharing economy, Atlantic writer Alexis C. Madrigal says it has created a “servant economy,” where sharing economy platforms provide…
Blog
Facebook’s Call for Regulation Could Lead to Government Censorship
The Internet is unique in history not because it lacked “rules” about free expression, but that it expanded that broadcast freedom to all, not just…
News Release
CEI 35th Anniversary Event Speakers Announced
Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute is pleased to announce the speakers for its 35th-anniversary dinner on June 20 in Washington, D.C.
Blog
Move Slowly and Establish Rules: Facebook’s Call for Regulation
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s motto used to be “Move fast and break things.” Now that his company is under increased political scrutiny—and facing calls for…
Blog
America’s Tech Regulators Should Not Follow Europe’s Lead
This week The Economist endorsed European “tech doctrine”—a combination of antitrust, tax, privacy, and regulatory policies that is rapidly being imposed on a mostly American…
Blog
VIDEO: Building a Living on eBay
At a time when socialism seems determined to crawl back from the dustbin of history, it can be a challenge defending the moral legitimacy—and humanity—of…
The Washington Times
Antitrust Explained
The Washington Times cited Vice President for Strategy Iain Murray on CEI’s video, “Antitrust Explained.” Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Elizabeth Warren is among those who…
News Release
CEI Releases New Video: How Antitrust Harms Consumers by Stifling Innovation and Competition
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) today launched a new video, “Antitrust Explained,” disputing recent calls by politicians and academics to use antitrust laws and regulations…
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…
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