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
Reason
The Scandalous Science Behind Nuclear Regulation
Nuclear power could be a game-changer for energy affordability, grid reliability, and carbon reduction. However, it’s been stifled for decades based on one deeply flawed…
Blog
The CHIPS and Science Act: A potential regulatory issue
Industrial policy is back with a bang. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed vulnerabilities in global supply chains, prompting intense debates in Congress about government’s role in…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Technology and politics with Corbin Barthold
In this week’s episode we cover bringing your parents to a job interview, the case against a universal basic income, and why…
Search Posts
Blog
FCC Chairman Pai Ends Obama-era Investigation of ‘Zero-rating’ Data Plans
Newly promoted FCC chairman Ajit Pai signals a reversal of policy on Obama-era net neutrality rules.
Blog
Public Interest Groups Urge Update of Email Privacy Protections
This week, CEI joined dozens of public interest groups, trade associations, and companies in sending a letter to Congress in support of the…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Supporting Email Privacy Act
View Full Document as PDF Dear Chairman Goodlatte and Ranking Member Conyers, We, the undersigned civil society organizations, companies and trade associations,…
Blog
Wyoming Considers Disastrous Sales Tax Proposal
The U.S. Supreme Court made clear in the case of Quill v. North Dakota (1992) that Congress, not the individual states, has the authority to regulate…
Blog
Crash Course in Gambling Law for Would-be Attorney General Sessions
Federal law does not ban all online gambling, despite what U.S. Attorney General-designate Jeff Sessions has suggested.
Forbes
A CES Takeaway: Don’t Fear Robots And Artificial Intelligence–Fear Politicians
Maroon 5 keeps popping up on my Pandora stations, so artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning still have a ways to go. Even if AI…
Blog
Utah Keeping Amazon Sales Tax Deal Secret
The Utah State Tax Commission refuses to make public the details of the deal reached with Amazon due to what’s been reported as a “confidentiality…
Blog
New Congress Needs to Modernize Tech Policy
With respect to tech and telecom, lawmakers should avoid imposing new mandates and prohibitions in response to new technologies that might seem threatening, absent exceptional…
Blog
Five New Year’s Resolutions for a New Administration
Now is the perfect time for members of the incoming Trump administration to reflect on where America is and set policy goals for the coming…
Blog
RealClear Radio Hour: Executive Actions and Blockchain Technology
In this episode, Andrew Grossman proposes executive actions Trump can take to undo problematic portions of Obama’s pen and phone legacy and Donatien Adou discusses…
Blog
Must-Have Gifts for America’s Wish List
It isn’t Christmas Day yet, much to the chagrin of impatient youngsters, but it’s already time for America to put together a wish list for…
Cato At Liberty
The Feds Want to Track Your Car
Cato At Liberty highlights a quote by Marc Scribner on regulating vehicle-to-vehicle communication technology. While the risks of mandatory V2V systems are significant,…
Cato At Liberty
“Court Ruling A Big Blow to ‘Open Internet'”
“Verizon was joined in its fight by conservative and business groups that oppose neutrality rules, such as the Competitive…
Blog
A Free Market Policy Agenda for the Trump Administration
CEI’s free market policy agenda for the incoming Trump administration is aimed at strengthening the economy and removing barriers to economic freedom in five key…
New York Post
Controversial FCC boss to exit agency before term ends
New York Post discusses Federal Communication Comission's head Tom Wheeler's exit from the agency with CEI. The Competitive Enterprise Institute issued a negative…
Study
First Steps for the Trump Administration: Support Technology and Innovation
View full document as PDF The frontier sectors that define the new high-tech economy are uniquely vulnerable to political predation and cronyism.
Blog
A Pro-Growth Agenda for the 115th Congress
At CEI, we believe a clear agenda is necessary to move America toward economic growth, prosperity, and liberty for individuals to chart their own paths…
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 how rapidly—and momentously—they have evolved.
Blog
Future Cyber Mondays Could Take a Hit from Proposed Internet Tax
Adobe Digital Insights predicts that Cyber Monday’s sales will surpass last year’s sales by 11.5%, for a total of $3 billion this year.
Study
Why Internet Sales Taxes Bolster Bigger Government
View Full Document as PDF The rapid growth of online retailing has led to calls from state and local officials for greater…
Blog
RealClear Radio Hour: Internet Sales Tax Shakedown and Legal Graft
This week on RealClear Radio Hour, Jessica Melugin and Trevor Burrus discuss freedom from bureaucracy online and political corruption.
Blog
Dueling Narratives on the AT&T-Time Warner “Mega Merger”
This weekend AT&T and Time Warner announced a merger deal and it didn't take long for critics on the left to begin making concerned statements…
Forbes
Republicans and Democrats Unite Against $86 Billion AT&T-Time Warner Merger Deal
In a response to earlier media mergers such as Comcast-NBCUniversal, and in an effort to adapt to a world in which consumers increasingly turn away…
The Hill
How driverless cars can reduce pollution
The Hill highlights Marc Scribner's report on state laws that would restrict platooning technology for automated vehicles. Autonomous vehicles also have the potential to…
The Hill
California weighs self-driving car rules
The Hill discusses California's draft driverless car regulations with Marc Scribner. Marc Scribner, a research fellow for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said the…
Forbes
White House Showcases National Plans For Mars Journey, High Technology
President Barack Obama is hosting the White House Frontiers Conference at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University. The idea is to “explore the future of innovation,”…
Blog
Facebook Makes the Case for “Free Basics” Internet Access
Facebook is lobbying the White House for the government’s blessing to offer its “Free Basics” service in the United States, according to a story reported…
Blog
Federal Communications Commission Delays Vote on Cable Box Rules
How would the proposed rules change cable set-top boxes?…
Blog
Tom Cotton’s Last Minute Anti-Gambling Bill
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) fears the Internet.
Blog
Mr. Robot and the Future of Money
Last week, the cult USA channel TV show Mr. Robot showed once again why it is required viewing for anyone interested in technology.
One News Now
‘Amazing’ developments re: self-driving cars
One News Now discusses technology developments for self-driving cars with Marc Scribner. "More training options are great," says Marc Scribner, transportation policy analyst…
The Hill
Driverless cars face regulatory roadblock
The Hill highlights Marc Scribner's study examining state laws restricting truck platooning technology. But it’s not just pedal and steering wheel rules that…
Forbes
Why Future Federal Communications Commission Oversight Hearings Should Explore Sunsetting the Agency
There’s another Federal Communications Commission (FCC) oversight hearing underway in the Senate Commerce Committee, with most of the time being spent on doings with…
Blog
Senators Examine Internet Naming Authority
This morning, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights and Federal Courts will hold a hearing entitled “Protecting Internet Freedom: Implications…
Scientific American
Uber’s “Self-Driving” Test Cars to Be Overseen by Driver and Engineer
Scientific American reports on "self-driving" car technology and discusses regulatory hurdles to this technology with Marc Scribner. Uber’s decision to expose the public to the…
News Release
Goodlatte Online Sales Tax Proposal is an ‘Improvement’ but Still Needs Work
Today, House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., released a discussion draft of his plan to tackle remote online sales taxes. A vast improvement over competing proposals in…
Washington Examiner
America to hand off Internet in under two months
Washington Examiner reports on the handoff of American control of the Internet and highlights CEI's letter to Congress on the issue. Opponents similarly made the…
Politico
Making a roadway less of a roadblock
Politico's Morning Transportation highlights Marc Scribner's study on state laws blocking truck platooning technology. Marc Scribner is out with a 66-page guide this…
Blog
Worst Procedural Abuses of the Obama Era: Net Neutrality
Under the federal Administrative Procedure Act (APA), before an agency may issue a new rule, it must usually publish a notice of proposed rulemaking in…
Foundation for Economic Education
Ma Bell Suppressed Innovation for Thirty Grueling Years
"Oh, for the days of Ma Bell!” is not a lament we’re likely to hear. And for good reason. Before the breakup of AT&T, America’s…
Blog
Politics and Economics Collide with Pokémon Go
It seems strange to think it’s been barely a week since Pokémon Go became the dominant pop culture phenomenon of the summer. Publications better known…
The Hill
Big Brother? How SOPRA can help restore proper authority
The Internet as we know it may soon become unrecognizable. That’s because the freewheeling “network of networks” soon will be regulated by bureaucrats. The D.C.
Foundation for Economic Education
Fear Not Malevolent AI Robots
I’ve recently become hooked on Michael Solona’s new podcast series, “Anatomy of Next: Utopia,”a fascinating analysis of our most advanced and rapidly developing technologies…
Blog
The Custody Battle for Your Internet Privacy
Google, Facebook, and YouTube; how do these large websites stay free? Internet advertising is part of a huge economy of $27.5 billion that allows the…
Comment
CEI and Tech Freedom Comments to the FCC on Protecting Broadband Customers’ Privacy
Full Document Available in PDF Chutzpah, wrote Leo Rostein in his 1968 classic, The Joys of Yiddish, is “that quality enshrined in a…
Blog
Chicago Home-Sharing Rules a Loss for Residents
Chicago’s Mayor Rahm Emanuel negotiated an armistice with the sharing economy last week. Uber, Lyft, and Airbnb have promised comply with the new rules, which…
Blog
Will the Sharing Economy Give Us Greater Economic Mobility?
Last night the R Street Institute sponsored a fascinating policy panel here in Washington, D.C., “Boost or Barrier? Upward mobility in the on-demand economy.”…
Blog
RealClear Radio Hour: Innovation Economy & State Fiscal Breakdown
This week on RealClear Radio Hour, guests Garrett Johnson and Eileen Norcross explain the importance of developing a more technologically nimble and fiscally responsible government.
Blog
Coming Soon: International Mayors for Inconvenient Travel
While we wait to see whether Gov. Andrew Cuomo will sign legislation targeting home-share listings in New York, the governmental response to the sharing economy’s…
Blog
New York Rules DFS a “Game of Skill,” Maintains Ban on Internet Poker
Human beings have been gambling since at least the dawn of recorded history and perhaps one of the most enduring games is poker.
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