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
TechCrunch
Privacy Advocates Advise Supreme Court to Protect Phone Location Data under the 4th Amendment
TechCrunch covers CEI’s amicus brief in Carpenter v. United States. Among the Supreme Court’s many upcoming cases is Carpenter v. United States,…
Study
Rethinking the Federal Communications Commission
View Full Document as PDF Created by the Communications Act of 1934, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) wields broad authority to regulate…
Cato
To Apply the Fourth Amendment in the Digital Age, Go Back to Its Text
Cato covers CEI’s amicus brief in Carpenter v. United States. Timothy Carpenter and Timothy Sanders were convicted in federal court on charges stemming…
Blog
Defending 4th Amendment Privacy Protections for Digital Property
People have property rights in data about themselves that is allocated by contract between them and their service providers.
Blog
TechFreedom Hosts Policy Summit on Future of Technology Regulation
Our friends at TechFreedom recently treated technology policy nerds in D.C. to a policy summit.
Fox Business Network
VIDEO: Jim Harper Discusses NSA Spying on Kennedy
Jim Harper, Vice President of CEI, discusses NSA spying on Fox Business Network’s Kennedy.
Blog
For the Sake of Financial Privacy, IRS Subpoena of Coinbase Should Go
Our brief in United States v. Coinbase might have a lot to say about what the future of financial privacy looks like.
Blog
Protect Free Speech Guarantees of Communications Decency Act
If operators of websites were responsible for what each of their users posted online, they could be on the hook for every potential defamation, infliction…
Blog
Online Sales Taxes in Congress’ Crosshairs
The No Regulation Without Representation Act would prevent states from imposing tax or regulatory obligations on businesses that lack a physical presence in that state.
Coindesk
Understanding Bitcoin’s Scaling Debate: Politics Comes First
Software programmers are usually collegial and collaborative, but parts of the bitcoin developer community are currently displaying the kind of acrimony familiar to political capitols…
Coindesk
‘Bitcoin Sign Guy’ Has a New Job, But He’s Keeping His Identity Secret
Coindesk discusses Bitcoin Sign Guy’s new job at CEI with his boss Jim Harper. It’s been a tumultuous week since the man known as…
News Release
President Trump and Net Neutrality Rulemaking at FCC
White House press briefing, Principal Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said, in reference to the current net neutrality debate, “The Trump administration believes the rules…
Comment
CEI Comments to the FCC on Restoring Internet Freedom
View full document as PDF On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), we respectfully submit these comments regarding the FCC’s proposed…
Forbes
Net Neutrality Day Of Action Platitudes To Ensnare Corporate Proponents
Amazon, Google, Facebook and others in the tech world…you’re really going to keep poking on net neutrality? Some of you seem a tad less…
Blog
Net Neutrality ‘Day of Action’ Endorses Government Power to Suppress Free Speech
This week's net neutrality “Day of Action” seeks to defend a regulatory regime that ultimately facilities the suppression of free speech by a federal agency:…
The Daily Caller
RAWA: One Casino Billionaire’s Quest to Kill Internet Gambling
The Daily Caller covers the Restoration of America’s Wire Act and cites a paper written by Michelle Minton on the subject. Enter the…
News Release
CEI Calls European Union Ruling and Fine in Antitrust Case Against Google “Flawed”
In a landmark ruling on Tuesday, the European Union fined Alphabet Inc’s Google, a record $2.7 billion dollars, for favoring its own search entity…
Op-Eds
No, Amazon isn’t a monopoly just because it bought Whole Foods
Amazon announced a deal last week to purchase the grocery chain Whole Foods for nearly $14 billion. The company’s largest proposed transaction…
Blog
Federal Government Finally Powers Down on Y2K Crisis
Regulating new technologies is especially risky. The high-tech sector is an evolving frontier. Frontiers are always a bit chaotic, and it is inherent in their…
Forbes
The Technology And Telecommunications Sectors And Trump’s Crucial Second 100 Days
Is it possible to keep federal government regulators’ hands off the technology sector? We’re in the middle of president Donald Trump’s second “100 Days,” and…
Fox Business Network
VIDEO: Jim Harper Discusses NSA Leak on Fox Business Network
Jim Harper, Vice President of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, discusses a recent NSA Leak with Kennedy on Fox Business Network.
Inside Sources
Point: Net Neutrality Bad for Consumers
The FCC’s proposed rollback of its 2015 Open Internet Order has put the term “net neutrality” back in the political zeitgeist. The phrase itself is…
News Release
CEI Responds to SCOTUS Acceptance of Warrantless Cell Phone Tracking Case
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it will hear a case determining whether law enforcement should require a warrant to track suspects through cell phone…
Blog
Roundup of Recent D.C. Telecom Events
Recent events aimed at restoring Internet freedom.
RealClear Future
Straight Talk on the “Talking Car” Mandate
Will another driver’s car “talking” with yours someday save your life? The answer, from regulators and many automakers, is a resounding “Yes.” Such a promising…
The Daily Caller
Obama Administration’s Internet Regs Suffer First Huge Blow
The Daily Caller discusses the Federal Communications Commission’s vote on Net Neutrality with Ryan Commissioners at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 2-1…
News Release
CEI Applauds FCC Vote to Start Roll Back of Internet Regulations
Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to begin the regulatory process to roll back the agency’s 2015 net neutrality rules. Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI)…
Washington Free Beacon
Report: Net Neutrality Leads to Higher prices, Less Innovation
Washington Free Beacon covers CEI’s Net Neutrality report authored by Jessica Melugin and Ryan Radia. Keeping Obama administration-era net neutrality rules would result…
Politico
CEI Makes Case for Net Neutrality Rollback
Politico Morning Tech covers CEI’s Net Neutrality report authored by Ryan Radia and Jessica Melugin. The Competitive Enterprise Institute, in a report…
The Hill
Congress Must Put an End to Online Taxation Without Representation
The recent reintroduction of the misnamed Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA) is the latest in the effort to expand taxes on internet sales. Proponents of taxing…
News Release
Should We Regulate the Internet? CEI Argues FCC’s Net Neutrality Rules Threaten Freedom, Innovation and Harm Consumers
Consumers should be aware that net neutrality regulations will result in higher prices and less innovation for their broadband services.
Study
A Net Neutrality Primer
View Full Document as PDF If you have watched Last Week Tonight with John Oliver recently, you will have noticed that its…
Government Technology
Tech Will Require Continued Adjustment and Definition Within the Law, Experts Say
Government Technology covers a panel held on April 10 at the National Constitution Center featuring Jim Harper, Vice President of CEI. During an…
Reason.com
Trump’s First 100 Days: At Least He Picked Some Good People to Run Things
Reason.com discusses the FCC’s broadband privacy rule with Ryan Radia. Trump and Congress teamed-up to use the Congressional Review Act 13 times during…
Vox
Trump’s FCC Chair Just Declared War on Obama’s Net Neutrality Rules
Vox discusses the Federal Communication Commission’s net neutrality rules with Ryan Radia. Now, surprisingly, Republicans like Sen. John Thune (R-SD), the chair of…
News Release
CEI Commends FCC Plan to Roll Back Net Neutrality Regulations Threatening Internet Freedom
CEI commends Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai's plans for rolling back harmful net neutrality regulations that hamper Internet freedom and consumer access to more…
Fortune
How Trump’s FCC Head Plans To Attack Net Neutrality
Fortune discusses with Ryan Radia the Federal Communication Commision’s Chairman Ajit Pai’s expected announcement to eliminate net neutrality rules. Already, the various sides…
Wall Street Journal
Who Watches a Murder Streamed Live on Facebook?
The Wall Street Journal discusses regulating social media live streaming with Ryan Radia. With nearly two billion users, Facebook wants to be not…
News Release
To Boost Innovation, FCC Should Roll Back Net Neutrality Regulations
Over the past decade, the FCC has sought to transform itself into the Internet’s regulator in spite of a clear directive to the contrary from…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Urging FCC to Repeal Data Retention Rule
View Full Document as PDF Dear Chairman Pai, Commissioner Clyburn, and Commissioner O’Rielly, More than a year and half ago, a coalition…
News Release
CEI Responds to FCC Move to Deregulate Broadband
Reversing initiatives it pursued during the Obama administration, the Federal Communications Commission has accelerated its push to deregulate, by voting to ease limits on broadcast…
Real Clear Policy
A Chance to Improve the FCC
The new Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Ajit Pai, has his work cut out for him. He must move the FCC’s approach to…
Citation
VIDEO: Jim Harper Discusses U.S. Surveillance Laws on Fox Business
CEI technology policy expert and Vice President Jim Harper joined Kennedy on Fox Business to discuss U.S. surveillance laws and the vote on extending the Foreign Intelligence…
Letters
CEI Joins International Coalition Urging Australian Government To Scrap Proposed Internet Sales Tax
View Full Document as PDF To whom it may concern, We the undersigned, representing millions of taxpayers across the world, urge the…
Blog
A New Approach to Allocating Broadcast Spectrum
More technology that uses the internet means demand on the spectrum can quickly outpace supply. Luckily, private markets have a solution.
News Release
Freeing Spectrum: How Market Values Can Unleash Telecom Innovation
Americans use the electromagnetic spectrum (spectrum) every day through their cell phones, tablets, radios, and other devices. Although users can immediately tell when their data…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Urging Georgia Senate to Reject H.B. 225
View Full Document as PDF Dear Georgia Senator, On behalf of the millions of members of the undersigned organizations, including thousands of…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Urging the Hawaii Legislature to Reject S.B. 620’s Unconstitutional Tax Grab
View Full Document as PDF Dear Hawaii Legislator, On behalf of the undersigned organizations, including Hawaii residents and taxpayers, we write in…
Study
A Case for Property Rights in the Electromagnetic Spectrum
View Full Document as PDF The air that surrounds us may appear empty, but it is full of information that travels across…
Blog
CEI Praises Trump Signature of Broadband Privacy Rule Repeal
President Trump signed a Congressional Review Act resolution yesterday repealing the Federal Communications Commission’s broadband privacy rule. The FCC’s privacy rule, adopted by the agency…
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