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
The Heartlander
Online Poker Ban Gains Support in U.S. Senate
The Heartlander cites CEI`s Michellen Minton on the online poker ban: Hidden Agenda Competitive Enterprise Institute Fellow Michelle…
Blog
FCC Ignores Rule of Law in Attempt to Fine AT&T for Throttling Wireless Users
Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), on a three-to-two vote, found that AT&T violated federal regulations by failing to disclose that it was throttling certain wireless…
Simple Justice
The Public Accommodation Formerly Known As SJ
Simple Justice cites CEI`s Hans Bader on the Americans with Disabilities Act: Walter Olson, at Overlawyered, here and here, Amy Alkon…
The Hill
Latest Internet sales tax bill gives states unprecedented taxing power
This week’s introduction by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) of yet another Internet sales tax bill illustrates the importance of understanding this complex issue and the…
Washington Monthly
Why Is America Losing the Commercial Drone Wars?
The Washington Monthly quotes CEI`s Marc Scribner on FAA`s drone regulations. "The business press and tech websites are filled with stories slamming the…
Real Clear Policy
USA FREEDOM Act: A Win for Privacy
For years, unbeknownst to the American people, a top-secret government program overseen by the National Security Agency collected and stored "metadata" about nearly all U.S.
Fortune
The Verizon-AOL Deal Shows How Much AOL has Reinvented Itself
CEI's Wayne Crews is quoted in Fortune on Verizon's AOL buyout. “This is a positioning deal, to provide ad-serving to the mobile video…
News Release
CEI Responds to Ruling Striking Down NSA Phone Record Collection
CEI’s VP of Policy Wayne Crews, Jr. today responded to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruling against National Security Agency’s (NSA) collection of…
Letters
CEI Urges Senate to Reject Reauthorization of PATRIOT Act Without Reforms
In the two years since Americans learned of the NSA’s mass surveillance, they have grown increasingly skeptical about whether the government’s intrusive surveillance programs serve…
Blog
CEI Statements on the Failed Comcast-Time Warner Merger
CEI responded to the news that the Comcast-Time Warner merger failed. You can read more analysis from CEI's Vice President for Policy Wayne Crews here.
Investor's Business Daily
Comcast Surrenders To Government Bullies, Backs Out Of Merger
Investor's Business Daily cites Wayne Crews' work on the failed Comcast-Time Warner merger. Clyde Wayne Crews of the Competitive Enterprise Institute brings a…
Blog
Fix Cyber Information Sharing Bill, Free Market Groups Urge
The Competitive Enterprise Institute, TechFreedom and a coalition of free-market groups issued an open letter to Members of Congress, urging them to consider amendments…
Citation
Ryan Radia Talks to BBC Radio about Google Antitrust Charges
Listen to Ryan Radia’s full BBC interview here The European Commission brought antitrust charges against Google in a formal complaint on April 15,…
Blog
Marketplace Fairness Act Is More about Tax Revenue and Rent-Seeking than Fairness
Yesterday, Sens. Mike Enzi (R-Wy.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) reintroduced the speciously named Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA) in the…
Comment
CEI, ICLE, TechFreedom File Comments with FCC in MVPD Definition Proceeding
Full Document Available in PDF In this proceeding, the Commission proposes to expand the definition of a multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD)…
MSNBC
Why the FCC’s Vote to Regulate the Internet Is a Mistake
On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to regulate Internet providers as public utilities under a 1934 law. President Obama celebrated…
Blog
Net Neutrality Vote Shows Congress Must Rein In and Replace the FCC
The separation of powers doctrine demands that Congress not tolerate unelected federal agencies going it alone and making binding law. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC),…
Reason
Don’t Extend the Dead Hand of the FCC to the Internet
On February 26, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote on a proposal to regulate companies that provide Internet access as public utilities. Spearheaded…
Vox
Is Network Neutrality Becoming a Partisan Issue?
Vox cites CEI's Ryan Radia on the Net Neutrality debate: Ryan Radia, a telecom policy expert at the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute,…
Blog
Premature Capitulation?
Over the decades I’ve spent in this Heart of Darkness (a.k.a., the bowels of American politics), I’ve learned two lessons that have encouraged the steady…
The Roanoke Times
A New Idea for Tax Fairness Online
The misleadingly named Marketplace Fairness Act died a quiet death during the House of Representatives’ lame-duck session, but is it really the end? What does…
The Blaze
Cybersecurity Concerns Spotlight Obama’s State of the Union Cyber Agenda
The Blaze cites CEI's Ryan Radia on cybersecurity: “Even as the federal government is forcing telephone companies to hand over phone call…
Blog
On Cybersecurity, President Obama Offers Mixed Bag in SOTU
Technology policy rarely earns more than a brief mention in the President’s annual State of the Union address to Congress. But tonight, when President Obama…
Blog
Free to Prosper: Top Priorities for the 114th Congress
With the start of the 114th Congress comes a fresh opportunity to address the challenges created by a broken government. To kick off this new congressional…
Blog
Automated Vehicles Update: Big Feature at CES, California Rules Delayed, Georgia Cautious on Regulation
It’s been a few months since I last checked in on automated vehicles (AVs), commonly called driverless cars or autonomous vehicles. Below are some developments of…
Blog
Besting a Billionaire: How a Grassroots Campaign Stopped a Ban on Internet Gambling
This week we get to say goodbye to the 113th Congress. For those who believe in free markets and individual liberty, it was a doozy.
Study
Top 5 Things Congress Should Consider During Lame-Duck Session
View the document here During Congress’ lame-duck session, both Republicans and Democrats will dig into a number of stalled pieces of legislation…
One News Now
Two Views on Danger of ‘Net Neutrality’
One News Now talks to Ryan Radia about free-market reasons to oppose Net Neutrality: If this is a free speech issue, says the Competitive…
Study
From Overstock to Overtaxed
With Congress poised to consider similar taxes in the Marketplace Fairness Act…
News Release
New Report: The Economic and Legal Problems with Internet Sales Taxes
WASHINGTON – Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) released a new study analyzing the economic downsides and legal problems with…
Vox
The GOP’s Senate Takeover Could Be a Big Deal for Net Neutrality and Patent Reform
CEI's Ryan Radia discusses net neutrality, patent reform and online privacy with Vox Media: Net Neutrality: "Still, Ryan Radia of the Competitive…
Comment
Comments to NHTSA Regarding Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communications
Full Document Available in PDF On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (“CEI”), I respectfully submit these comments in response to the…
PC World
Groups Accuse FCC of Helping Net Neutrality Advocates File Comments
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission engaged in the worst kind of “partisan politics” by working closely with net neutrality advocates to ensure their comments were…
Letters
CEI, National and State Coalitions Support Internet Tax Moratorium
Full Document Avalible in PDF The Competitive Enterprise Institute, along with dozens of State and National organizations are asking the Senate to…
Comment
Comcast-TWC Merger Comments to FCC
View Full Comments Here In comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission yesterday, the Competitive Enterprise Institute urged the FCC to unconditionally…
Investor's Business Daily
Big Government Can’t Keep Up In Digital Era
Article by Michael Barone Earlier this week, I was thinking of writing a column about the lying and duplicity of ObamaCare backers who argued that…
Austin American Statesman
Texans Should Beware of Internet Sales Tax
Texas is one of the nation’s best states for doing business, according to a recent CNBC survey. Lone Star lawmakers deserve credit for the pro-growth…
Blog
New Report Highlights Driverless Car Urban Impact; Takes Techno-Dystopian Stance
Earlier this month, Professor David Begg of Transport Times published a new report on automated transport technology focusing on the potential impacts on London. This is one of…
Blog
Bitcoin’s Undiscovered Potential
A recent piece in American Banker magazine explores how Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can help the underprivileged, particularly the millions of unbanked people who…
The Skeptical Libertarian
Reasons Libertarians Should Be Skeptical of Uber Politics
Libertarians, we may have an Uber problem. Don’t get me wrong, friends of freedom. I love Uber. I use Uber at least once a week.
Forbes
Techno-Libertarianism: Building The Case For Separation Of Technology And State
Can we keep government’s hands off the technology frontier? I like to think it makes sense that libertarianism—or classical liberal ideas–would resonate in places like…
1776
Commercial Drones Face Sky-High Regulatory Barriers
The widespread adoption of commercial unmanned aircraft systems—commonly called “drones”—should be right around the corner. But overcautious, burdensome regulation threatens to hold it back. To…
Human Events
Expert’s Take: TV Broadcast Rights
The Supreme Court this week ruled against a television broadcast company whose business model was infringing on copyright law. Ryan Radia, associate director of technology…
Blog
Why the Supreme Court’s Aereo Decision Protects Creators without Endangering the Cloud
This post was coauthored by Geoffrey Manne and Ben Sperry of the International Center for Law and Economics. It originally appeared at Truth on…
WBUR Boston
Supreme Court Aereo Decision Also A Blow To Boston’s Tech Sector
The media company Hearst Corporation, which owns WCVB-TV in Boston, says it is pleased with the ruling for protecting its right to be compensated. The…
News Release
Aereo Decision Protects Creators and Distributors
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Annie Dwyer; 202-331-2765 WASHINGTON, June 25 – This morning, the United States Supreme Court ruled against the online-streaming company…
Blog
Distracted by Paranoia, Obama Administration to Regulate Map Apps?
A story in The New York Times is making the rounds about an Obama administration proposal to clarify the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) authority to…
Blog
Ridesharing Wars: Uber, Regulators, and the “California Compromise”
Yesterday, as many in the D.C. metro area are aware, Virginia’s Department of Motor Vehicles sent cease-and-desist letters to Uber (PDF) and Lyft…
Forbes
There’s A Way To Pay Off America’s Budget Deficits That Is Easy, And Wholly Painless
Whatever your views on the role of government, one thing is clear: There will be no way to pay for it if the economy doesn’t…
Blog
House Intel Committee Chair Ignores Report Calling NSA Surveillance Illegal
At a recent event titled “A Statesman Forum on Cybersecurity Policy and Diplomacy” at George Washington University, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.)…
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