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
News Release
FCC to Vote on Cable TV Regulation
Op-Eds
TRA Should Open Bahrain to Competition
In response to “TRA seeks consumers’ comments on competition” (GDN, Nov. 14), the author described a ludicrous situation with an obvious solution. A regulatory…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. TECHNOLOGY Owners of iPhones sue Apple over alleged monopolistic behavior. CEI Expert Available to…
News Release
Google Critics Miss the Mark on Ad Deal
Op-Eds
Cable TV’s Monopolies
Frank Ahrens's Nov. 12 news story, “FCC Moves to Place Restrictions on Cable TV,” was highly misleading in its description of a “largely unregulated…
Op-Eds
The Frivolous iSuit
California resident Timothy Smith has sued Apple and AT&T over the iPhone, accusing them of illegal monopolistic behavior. The iPhone…
Op-Eds
Uncertain Antitrust Trajectory
The proposed XM/Sirius satellite merger — awaiting OKs from the Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) — represents the antitrust establishment’s latest target……
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> 1. CONGRESS Under pressure from activist groups, retail giant Target agrees to…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. ENVIRONMENT Ethanol stocks suffer setbacks. CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Marlo Lewis on ethanol’s claims…
Letters
Opposition to “Must Carry” Rules for Cable Operators
Full Document Available in PDF Dear Commissioners: The undersigned organizations wish to reiterate their…
Op-Eds
This just in
Mark Allen’s "FCC should face reality" [guest commentary, Nov. 8] rightly points out the negative effects of the FCC’s media-ownership rules. One not…
Op-Eds
This Just In
Mark Allen's “FCC should face reality” [guest commentary, Nov. 8] rightly points out the negative effects of the FCC's media-ownership rules. One not mentioned,…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. CONGRESS Members of the Senate meet this afternoon to consider the 2007 Farm Bill. CEI Expert…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. BUSINESS The Federal Communication Commission prepares to overturn contracts between cable companies and apartment building managers. …
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. TECHNOLOGY Greenpeace attacks Apple for what it considers “toxic” components in the iPhone. CEI…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. TECHNOLOGY The U.S. Chamber of Commerce investigates the privacy concerns and commercial possibilities of radio frequency…
Op-Eds
Economic Reality
Scott Cleland’s Sunday Commentary column, "Ultimate Internet gatekeeper?" described the potential Google acquisition of DoubleClick as a dire situation that would offer "no real…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. TECHNOLOGY The purchase of Internet advertising firm DoubleClick by Google raises privacy concerns. CEI…
Letters
Letter in Opposition to Price Controls on Special Access Services
Full Document Available in PDF Dear FCC Chairman & Commissioners: …
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. LEGAL The Supreme Court rejects an appeal by tobacco companies in a class action lawsuit brought by…
News Release
Congress Scrutinizes Google’s Latest Purchase
Washington, D.C., September 27, 2007—Google’s proposed buyout of online advertising company DoubleClick will be getting scrutinized today by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. TECHNOLOGY Cities across the country cancel…
Op-Eds
Europeans Use Antitrust to Thwart Competition
The European Union’s highly politicized business environment increasingly threatens competitiveness and consumer welfare across the continent. The Court of First Instance upheld…
Letters
Request that Congress Promptly Extend the Internet Tax Freedom Act
Full Document Available in PDF Dear Member of Congress: On behalf…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. ENVIRONMENT Danish scientist Bjørn Lomborg garners high-profile media attention for his new book, “Cool It:…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. ENVIRONMENT Local governments embrace the idea of “green” building standards for new construction projects.
News Release
Will Overregulation Kill Land Line Telephones?
Contact: Christine Hall, 202.331.2258 Washington, D.C., September 6, 2007—Americans are ditching their land line phones for cell phones in favor of mobile…
Study
Keeping the Voices Alive
And the night was alive With a thousand voices Fighting to be heard And each and every one of them Connected to me. - Maury…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. TELECOM Some colleges are ditching expensive landline phones in dorms, since students all have cell phones, anyway. (…
Op-Eds
Why WiFi? City Governments Should Stay Out
Back when Saturday Night Live was still funny, Lily Tomlin’s character Ernestine, the ill-mannered telephone operator, deftly parodied all that was wrong with the…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. POLITICS Congress’s approval rating plummets to an all-time low of 18 percent. CEI…
Blog
Why Wi-Fi?
David Robinson at The American said my last blog post on Wi-Fi was intriguing and asked me to write a piece for him. I can’t…
Blog
In Defense of the Prix Fixe Menu
Our old pal Peter Suderman, now writing for FreedomWorks, has a great takedown of the argument for “a la carte” cable pricing up at…
Blog
Talking About Municipal Wi-Fi on 1460 KION
Mark Carbonaro of 1460 KION had me on the “Wake Up Monterey” program yesterday morning. Here’s a clip from the segment where we talked…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. CONSUMER Prices for basic foodstuffs are rising sharply, driven in part by the use of corn…
Blog
Municipal Wi-Fi Stalls, Market Surges Forward
Over the last two years, San Francisco has been in negotiations with Earthlink who, in partnership with Google, has had plans to build a Wi-Fi…
Blog
Blackle: Making a Difference
The Washington Post reports that Blackle, a website by Australia-based Heap Media, is trying to “help make a difference” through a black version…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. TECHNOLOGY Microsoft presses the Federal Communications Commission to make broadcast spectrum available for wireless service.
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. ENVIRONMENT Salt Lake City attempts to keep city employees – including firefighters – from drinking bottled water, citing…
Blog
A Series of Tubes Episode 1
Introducing CEI’s weekly technology series A Series of Tubes. Cord Blomquist and Richard Morrison take a look behind the weekly headlines in tech and show…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. LEGAL Government officials in Nigeria attempt to sue drug maker Pfizer for $2 billion. CEI…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. TECHNOLOGY Tech consultants raise concerns that public Internet access points may pose a threat to a user’s…
Blog
Does Municipal Wi-Fi Have the Incentive for Security?
USA Today reports that most are unaware of the dangers facing them at public Wi-Fi hotspots, which brought to mind an…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. CONGRESS Both House and Senate pass major energy legislation prior to the August recess. …
Blog
Collaring Markets into a Chokehold
Greg’s post on the Whole Foods/Wild Oats merger brings to mind another pending merger: that between satellite radio firms XM and Sirius, which, while…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. ENVIRONMENT California officials expand plans to regulate vehicle emissions in the name of fighting global…
Blog
Google: Open to Its Own Model
Openness--in our culture filled with feel-goodery and self congratulation openness is seen as a good thing--a trait that any liberal and modern person should hope…
Blog
Google Demands Fairness, When Convenient
Google’s Policy Blog today makes a succinct argument for why its purchase of DoubleClick should be approved. While I find their reasoning compelling and…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. FOOD Federal regulators consider new safety rules for milk and meat from cloned animals. CEI…
Blog
Is Traditional Landline Telephone Service Even Worth Saving?
The failure of SunRocket–which I write about here–has left a fair number of people without landline telephone service. Nothing bad seems to have happened…
Blog
Hands off VOIP
Today's New York Times carries a story about the sudden failure and shutdown of my former home telephone company, SunRocket. Although it obviously…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. TECHNOLOGY The expanding use of microchip implants raises privacy concerns. CEI Expert Available to Comment:…
Blog
Nevada Network Security: Good Enough for Government Work
Declan McCullagh has a hilarious story today about the crack team that Nevada’s governor has providing his office with computer security: If you ever…
Op-Eds
War Over The War
When Ken Burns releases a documentary, America watches. This is partly because of his uniquely compelling style, but also partly because his stories are those…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. HEALTH California officials issue a West Nile virus public health alert. CEI Expert Available to Comment:…
Blog
A Second Look at Second Life Analogies
My letter to the Washington Post regarding Michael Gerson’s “Where the Avatars Roam,” which appeared in the Post last week: Michael Gerson’s July 6…
Blog
False Analogies from WIRED
Wired magazine’s Scott Gilbertson summarized the FTC net neutrality report by quipping, “Wait and see if it all goes south and then maybe consider…
Blog
Satellite (Radio) of Love
The FCC is currently presiding over the proposed merger of satellite radio companies XM and Sirius. And, to no one’s surprise, a host of…
Op-Eds
Private Public Matters
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
1. CONGRESS House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Chairman John Dingell prepare for a showdown on energy policy. CEI Expert Available to…
News Release
XM-Sirius Merger Should Go Forward
Washington, D.C., July 9, 2007—The proposed merger of satellite radio companies XM and Sirius should be cleared by the Federal Communications Commission, according to…
Comment
Comments submitted to the Federal Communications Commission in the matter of XM Satellite Radio Holdings and Sirius Satellite Ra
Comments of the Competitive Enterprise Institute Contents…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. ENVIRONMENT Al Gore’s “Live Earth” concert series leaves many observers underwhelmed. CEI Expert Available to…
Blog
Tune into the Space Angels Network
Kerry Howley is covering the latest developments in private exploration in space exploration today over at Hit & Run. Also, the July/August ’07 issue…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. Health Michael Moore’s controversial documentary on health care in America, Sicko, opens nationwide.
Blog
Fred on Philanthropy in WSJ
Fred Smith, the president of CEI, was featured in today’s Wall Street Journal in a letter to the editor responding to Robert Barro’s commentary…
Blog
FTC Moves to Protect Bandwealth
In a new report, Broadband Connectivity Competition Policy, the FTC routed the empty arguments of the “net neutrality” crowd, marking a significant victory…
Blog
Is net neutrality a new religion?
Silly reactions to the Federal Trade Commission’s new net neutrality report shouldn’t be surprising, but I didn’t expect the ridiculous-beyond-parody (over at Fark.com):…
Blog
Rain Man, Regulator
Wired blogger Scott Gilbertson is upset about the Federal Trade Commission’s report urging caution regarding net neutrality regulation. The Chairman of the FTC…
Blog
Next: Mandatory equal air time for rock and disco
Isn't it comforting that Dick Durbin is watching out for Americans' impressionable minds? He recently told The Hill, “It's time to reinstitute the Fairness…
Blog
Radio Frequency Your Way to Good Health
AFP reports on a new study by the American Medical Association recommending the implantation of RFID tags to carry medical information in case of…
Blog
Zero Carbon Computer 100% BS
One of my favorite tech sites, Bit-Tech.net, commented today on a story by the Telegraph entitled “The wooden computer that adds up to zero.”…
Blog
Cell Phones and Driving
Interesting new study from James E. Prieger of Pepperdine University and Bob Hahn at the AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies, looking at the…
Blog
Michael Moore’s “Sicko” – Diagnosis: PWNED
Michael Moore’s new attack-umentary on the American health care system, Sicko, seems to be having viral problems of its own. A mysterious source has…
News Release
FCC Takes on Net Neutrality
Washington, D.C., June 15, 2007—The Federal Communications Commission is currently accepting public comments on its proposal to regulate pricing on broadband networks, commonly referred…
Blog
Tesla in the 21st Century
Last week the Daily Mail reported on the advent of a new technology that uses electromagnetic induction to transfer energy wirelessly across spans of…
Blog
EFF Wrong About iTunes Privacy Concerns
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, in a story published by the Associate Press last week, says that Apple’s new DRM-Free tracks available through iTunes are…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. Internet Maine is poised to become the first state to enact “net neutrality” regulation…
Blog
Google’s Squabble Over Desktop Search
Yesterday, The New York Times reported that the U.S. Department of Justice had come out against a complaint leveled by Google against Microsoft alleging…
Blog
Conservatarian Thoughts on the FCC
Our friend (and former Open Market editor) Peter Suderman makes an excellent free market point at The Corner today about broadcast obscenity and…
Blog
A Tale of Two Googles
Google, the company turned into a common verb, has come under fire recently because of the fear that many have of the potential misuse of…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Tuesday, June 5, 2007 Issues in the News 1. MEDIAA federal appeals court strikes down Federal Communications Commission’s rules for…
Blog
Chronic Vague Symptom Syndrome: Wi-Fi Edition
There’s more wi-fi scaremongering this week in The Indepedent, which cites an alleged wave of parents and school administrators in the UK who have…
Blog
Time-Delayed TV Popularity
According to Television Week’s Jon Lafayette, broadcasters have begun taking note of the increasing difference between traditional Neilsen ratings vs. traditional ratings + DVR…
Blog
Partial Nudity Delays Halo 2 for Vista
Halo 2 for Vista was found to have a hidden part of the code containing a character which moons the player. Much like GTA‘s hidden…
Blog
Like Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead, Rachel Carson is still wrong
CEI’s Angela Logomasini gives kudos to Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Olka.) for his stand against honoring the 100th birthday of environmentalist icon Rachel Carson. Here’s…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Issues in the News 1. ENVIRONMENT…
Blog
Typesetting and technology
Today the BBC’s website has an article that caught my eye, “Helvetica at 50.” No, Helvetica’s not a movie star or a rock…
Op-Eds
Campus Web Cops?
The Recording Industry Association of America has sent out waves of letters telling college administrators that some of their students are pirates. No, not…
Blog
MSYahoo Would Be Good for the Market
The New York Post is speculating on the possibility of Microsoft aquiring Yahoo! This deal would deflate the notion that Google is a…
Blog
Amensty International Helps Fight to Free Kareem
Amensty International posted this summation of the injustice that has landed Karim Amer in prison for the next four years. Karim’s ‘crime’ has been…
Blog
The Digg Revolution?
Websters are calling the ‘revolt’ at Digg an online Boston Tea Party. This is offensive to anyone who knows the history of the Boston…
Blog
AdSense Nonsense
Charges that Google is constructing a vast network of partners in order to monopolize the net betray that fact that most regulators and ‘tech journalists’…
Blog
Editing Isn’t Censorship, Even for Digg
Digg.com, the popular crowd-edited news aggregating site, has been the subject of online controversy as of late. Recently, a Digg user posted a story with…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> 1. INTERNET The House…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
1. ENERGY Environmentally-correct “compact fluorescent” light bulbs face an unfriendly reception from consumers. CEI Expert Available…
Blog
Supporting Online Gaming Is No Gamble
House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank has proposed repealing last Fall’s ban on Internet gambling, though according to the punsters at the Associated…
News Release
DC Rally to “Free Kareem” and Support Free Speech and Human Rights
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Washington, D.C., April 27, 2007—The Bureaucrash Activist Network and allies are urging Egyptian officials to…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. ENVIRONMENT A new survey finds many Americans concerned about global warming but unwilling to accept the recommendation of…
Blog
Back to the Paleo Future
The delightful and fascinating blog Paleo-Future has some entertaining video clips up from a short film produced by AT&T in 1993, showing what…
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