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
Op-Eds
Targeting Digital Platforms
President Biden’s antitrust regulators have filed a pair of lawsuits targeting tech platforms, claiming they abuse their position as intermediaries between consumers and third parties.
National Review
Please, Somebody Google ‘Hubris’
The pretense of knowledge is on full display in the Department of Justice’s proposed remedies for the Google trial. The government’s…
Forbes
A Trump 2.0 Agenda For Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence represents an unprecedented economic opportunity as well as a complex security challenge for the United States. As Trump gets set to begin his…
Search Posts
Blog
Obama Announces NSA Reforms Could Undermine U.S. Leadership in the Global Information Economy
President Obama outlined plans to “reform” the National Security Agency’s mass surveillance programs in a Friday morning speech at the Justice Department. To his…
Blog
CEI Podcast for January 16, 2014: FCC Loses Net Neutrality Court Case
Associate Director of Technology Studies Ryan Radia argues that while the case looks like a victory on the surface, it still gives the FCC plenty…
News Release
Net Neutrality Court Ruling Praised by CEI Experts
Washington, DC, Jan. 14, 2013 – Today a federal appeals court struck down so-called "net neutrality" rules forcing Internet service providers to make broadband…
Blog
Congressional Research Service Misinterprets Monetary History
Last month, the Congressional Research Service released a report on Bitcoin analyzing the structure of the network and its implications, if any, on monetary policy. The…
Blog
Is FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler for or against Net Neutrality? Yes
In what the Washington Post referred to as Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler's strongest endorsement yet of net neutrality, he said: Public policy…
Forbes
The Consumer Electronics Show’s Lessons On The Separation Of State And Technology
While most of the country endured the polar vortex this week, the annual tech vortex known as the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show took over Las…
Blog
An Ode to I, Pencil, Part 2: I, Computer Mouse — Matt Ridley and Leonard Read Sing the Same Tune
In a speech at a 2012 Google Zeitgeist event, British journalist Matt Ridley gave an evocative illustration of the power of connectivity, reminiscent of…
The Hill
Court weighs fate of net neutrality
Opponents of the net neutrality rules argue the FCC is stifling innovation by meddling in the marketplace. The agency “needs to…
Blog
Target Breach — Are Dodd-Frank “Swipe Fee” Price Controls to Blame?
Target wants you to know it is oh-so-sorry for any inconvenience its data SNAFU (as OpenMarket is a family blog, please look up the…
USA Today
GOP fighting cellphone freedom
Should the federal government outlaw rudeness? Some senior Republican lawmakers seem to think so. Since 1991, the Federal Communications Commission has barred cellphone use on…
USA Today
Electronic surveillance capacity of state, local government creates strange bedfellows
There is growing bipartisan support in Congress for the USA Freedom Act, which would limit the bulk, suspicionless surveillance of Americans. While Congress considers the…
USA Today
Experts: DOT probably has legal legs to ban calls
The libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute offered a dissenting voice Thursday, calling it “clearly arbitrary and capricious” for DOT to ban cellphone calls under consumer protection…
Letters
Economists’ Letter to FCC Chairman Wheeler on Competition
Full Document Available in PDF Introduction Congratulations on your confirmation…
Politico
Anthony Foxx: DOT will consider banning cell phone calls on planes
The Competitive Enterprise Institute, a libertarian group, questioned the grounds for DOT’s move. CEI fellow Marc Scribner said the move “runs counter to legislative intent…
News Release
CEI Applauds FCC Efforts on Ending In-Flight Cell Phone Ban
Washington, DC, Dec. 12, 2013 – This afternoon, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) held an Open Meeting. Among other issues, the FCC indicated it would…
Politico
Path to a successful spectrum auction requires focus
The Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Fred Campbell recently concluded that restrictions on the participation of large firms in previous FCC spectrum auctions have delayed the provision…
Forbes
App Fatigue Sets In As The Digital Revolution Ages
The technology pendulum never stops swinging. Its rhythms create, then disrupt, then transform, delighting users while enriching innovators. When tech revolutions reach middle age innovators…
Blog
Busybodies in Congress Prepared to Re-Prohibit Voice Communications During Flight
After two decades with a ban on the books, the Federal Communications Commission is set to consider allowing transmitting mobile devices on aircraft. On…
Forbes
JFK space race myth
It’s been half a century since a young president was cut down by a deranged communist assassin, and a little longer than that since humans…
Blog
I, iPad – Sir Jonathan Ive and Leonard Read Sing the Same Tune
Apple recently released an ad for the new iPad Air that — whether intentionally or not — mimics CEI’s I, Pencil short film.
Blog
Can the Government Regulate Bitcoins?
Bitcoins themselves cannot be regulated under current law, at least not directly. But certain activities involving…
Blog
Dumbest Reason to Be Skeptical of Autonomous Vehicles: They Might Cost Auto Mechanics Their Jobs
Today, the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a hearing on “How Autonomous Vehicles Will Shape the Future…
Daily Caller
Duffy protects privacy in the real world
Blog
Is the FTC Already Capable of Regulating Patent Demand Letters?
The answer is no, except under special circumstances. The question itself arises from comments by Julie P. Samuels of the Electronic…
Blog
Wikileaks’ Latest — Draft IP Chapter in Major Trade Agreement
Wikileaks has made another big splash yesterday -- not about spying, but about a multinational trade agreement currently being negotiated. Wikileaks published a draft…
Orange County Register
Yelp, TripAdvisor: Inside the ratings game
“It’s not an easy problem,” says Ryan Radia, associate director of technology studies at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a think tank in Washington, D.C. “If…
Blog
Twitter, the JOBS Act, and the Return to IPO Normalcy
The headline read that the company's initial public offering price is "high," and "so is its valuation." The accompanying story explained that the latest tech…
Blog
Memo to Road Socialists: There Is Nothing Unlibertarian about Road Pricing
Virginia just elected Democrat Terry McAuliffe as governor, as had been predicted by every poll conducted during the past few months -- although at a…
Blog
Happy Halloween! FAA to Allow Portable Electronic Devices During All Flight Phases
A month ago, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) recommended that the agency drop its ban on portable electronic device (PED)…
Blog
Stop Watching Us: End Suspicionless NSA Mass Surveillance
By now, pretty much everybody has heard that the U.S. National Security Agency is indiscriminately collecting private information about all Americans who use a…
Blog
The NSA: Upgrading from Privacy Destruction to Job Destruction
At a recent Cato Institute event on NSA spying activities, the ACLU’s Chris Soghoian stated that NSA activities were not only a threat to…
Blog
Gmail’s Targeted Advertising Accused of Being Wiretapping: Part 2
As I stated in my previous article, a federal court is currently hearing a lawsuit challenging Google’s “targeted advertising” practices. The plaintiffs claim the…
Blog
Gmail’s Targeted Advertising Accused of Being Wiretapping: Part 1
It has long been widely known that Google uses software that scans its users’ Gmail messages to generate targeted advertising. Recently,…
Daily Caller
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau accused of violating transparency law
“Just about every time they’re convening, it has to be open to the public . . . and when it’s not open to the public…
Blog
We Must Take a More Active Role in Challenging the FCC
On September 9, 2013 I entered the E. Barrett Prettyman Court house, which houses the federal Court of Appeals for the District of…
Blog
Mississippi Should Tell CFPB to “Stop Spying on Me”
The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is coming to Mississippi Wednesday and Thursday with a public forum on "access to information." A vital question for Mississippians to…
Daily Caller
How Chattanooga beat Google Fiber by half a decade
To understand why cable companies are so resistant, it helps to understand a bit about their business model. Because dense urban areas are more profitable…
Forbes
Is Uncle Sam Really The Greatest Entrepreneur Of All Time?
A new book titled The Entrepreneurial State that is now making the rounds gives credit to Uncle Sam for inventing many of the technologies we enjoy…
CBC
Verizon challenges FCC’s right to impose net neutrality
But business analysts argue that a perpetual "open access" is unrealistic and ignores the property rights of ISPs. OpenMarket.org blogger Wayne Crews says the FCC…
Blog
Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 15): Can We Please End This. Please.
Today, Monday, September 9, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge…
PC Mag
Verizon, FCC Face Off Over Net Neutrality: What You Need to Know
The Center for Democracy and Technology argued that Verizon's suit is "dangerous." "By trying to paint this case as raising a constitutional issue, Verizon hopes…
Blog
Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 14): What Should Congress Do?
(Note: On September 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge of…
Blog
Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 13): What FCC Should Do Now
(Note: On September 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge of…
Blog
Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 12): Why Net Neutrality Threatens Homeland Security and Cybersecurity
(Note: On September 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge of…
Blog
Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 11): The Inappropriateness of Compulsory Transparency
(Note: On September 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge of…
Blog
Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 10): Who’s Discriminating Online?
(Note: On September 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge of…
Blog
CEI Podcast for August 29, 2013: Consequences of Net Neutrality
Have a listen here. In 2010, the FCC issued regulations to implement net neutrality. The resulting legal challenge is about to hit the D.C.
Blog
Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 9): How to Expand Consumer Choice and Access to Content
(Note: On September 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge of…
Blog
Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 8): The Essential Elements of Non-Destructive Rulemaking
(Note: On September 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge of…
Blog
Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 7): Mandatory Dumb Pipes? But Why Sacrifice Genius?
(Note: On September 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge of…
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