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
Blog
Hopping the fence: The failures of social media bans
There is growing global momentum toward mandatory age verification and stricter internet safety regulations. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that 56…
Blog
Congress should fight piracy, not make ISPs internet police
Online piracy is a serious problem for content creators and rightsholders. Studies estimate that unauthorized streaming and downloads cost the US economy billions…
News Release
Report dispels AI jobs doomsday fears
A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report examines what the AI revolution will mean for the future of labor by examining technology disruptions of the past. “Technology advances like artificial…
Search Posts
Blog
In Which the Case for Antitrust Action against Telecoms Weakens
New research finds that U.S. telecoms are charging, on average, ten cents less per minute than their counterparts around the world. Tell me again why…
Blog
Exclusivity is the Mother of Invention
The web is all aflutter in the debate over handset exclusivity. Harold Feld of Public Knowledge describes in a recently posted video how exclusive…
Blog
A Handshake, Not a “Contract with America”
Newt Gingrich’s new “Strategy Memo: Time for a Real Stimulus Bill” is helpful on highlighting tax cuts that could stimulate business’ capacity for job…
Newsletter
Microsoft in Europe, GM Foods and the Political Crisis in Honduras
Microsoft and European Union officials hold talks over computer industry competition. Former U.S. Department of Agriculture official Val Giddings releases a blueprint for reforming the…
Blog
Crews in the News: Consumer Choice Doesn’t Come From Regulation
CEI’s own Wayne Crews is quoted in the Boston Globe this morning, explaining why real competition — not government-mandated ‘openness’ — is the best…
Newsletter
AIG in Court, Mobile Phone Competition and the Future of Solar Power
A federal jury rules in favor of Hank Greenberg, the former CEO of AIG, in a $4.3 billion stock dispute. The Department of Justice considers…
Blog
Antitrust Irony
Microsoft is having a tense antitrust discussion with the EU. Meanwhile, Google is readying an operating system to directly compete with Windows. Compare and contrast.
Blog
Antitrust Policy and Telecoms
It’s hard to make a case that a company is abusing market power if it doesn’t really have any. And Verizon and AT&T are not…
Blog
Good For Us Isn’t Good Enough: Broadband and the Real Money It Costs
The Commission must not only identify the most cost-effective approach for catalyzing broadband deployment but also ensure that any public funds spent are…
Blog
America’s Ranking Crisis
With every passing month, the United States falls further behind the global leaders in broadband Internet access thanks to a combination of market…
Blog
Can the Blogosphere Be Regulated?
The Federal Trade Commission seems to think so. A fresh set of proposed Federal Trade Commission guidelines, if approved this summer, would…
Blog
Companies to China: Don’t profit-block us bro
An article in this morning’s wall street journal commends a coalition of business associations and councils that sent a letter to China’s Premier…
Newsletter
Burning Rivers, Broadband Price Controls and Beach House Bailouts
Residents of Cleveland observe the 40th anniversary of the infamous Cuyahoga River fire. Congress considers a bill to regulate the pricing of broadband Internet service.
Blog
FTC to Monitor Blogs for Undisclosed Compensation
So much for the idyllic “free information” model of the internet. The Federal Trade Commission is drafting new rules that would extend its authority to encompass bloggers who…
Newsletter
Stimulus Waste, California’s Deficit and Internet Privacy
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) releases a report citing millions of misspent dollars from the federal economic stimulus package. The state of California faces a $24…
News Release
CEI Rejects New Broadband Price Control Bill
Rep. Eric Massa recently announced legislation to place government control over fees on broadband usage. With the introduction HR 2902 - the "Broadband Internet Fairness…
Blog
U.S. Senate Investigates Mobile Phone Exclusivity Deals
A group of US Senators has sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission expressing their concern that the exclusive arrangements that are common between wireless…
Blog
Privacy Declared Public Good
Bruce Schneier, eminent cryptographer, has declared market failure. He points to what he calls a meta-problem: Those entrusted with our privacy often…
Newsletter
FCC Hearings, Banning Plastic Bags and Union Graft in Detroit
Federal Communications Commission chairman-designate Julius Genachowski faces a confirmation hearing in the Senate. Cities across the country move to ban plastic grocery bags. Trustees of…
Blog
One Policy, One System, Universal Service
Under that Orwellian slogan, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, or “Ma Bell,” operated its telephone monopoly for the better part of the 20th century.
News Release
Questions Senators Should Be Asking Julius Genachowski
Tomorrow afternoon, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation will hold a confirmation hearing on Julius Genachowski, President Obama’s nominee to be Chairman…
Newsletter
Broadband Stimulus, Fiat Takes Over Chrysler and the UN’s World Oceans Day
Business and advocacy groups flood the Federal Communications Commission with comments on the agency’s proposed national broadband plan. Italian automaker Fiat…
News Release
CEI to FCC: Don’t Strangle Broadband Industry
The Competitive Enterprise Institute this week filed comments advising the Federal Communications Commission on how best to proceed with its plan for a national…
Comment
CEI Comments on National Broadband Plan for Our Future
Full Document Available in PDF The Federal Communications Commission faces one of the most significant undertakings in its history with the…
Blog
The Cost of Cybersecurity in Context
During his remarks, President Obama noted that "cyber crime has cost Americans more than $8 billion." He continued, "My presidency has so far cost Americans…
Newsletter
Cybersecurity, Credit Cards and Hurricane Insurance
President Obama is expected to announce the appointment of a new cybersecurity czar. Credit card holders prepare for the changes recently passed by Congress. Congress…
News Release
Obama’s Cybersecurity Czar Should Be Limited to Government Network Security
Tomorrow, President Obama is slated to name a “cybersecurity czar with a broad mandate” and issue a report outlining potential vulnerabilities in the…
Blog
A Bleak Regulatory Future for the Tech Sector
May so far has been full of omens for the future of technology regulation. On Monday the 11th, the Obama administration announced that it would…
Blog
Profiles in Hypocrisy: Gov. Arnold Pushes Violent Game Ban
California legislators, along with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, are still trying to ban the sale of violent video games to minors. Now, they’re taking their…
Newsletter
Cap and Trade, Freddie Mac’s Losses and Hulu’s Success Story
Democrats push “cap and trade” global warming regulation in the House of Representatives. Housing giant Freddie Mac reports a $10 billion loss for the first…
Blog
Is Facebook Violating Federal Wiretapping Laws?
Facebook has been at the center of a controversy involving its moderation policies and The Pirate Bay, a popular Bittorrent tracker that was…
Newsletter
Al Gore’s 1984, Intel’s Antitrust Fine and Cap and Trade’s Economic Consequences
A new video from CEI parodies Apple Computer’s famous ‘1984’ TV ad with Al Gore and his global warming theories as Big Brother. The European…
Newsletter
Europe Investigates Intel, Obama Explodes the Deficit and Minnesota Jumps on the Banned Wagon
European antitrust officials prepare to rule in an investigation of Intel’s microchip marketing practices. The White House estimates that the deficit will explode to $1.8…
News Release
European Antitrust Ruling on Intel Threatens Future of Innovation
European Union authorities are reportedly on the verge of announcing that Intel has been found guilty of abusing its dominant market position by practicing so…
Citation
Hulu.com May Be Target of Antitrust Attack
Newsletter
The War on Cockroaches, Consumer Credit Shrinks and the Future of Internet Gambling
New York State officials move to limit sale of anti-insect “bug bombs” to consumers. Economists chart a record drop in consumer credit. Rep. Barney Frank…
Ecomerce Times
Google and Antitrust
Blog
A funny take on people’s resistance to new technology
"Meet Bronze!" "Bronze is Your Friend!" "Bronze is Brilliant; User-Friendly; and Multi-Purpose!" "Stone is Dead, Prepare for the Age of Bronze!"…
Blog
Obama’s pending cybersecurity overhaul should heed the “Cybersecurity Commandment”…
Not many details have appeared, but the Atlantic reports on a speech given by the administration’s Melissa Hathaway in McLean, VA: In her speech,…
Newsletter
Sen. Specter, Internet Advertising and Broadcast Obscenity
Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania announces his decision to change parties, increasing the Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate. The Federal Trade Commission threatens Internet…
Ecomerce Times
Antitrust investigation of the Google Book Settlement
Blog
Well @#$%&, Supreme Court Upholds Ban on “Expleetive Deleetives.”
In FCC v. Fox today, the Supreme Court upheld regulation of “fleeting expletives” on broadcast television. What should be “fleeting” is the nearly century old…
Newsletter
Cybersecurity, Chrysler in Bankruptcy and Union Finances
A congressional investigation of security breaches at the Pentagon targets popular file sharing programs like LimeWire. After extensive bailout efforts, Chrysler moves to file for…
Newsletter
Online Privacy, Credit Cards and Organ Donation
Members of the House Technology & Internet Subcommittee hear testimony on alleged abuses of consumer privacy by internet marketers. President Obama meets with credit card…
Blog
When Government Spending Gets Really Obscene
My good friend and Bureaucrash ally Xaq Fixx recently altered me to an interesting story on the intersection of politics, technology and free…
News Release
Congress Raises False Alarm on Consumer Privacy
This morning, the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee held a hearing on recent developments in online privacy for consumers. This hearing explored several data…
Blog
Does Anyone Understand The Internet?
I’m beginning to think “no” is the definitive answer. While most tend to understand the basic concepts of Internet connectivity and its associated parts, it…
Blog
Tech is Key in Ideas Battle
Earlier today, Competitive Enterprise Institute President Fred Smith delivered an informative but lively, entertaining speech about the role of NGOs. The speech was delivered at…
Blog
A National Anthem for April 15
As Tea Parties brew across the land today, I’m reminded of the infamous “Tax Poem” chain email, or, spam, if you like. Set to music…
Blog
Broadband Stimulus Plan: Spend First, Ask Questions Later
There has been some noise in technology circles the last week over the FCC comment period or Notice of Inquiry (NOI) in regards to the…
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