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
Free the Economy podcast: Technology and society with Will Rinehart
In this week’s episode we cover nuclear radiation, luxury handbags, rent control in Maryland, net neutrality, and fighting malaria…
Blog
Subsidy-free capitalism may require a constitutional amendment
Automobiles, electrification, ample consumer goods and mass marketing, a construction boom, and access to credit helped fuel the Roaring Twenties of a century ago.
Wall Street Journal
‘Net Neutrality’ Faces a Stiff Judicial Test
The Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday along partisan lines to reclassify broadband internet access service as a common carrier telecommunications service under Title II of…
Search Posts
National Review
Should Social-Media Companies Be Considered ‘Common Carriers’?
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s concurrence in Joseph Biden v. Knight First Amendment at Columbia University recommends regulating social-media platforms as if they were…
C-SPAN
VIDEO: CEI’s Jessica Melugin Joins “The Communicators” to Discuss Antitrust and More
Director of the Center for Technology and Innovation Jessica Melugin joined C-SPAN‘s “The Communicators” to discuss technology issues that included antitrust, social media content, and…
News Release
Supreme Court Decision Upholding Relaxed Media Ownership Rules a Win for Local News and Consumers
The United States Supreme Court today upheld a decision by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to relax media ownership rules, freeing up the industry…
The Wall Street Journal
Can Little Tech Save Us From Big Tech?
The Wall Street Journal cites Director of the Center for Technology and Innovation Jessica Melugin on social media platform regulations: Was there a hopeful note…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Expressing Serious Concern With H.R. 1082, “Sami’s Law”
The Honorable Nancy PelosiH-232, The CapitolWashington, D.C. 20515The Honorable Steny HoyerH-107 The CapitolWashington, D.C. 20515The Honorable Kevin McCarthyH-204, The CapitolWashington, D.C. 20515The Honorable Steve ScaliseH-148,…
Blog
Decentralization Offers a Way out of the Social Media Content Wars
Thursday brought another politically charged installment of “a tale of two hearings” about online content moderation in the House of Representatives. Republicans scolded big…
Small Business Advocate
AUDIO: How Much Does Private Crypto-Currency Threaten Sovereign States?
Senior Fellow John Berlau joins Jim Blasingame to debate the influence private cryptocurrencies could have on the marketplace, our relationship with government, and the viability…
Small Business Advocate
AUDIO: Dealing With the Reality of Digital Payments and Crypto-Currency
Senior Fellow John Berlau joins Jim Blasingame to discuss the difference between the government’s idea of a digital or crypto-currency and that of the private…
Fortune
Don’t Put Big Tech or Big Government in Charge of the Truth
The divide among Americans on a wide range of issues is being amplified by social media. Charges of misinformation and censorship online are raising the…
Blog
As California Goes on Regulation, so (Unfortunately) Goes the Nation
Last month, a federal judge upheld California’s net neutrality regulations. That led to AT&T’s announcement this week that they will no longer exempt…
Blog
Lawmakers Should Tread Carefully When Trying to Balance Privacy with Security
It’s been said that a compromise is the art of dividing a cake in such a way that everyone believes he has the biggest…
National Review
The Answer to Our Big Tech Problem Is Decentralization
Before the “great de-platforming” following the events at the Capitol on January 6, defenders of a laissez-faire approach to social media were able to tell those…
Real Clear Policy
Biden Administration Should Take a Restrained Approach to Fighting Disinformation
As the Biden administration counters foreign disinformation, it faces growing calls to impose stricter restrictions on social media and online platforms. While tech companies should…
National Interest
Why a Return to Net Neutrality Would Harm the Race to Adopt 5G
As President Joe Biden seeks to recalibrate U.S. foreign policy toward China and reestablish U.S. leadership, America needs to catch up with China in fifth-generation…
Blog
Why Facebook’s Antitrust Cases Should Be Dropped
Facebook filed today to dismiss antitrust lawsuits against it today by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and several state attorneys general. One of the…
Seattle TImes
Biden administration needs a more nuanced approach toward Chinese apps
As the Biden administration recalibrates its policies toward China, it should carefully balance economic and security interests in reviewing Chinese mobile applications, such as TikTok…
Blog
Virginia, Famed for Its Ham, Delivers a Turkey on Privacy
The Virginia House of Delegates and Senate recently passed consumer privacy legislation, the Virginia Consumer Protection Act. The bill has elements similar to its…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter: “Big Tech” Investigation in Texas Harms Consumers and Taxpayers
Dear Governor Abbott, Lt. Governor Patrick and Speaker Phelan: In January of 2020, the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank predicted, “While uncertainty is greater than normal,…
USA Today
Protecting Publius: Online Anonymity is Critical for Protecting Freedom to Dissent
The bipartisan loathing of Section 230, the liability shield that protects online platforms from being legally responsible for what their users post, has…
Blog
Proposed European Tech Regulations Will Backfire, Badly
The European Union recently proposed two major tech regulation bills aimed at America’s tech industry, the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital…
Blog
Why Repealing Section 230 Will Hurt Startups and Medium-Sized Online Businesses
As Democrats and Republicans seek to rein in Big Tech, Congress is reviewing legislation to repeal Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act (CDA),…
Real Clear Policy
Biden Administration Must Engage Private Sector on Cybersecurity
Since early last year, the coronavirus pandemic has presented a public health crisis so vast that it dominated the news and discussions around public policy.
News Release
CEI Paper Shows Antitrust Enthusiasts Misconstrue the Lessons from Past Cases
WASHINGTON, DC – Today’s advocates for a more expansive enforcement of antitrust laws – frequently referred to as devotees of “Hipster Antitrust” – often misleadingly…
Study
U.S. Antitrust’s Greatest Misses
Today’s advocates for expanding antitrust regulation often cite famous antitrust cases of the past to suggest that stricter antitrust enforcement can enhance consumer welfare,…
City Journal
What Was Amazon Waiting For?
January 20 was Inauguration Day. It was also the day that a major American employer offered to help in the Covid-19 vaccination effort. In a …
The Washington Times
Push To Break Up Big Tech Picks Up Bipartisan Steam Amid Conservative Crackdown
The Washington Times cites Director of the Center for Technology & Innovation Jessica Melugin on Parler’s antitrust case against Amazon: “If the big smoking…
Blog
The Danger in Blurring the Private and Public Boundaries with Government Regulation
The recent decisions of many technology companies to remove users and customers from their platforms have deeply divided Americans. Many Americans feel censored and discriminated…
Reason
Congress Targets Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google for Being Popular
Reason cites CEI’s Director of the Center for Technology & Innovation Jessica Melugin on the Department of Justice’s civil suit against Google. The bar…
Blog
FCC Should Free Spectrum for 5G
5G is the future of mobile broadband. Freeing up spectrum to facilitate the use of the airwaves is more important than ever. To that end,…
Real Clear Policy
Why Critics Should Leave Section 230’s Liability Protections Alone
Attacks on Section 230, the liability limiting shield for online platforms, are coming from President Trump, Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill. But the debate around curtailing or…
News Release
New EU Tech Rules will Chill Innovation and Harm Consumers
The European Union today announced new rules it claims will change the way technology companies operate. The EU says the Digital Services Act and…
Blog
The Relevant Market Fallacy and Facebook’s Antitrust Cases
Facebook was hit by two separate antitrust complaints this week. One is from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the other is from a…
National Review
Facebook Acquisitions Benefitted Its Employees, Sellers, and Consumers. Where Is the Harm?
The claim by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 48 state attorneys general that Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp qualifies as anticompetitive behavior foolishly focuses…
Blog
Facebook Antitrust Suits Disregard Consumer Welfare
Today the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 48 state attorneys general announced antitrust suits against Facebook, asserting the social media company’s acquisitions of…
News Release
State AG and FTC Antitrust Actions against Facebook Fail to Prove Consumer Harm or Anticompetitive Behavior
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 48 State Attorneys General today announced antitrust lawsuits against Facebook, asserting the social media company’s acquisitions of Instagram and…
Letters
Coalition Opposing Changes to 47 U.S. Code § 230 (Section 230) as Part of the National Defense Authorization Act
Honorable Senators and Representatives: We the undersigned write today to express our grave concern regarding recent reports of changes to 47 U.S. Code § 230,…
News Release
Repealing Section 230 Would Be Devastating to Free Expression Online
The Trump administration is pressing for a repeal of the tech industry’s liability-limiting statute, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, as a part of…
News Release
Chairman Ajit Pai’s FCC Advanced the Cause of a Freer, Fairer, More Industrious Nation
Economic and social resilience relies upon modern, evolving communications systems. Since beginning service as a Commissioner in 2012, the actions of Ajit Pai demonstrate confidence in…
Blog
On Online Speech, Sasse Stands Alone
There was an almost total lack of skepticism of expanding government regulation of online content moderation at yesterday’s Senate hearing with the CEOs of…
Blog
Biden Tech Policy Preview
Joe Biden has been declared the president-elect (I’m pretty sure). Here’s what a Biden administration and a (presumably) divided Congress might mean for tech issues.
Blog
FCC Takes Another Step away from Net Neutrality
After 15 years of unrelenting regulation and litigation, the days of net neutrality as a live policy issue in Washington may be numbered. At its…
Blog
Not the Strongest Case: DOJ’s Google Antitrust Complaint
On Tuesday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an antitrust complaint against Google. It marks the beginning of the first major monopolization case since the…
Blog
FinCEN Files Shows Regulatory and Privacy Concerns with the Bank Secrecy Act and the Necessity for Reform or Repeal
Last month, BuzzFeed News published an investigative report that alleged that banks sat on their hands while criminals laundered trillions of dollars over the…
Blog
The House Judiciary’s Antitrust Reports and Predatory Pricing
It is human nature to fear what we do not understand. And if there is anything politicians do not understand, it is markets. This is…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Against Nationalizing 5G
Dear Senator Thune, We write to thank you for your recent letter supporting the American competitive approach to 5G deployment, which is private sector driven…
News Release
Laws to Limit Section 230 Protections Would Lead to More Government Oversight of Speech
Large technology companies were the focus of multiple proceedings in Congress today, including a markup of a bill to change Section 230 of the Communications…
Blog
FCC Approves More Critical Mid-Band Spectrum for 5G
Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) held a meeting where the commissioners voted to adopt two orders that will make more spectrum available for…
News Release
DOJ-Recommended Changes to Section 230 Would Lead to More Moderation of Conservative Speech
The Department of Justice today asked Congress to make changes to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a provision that protects any website from…
News Release
Antitrust Investigations against Tech Threaten to Hamper Pandemic Response and Recovery
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) released a new report today arguing that large technology companies are making invaluable contributions to our quality of life…
Blog
SAFE DATA Act a Risk for Consumers
Republican members of the Senate Commerce Committee recently introduced the SAFE DATA Act. While the bill includes much needed federal preemption of state privacy laws,…
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