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US move to ban TikTok a troubling signal for our great experiment in self-determination
As a part of a foreign aid funding package, the Senate passed a bill mandating TikTok’s divestiture from Chinese-based parent company, ByteDance. Biden…
Blog
Important question: How many people will new AI regulations kill?
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recently released a draft memorandum outlining new requirements for federal agencies using artificial intelligence (AI).
Blog
Central banks are watching. Let’s watch them back.
One of the biggest dangers of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), I and others have warned, is that it would give a government that…
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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…
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
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…
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…
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…
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…
Family Security Matters
Holdren as White House Science Advisor
Newsletter
Mandating Efficiency, Infighting at SEIU and Privacy Mavens Try to Shut Down Google
Congress considers new regulations on energy efficiency for home appliances. One of the nation’s largest unions faces dissention in its ranks. The Electronic Privacy Information…
Blog
An Explosion of Litigation
Already burdened by $8 trillion in new federal spending commitments and the likelihood of higher taxes to pay for bailouts,…
Newsletter
Cybersecurity Turf War, Strongarm Union Tactics and a Beer Battle in Colorado
President Obama’s chief of cybersecurity quits, citing overbearing control by the Department of Defense’s National Security Agency. Prominent Democrats come out against changes…
Blog
Coming Soon: A Predatory, Anti-Business Federal Trade Commission?
Even an economy in shambles shall not sway the elevation to Federal Trade Commission chairmanship of Jon Leibowitz, an interventionist-minded commissioner who, like all…
Newsletter
Obama’s Housing Plan, Privacy on Facebook and Fairness Doctrine 2.0
President Obama announces a $75 billion mortgage “rescue” plan. Changes to the terms of service on Facebook raise a ruckus among privacy activists. The White…
Wall Street Journal
Do You Want a New Internet?
Wall Street Journal cites Wayne Crews's on Internet regulation. On the Technology Liberation Front, Adam Thierer suggests another option: “splinternets.” Clyde Wayne Crews…
Op-Eds
Don’t overhype privacy fears on G1
Online users need to be careful with their information, but hyping privacy fears is unwarranted.
Newsletter
Stimulus to Nowhere, Banning Cell Phone Cameras and More Money for Ethanol
Republicans on Capitol Hill attack the $825 billion economic stimulus bill championed by President Obama. Rep. Peter King (R-NY) introduces legislation to ban silent cell…
News Release
CEI Unveils Agenda for Congress
Washington, D.C., January 26, 2009—With the incoming Obama administration and the opening of the new Congress, the House and Senate are…
Blog
PEOTUS Behavioral Targeted Advertising Adventure
The prevention of regulation and the Rule of Law pounding its mighty fist within a medium or sector of business is generally something that is…
Newsletter
Climate War with Canada, Net Neutrality and Hollywood’s Eco-Horror
American University professor James Lee predicts that global warming will lead to a military conflict between the U.S. and Canada. Google fields criticism over its…
Blog
The Cloverfield Monster of the Internet
Earlier posts today dealt with the hoo-ha over Net Neutrality. By coincidence, an anonymous colleague put the following old 1996 quote by Sen. James Exon…
Blog
“Net Neutrality,” RIP? Well, One Can Hope
Net neutrality has long been a threat to Internet users. Despite the rhetoric and appeals to “openness,” it was always an anti-consumer enterprise, irretrievably and…
Blog
Federally Sanctioned Propaganda Machine
Apple's 1984 "Big Brother" ad An article over at Ad Age brings up an angle on the whole…
Newsletter
Obama’s Attorney General, More Stimulus Spending and Defending Deregulation
Barack Obama’s choice for attorney general comes under scrutiny for his record on civil liberties. Democrats in Congress plan to seek additional billions in taxpayer…
Blog
America the Ungovernable
With respect to the ongoing series of bailouts, my colleague Iain Murray pointed out that some sensible British commentators note that one of the ways…
Newsletter
Yahoo’s Fortunes, Chevron’s Strange Ads and the Battle over Bottled Water
Shares of web pioneer Yahoo Inc. rise upon departure of CEO Jerry Yang. Chevron launches a series of ads aimed at reducing energy consumption. A…
Blog
An Agenda for the Monday a.m. Obama and Bush Meeting
Since the President and President-elect start spending quality Oval Office time together today, and since the incoming admistration's advisors can't settle on either pushing…
Blog
“Card Check” May Trigger Beatings, Intimidation
Clayton Cramer, who grew up in a union household, explains why the “card-check” bill favored by liberal lawmakers and Obama may lead to physical…
Newsletter
Michael Crichton, Press Censorship and a Technology Czar
Bestselling author Michael Crichton dies at age 66. Members of the Bureaucrash Activist Network join forces with free speech activists to protest press censorship in…
Blog
No “Technology Czar,” Please
Like everybody else in town, we're pondering the implications of the transition to the Obama Administration for various policy areas here at CEI. On the…
Wall Street Journal
the prospect of a national “Technology Czar”
Blog
FreeRoots
Some of the brightest minds in the online conservative movement — John Hawkins, Patrick Ruffini and Mark Tapscott — are discussing what…
Blog
My apologies to the Swiss (hold firm against OECD meddling)
Last week, the German government said that Switzerland should be placed on the international blacklist…
Newsletter
Internet Censorship, Reforming Fannie and Freddie and Free Trade with Colombia
American tech companies announce new guidelines for doing business in nations threatened by censorship. Lawmakers urge embattled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to…
Blog
Stopping “Badvertising” at Yahoogle.
As an indicator of how perverse wealth-draining antitrust policy has become, have a look at the “concessions” being squeezed out of Google and Yahoo…
Newsletter
Oil Speculators, Immunity for Phone Companies and Global Warming Reports
Members of Congress blame oil “speculators” for driving up the cost of oil with their investments. Legal wrangling continues over Congress’ grant of immunity to…
Newsletter
Home Schooling, Online Privacy and Oil Drilling
A California appeals court issues a major new ruling on home schooling. Members of Congress investigate online privacy and the use of “behavioral advertising.” New…
Op-Eds
Online marketing myopia
We are in the middle of an advertising revolution, driven by technology. Congress is up in arms over "behavioral advertising" online by…
Blog
Italy Criminally Charges Google
The Times reports: Google is to face criminal charges in Italy over a video which appeared on one of its sites showing a…
Newsletter
Internet Privacy, Greenhouse Gases and Offshore Drilling
Senators hear testimony on the privacy implications of online advertising. Developing nations reject the plan for cutting greenhouse gases created by leaders of the “Group…
Comment
Testimony before the Senate Commerce Committee on the Privacy Implications of Online Advertising
Privacy dilemmas are inevitable on the frontiers of an evolving information era, but CEI maintains that competitive approaches to online privacy and security will be…
Wall Street Journal
Federal Privacy Laws
Wall Street Journal
Federal Privacy Laws
Wall Street Journal
Federal Privacy Laws
Op-Eds
ACLU is a principled defender of civil liberties
ACLU is a principled defender of civil liberties Re: “ACLU failing in defense of civil liberties at a vital time,”…
Wall Street Journal
Reluctance in the senate to back housing bill finger printing provision
Citation
a Proposed Federal Fingerprint Registry
Newsletter
Fingerprints, Obscenity and Foreign Investment
The Liberty Coalition releases an open letter opposing a new federal fingerprint registry. Free speech advocates challenge local obscenity standards in Florida as hypocritical. Investments…
Newsletter
Credit Cards, Tax Increases and George Carlin
The Federal Trade Commission sues a credit card issuer that lowered credit limits after profiling its customers’ purchases. Political observers predict significant tax increases in…
News Release
Housing Bill Provision Harms Privacy, Says Diverse Coalition
Leaders of liberal, conservative, and libertarian policy groups – from the American Conservative Union to the American Civil Liberties Union – have banded together…
Newsletter
Fingerprints, Telecom Lawsuits and Al Gore’s Carbon Footprint
The Senate considers a bill creating a new federal fingerprint registry. The House of Representatives votes to shield telecom companies from lawsuits arising from the…
Op-Eds
Congress’s Fingerprint Fine Print
Senate passes a bill mandating the fingerprinting of real estate brokers and the creation of a national fingerprint database…
Newsletter
Offshore Oil Drilling, Fingerprint Requirements and the Impact of Clouds on Global Warming
President Bush urges Congress to overturn the federal ban on oil drilling off the shores of the U.S. Senators plan to vote on a housing…
Newsletter
Google, Ethanol and a Housing Trust Fund
Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) grills Google on consumer privacy concerns. Gas prices dip slightly from their record high. The Senate considers a housing “rescue” bill.
Op-Eds
Rigid federal mandates hinder privacy technologies
Wayne Crews & Ryan Radia show how federal privacy laws are not only counterproductive, but hypocritical…
Blog
Feds Can Search Your Laptop Without Cause
Ars reports on a Ninth Circuit ruling that allows border police to search citizens’ laptops without cause. The decision treats laptops as the same…
Newsletter
Vaclav Klaus, Fingerprint Registration and Free Trade
The Competitive Enterprise Institute publishes a new book by Czech president Václav Klaus on the future of environmental policy. The Senate Banking Committee approves a…
Newsletter
Hurricanes, ISPs and Family Law
Weather forecasters predict between six and nine storms in this year’s Atlantic hurricane season. Congress considers legislation that would regulate how Internet service providers manage…
Newsletter
National ID Cards, Green Hypocrisy and Insurance Subsidies
The Cato Institute hosts a policy forum on proposals to create a de facto national ID card. The Daily Mail profiles the hypocrisy of jet-setting…
Newsletter
A Cooler Climate, Microsoft Drops Yahoo and Farm Subsidies
A new study in the journal Nature predicts a cooler climate than previously thought. Microsoft drops its bid to acquire Yahoo. Reporters identify more than…
Newsletter
Online Privacy, Genetic Discrimination and Grand Theft Auto IV
Privacy advocates lobby for a “do-not-track” registry to regulate how online advertisers can target Internet users. The Senate passes the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act…
Newsletter
Financial Regulations, Greenhouse Gases and Microsoft’s Bid for Yahoo
The Treasury Department’s “blueprint” for overhauling financial regulation faces strong opposition. State governments across the country pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. News Corp. considers…
Blog
Some things are supposed to be private….
Anti-biotechnology activists managed to leverage sunshine laws in Europe to get the EU government to release research information that was supposed to be confidential.
Newsletter
Interest Rates, Video Games and an Economist Debate
Investors expect the Federal Reserve to enact a rare full percentage point cut in interest rates. A federal appeals court rules that Minnesota cannot fine…
Products
CEI Planet: November – December 2007
Full Document Available in PDF The Tiger at a…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. TECHNOLOGY Regulators in the UK lift the ban on a video game initially forbidden for graphic content.
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. ENVIRONMENT Shrinking deaths from weather disasters contradict predictions of extreme global warming. CEI Expert Available to…
Newsletter
Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. BIOTECHNOLOGY Possible regulatory reform at the Food and Drug Administration. CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior…
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…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. TECHNOLOGY The purchase of Internet advertising firm DoubleClick by Google raises privacy concerns. CEI…
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. (…
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…
Op-Eds
Private Public Matters
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
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…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. TECHNOLOGY The Senate Commerce Committee holds a hearing on the proposed merger of XM and Sirius Satellite…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Farm experts warn of increasing price volatility as U.S. farmers plant more corn to meet the demand for ethanol. CEI Expert…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. CONGRESS Senators express skepticism over a proposal to mandate a national ID…
Op-Eds
Why data retention legislation would do more harm than good
Do you remember every Web site you visited, every email you sent, and every word you Googled during the last two years? Probably…
Op-Eds
Don’t let Uncle Sam Become a Computer Hacker and Identity Thief’s Best Friend
Do you remember every Web site you visited, every email you sent, and every word you Googled during the last two years? Probably not,…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. HUMAN RIGHTS Demonstrators gather in cities around the world to protest the imprisonment of…
Study
A Free Market Agenda for the 110th Congress
Washington, D.C., January 10, 2007—Today the Competitive Enterprise Institute releases its policy recommendations for the new leadership on Capitol Hill: This Liberal Congress Went to…
News Release
A Free Market Agenda for the 110th Congress
Contact: Richard Morrison, 202.331.2273 Washington, D.C., January 10, 2007—Today the Competitive Enterprise Institute releases its policy recommendations for the new leadership…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Issues in the News 1. TECHNOLOGY…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. ENERGY High gas prices continue to fuel voter dissatisfaction. CEI Expert Available to…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
1. ENERGY The Senate votes to move forward with oil and natural gas drilling legislation. CEI Expert Available to Comment: Director of…
News Release
Statement on Regulation of Social Networking Websites
Washington, D.C., July 26, 2006—The House is scheduled to vote today on the Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA), a bill that would restrict federal…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. LEGAL A court in Florida overturns a massive $145 billion verdict against several tobacco…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Issues in the News 1. TECHNOLOGY…
Op-Eds
Data Mismanagement
Members of Congress, both Republican and Democrat, now say that Sarbanes-Oxley can be unduly burdensome on business. The law that, in…
Op-Eds
Wi-fi? Why Not?
Walking around a corner, one never knows what will appear. Yet in order to move forward, it’s often necessary to turn corners anyway,…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. ENERGY Many of the hurricane-damaged energy facilities in the Gulf Coast are still offline. CEI…
Op-Eds
How Roe Destroyed Privacy
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. GLOBAL WARMING Fox News Channel announces an hour-long special dedicated to alarmist views on…
Op-Eds
Congress Tweaks Patriot Act Provisions, Will Affect the Tech Industry
Congress is in the process of tweaking sixteen separate sections of the USA Patriot Act that were scheduled to sunset at the end of this…
News Release
Bill Banning Bogus Gun Lawsuits Should Pass Constitutional Test
Contact:Christine Hall, 202.331.2273 Washington, D.C., October 20, 2005—The House passed a bill today banning lawsuits aimed at holding gun makers liable for…
Op-Eds
Lord of War Fires a Dud
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
1. ENERGY The aftermath of hurricane Katrina raises oil and gas prices. CEI Expert Available to Comment: Director of Global Warming…