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
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…
Blog
A light in the darkness: Federal preemption for AI regulation
The joy of federal preemption may soon be upon us. The House Energy and Commerce Committee included a ten-year moratorium on state AI regulation…
Search Posts
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…
Comment
CEI Comments on Reducing Anti-Competitive Regulatory Barriers
RE: Request for Public Comment Regarding Reducing Anti-Competitive Regulatory Barriers Docket No.: FTC-2025-0028 On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), we submit comments to…
Comment
CEI Comments on Technology Platform Censorship
RE: Request for Public Comment Regarding Technology Platform Censorship Docket No.: FTC-2025-0023 Introduction The authors of this submission would like to thank the Federal Trade…
Blog
A light in the darkness: Federal preemption for AI regulation
The joy of federal preemption may soon be upon us. The House Energy and Commerce Committee included a ten-year moratorium on state AI regulation…
Blog
Time’s up for the equal time rule
Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines “anachronism” as a person or thing that is chronologically out of place, “especially: one from a former age that is…
Blog
Otherwise Objectionable episode 6: ‘The Rest of the World’
The sixth episode of Otherwise Objectionable, the narrative-driven podcast that tells the true story of Section 230 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, focuses on…
Blog
How valuable will anonymous comments be to the Ferguson FTC?
Comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for its “Inquiry on Tech Censorship” are due next month on May 21, 2025, and the public has…
Washington Examiner
FTC’s antitrust crusade against Meta contradicts key parts of the Trump agenda
We’re all about to find out if it’s the White House or what’s left of the administrative state that’s calling the shots on…
Blog
Otherwise Objectionable episode 5: ‘Blowback, and the Dust Settles’
The fifth episode of Otherwise Objectionable, the narrative-driven podcast that tells the true story of Section 230 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, recounts how the…
News Release
Competitive Enterprise Institute documentary selected for Anthem Libertarian Film Festival, begins streaming on SalemNow May 7
Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) is proud to announce the release of a special documentary project, Dear Mr. President: The Letters of Julia…
Blog
Otherwise Objectionable episode 4: ‘The Solution’
The fourth episode of Otherwise Objectionable, the narrative-driven podcast that tells the true story of Section 230 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, picks up…
Testimony
Jessica Melugin Testimony before House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust
Chair Fitzgerald, ranking member Nadler, and distinguished members of the subcommittee, thank you for holding this hearing and inviting me to testify today. My name…
Blog
Otherwise Objectionable episode 3: ‘Law and Disorder’
The third episode of Otherwise Objectionable, the narrative-driven podcast that tells the true story of Section 230 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, moves beyond…
Blog
Otherwise Objectionable episode 2: ‘The Dawn of the Internet’
The second episode of Otherwise Objectionable, the narrative-driven podcast that tells the true story of Section 230 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, focuses on…
Los Angeles Times
The Trump administration schooled Europe on free speech. Why ignore the lesson at home?
Vice President JD Vance’s wise words to Europe about U.S. commitments to free speech are on a collision course with some of what’s happening stateside.
Blog
Otherwise Objectionable Podcast episode 1: ‘The Most Misunderstood Law on the Internet’
Otherwise Objectionable is the brand-new limited series podcast that tells the true story of how a previously-obscure defamation law, Section 230 of the 1996…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Broadcasting liberty with Jeff Westling
In this week’s episode we discuss Trump tariffs (via AEI’s Jim Pethokoukis and Apricitas Economics’s Joey Politano), the death…
News Release
New Podcast “Otherwise Objectionable” Explores the Law That Built the Internet—And Why Everyone Wants to Change It
Section 230 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act prevents the internet services we rely on from being sued into oblivion. It’s the reason social media platforms,…
Blog
With Section 230 under threat, Otherwise Objectionable tells the true story of the most misunderstood law on the internet
Section 230, the foundational law that governs defamation liability online, has been under attack by partisans on both the left and the right in recent…
The Daily Economy
Bud Light Returns to Merit, Profit After ESG Backlash Cost Billions
Most Americans have heard about Bud Light’s controversial marketing collaboration with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in April 2023 from the ensuing boycott against the brand, which tanked…
Letters
Urge to Protect Americans’ Digital Speech, Secure Encryption, and Data
Dear Secretary Rubio, Attorney General Bondi, Acting Secretary Pelter, and Director Kratsios, We write to urge you to take immediate action to protect Americans’ digital…
Blog
Animal personalities, individualism, and economics
One of my hobbies is finding economics in unexpected places. The biologist and animal rescuer John Shivik’s 2017 book Mousy Cats and Sheepish Coyotes: The…
Blog
Big tech: threat or America’s best hope in global AI race? Questions for Trump antitrust appointees
Continued scrutiny of tech companies by antitrust authorities is expected under the Trump administration, with two new nominees awaiting confirmation to the Department of…
Blog
Free speech at risk: Why website blocking bill goes too far
Content creators have long complained about copyright infringing websites that deprive them of compensation. The Motion Picture Association claims infringement costs “hundreds of thousands…
Restoring America
Trump must cancel CFPB censorship
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and tech entrepreneur Marc Andreessen dropped bombshells on the popular Joe Rogan Experience about political persecution from financial…
Blog
Risks remain after Congress’s deregulatory net neutrality choice is affirmed
This past decade’s net neutrality saga recently received much needed clarity thanks to the federal 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. Its decision rules on the…
Broadband Breakfast
Think Tank Analysts Outline Pro-Growth Broadband Reforms
Broadband Breakfast WASHINGTON, Jan. 20, 2025 — Analysts at the Competitive Enterprise Institute are urging Congress to enact broad telecommunications reforms as outlined in…
Blog
Safeguarding innovation from bureaucracy: The techno-libertarian pivot
The just-concluded 2025 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) highlighted the relentless pace of technological innovation—from robotics and AI to rollable laptops and transparent TVs. Yet, amid…
NTD
Facebook’s Fact-Checking Change Will Create More Open Environment, Not ‘Wild West’ of Free Speech: Expert
NTD interviewed CEI’s expert on Meta’s Fact-Checking policies. Mark Zuckerberg has promised to create a more open environment on Facebook. To learn more, NTD…
Blog
Hayek on Facebook’s community notes
Meta is going to stop using professional fact-checkers for Facebook posts. My colleague Jessica Melugin is relieved that Meta is finally publicly acknowledging…
News Release
Meta’s new content moderation is a step in the right direction: CEI analysis
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced major changes to its content moderation system today. The company says it aims to allow as…
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…
News Release
CEI Report: Wi-Fi success shows permissionless innovation is a competitive advantage
Wi-Fi is ubiquitous in the United States. It provides Americans with broadband access in countless locations, including homes, schools, hotels, coffee shops, offices, airports, and…
Study
No Permission Needed
Robust, resilient, and high-capacity internet service is critical to America’s economic prosperity and success. A key part of internet service is Wi-Fi, which provides Americans…
Blog
A blueprint for digital censorship in the US?
Internal documents from the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), as revealed by digital censorship journalist Matt Taibbi, showed that the group’s primary…
Blog
Congressional lessons learned: Prioritize private risk capital investment
There is always a temptation for Congress to act during a lame duck session to show it is hard at work doing good for the…
Blog
The FCC’s curious curiosity about broadband data caps
With less than three months remaining in the current administration, the FCC has released a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) on broadband data caps. Data…
Blog
Principles for the new administration: Leave old rules with old technologies
There will be a new administration in January regardless which party wins the election, making this a good moment to recall President Reagan’s advice…
Reason
The Justice Department’s Proposals for Breaking Up Google’s Dominance Won’t Work
Reason quoted CEI’s expert on antitrust atmosphere Jessica Melugin, director of the Center for Technology and Innovation at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, tells Reason that a…
Blog
Searching for a remedy that makes sense
The Department of Justice recently sent its proposed remedies to the federal judge who found Google guilty of illegally monopolizing web search. Specifically,…
Forbes
NIST AI Guidelines Misplace Responsibility For Managing Risks
Policymakers are scrambling to keep pace with technological advancements in artificial intelligence. The recent release of draft guidelines from the U.S. AI Safety Institute, a…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: AI and the future of work with Patrick Carroll
In this week’s episode we report from the State Policy Network’s annual meeting in Phoenix, Arizona and some of the great reform proposals…
RealClear Markets
Global Regulators Want To Hamstring AI Innovation
RealClear Markets cited CEI on technological innovation Like many efforts at economic planning, subverting market forces — the forces that drive creative destruction — driving…
Blog
The social significance of the Consolidated Audit Trail
Personal privacy is important. The ability of citizens to communicate and do business with one another – and to do so with some degree of…
Blog
Consumers can see a net benefit from FCC’s net neutrality rule stall
The saga of broadband regulation is finally taking a positive turn. On August 1st, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay of…
News Release
Judge gets Google antitrust ruling wrong
A federal judge ruled today that Google violated antitrust law, declaring “Google is a monopolist” in online search. Competitive Enterprise Institute antitrust, legal, and economic…
National Review
AI Could Make the Google Court Decision Moot
In a decision by the District Court of the U.S. District of Columbia, Google has been found guilty of monopolizing its leadership in…
National Review
AI Could Make the Google Court Decision Moot
In a decision by the District Court of the U.S. District of Columbia, Google has been found guilty of monopolizing its leadership in…
Blog
EU’s Digital Markets Act: An obstruction to AI innovation?
European consumers are being left behind in the AI revolution due to tightened regulations. Apple’s decision to withhold its new AI features from the European…
Reason
Senate To Vote on Web Censorship Bill Disguised as Kids Safety
Reason cites Jessica Melugin on KOSA safety flaws “KOSA would trigger mandatory uploading of government id’s, face scans or social security numbers of…
The Washington Times
KOSA is a poor substitute for parenting
Good parenting was always a lot of work, but guarding kids’ online mental health has added to the parental load. Not every problem has a…
Blog
Could AI regulation hamper the next agricultural revolution?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to revolutionize the agricultural industry, along with other sectors of the economy. Already, AI has reduced…
News Release
Supreme Court decision on state social media laws portends free speech victories
Today, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Moody v. NetChoice & CCIA and NetChoice & CCIA v. Paxton, two related cases reviewing state…
Blog
Wi-Fi: A freedom and innovation success story
There’s a been a lot of bad news on the regulatory front lately with the FCC darkening broadband’s success with burdensome regulation. But let’s celebrate…
Blog
Everyone agrees we need more spectrum, so why is Congress making it complicated?
Politics prioritized over policy is de rigueur these days, but it shouldn’t be for spectrum auction reauthorization. The importance to the US economy and to…
Blog
A brief look at the Senate’s proposed AI regulations
As new artificial intelligence (AI) models release and their capabilities grow, fears around artificial intelligence have begun to crop up as people wonder what AI…
Wall Street Journal
For the Sake of Free Speech, Keep Section 230
The only remedy Reps. McMorris Rodgers and Pallone Jr. offer for online harms is to turn the plaintiffs’ bar loose on tech companies, a curious…
News Release
DOJ’s suit to breakup Live Nation-Ticketmaster will not lead to lower prices for entertainment
The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit today against Live Nation, the parent company of Ticketmaster, alleging anticompetitive behavior. The DOJ lawsuit seeks to…
Wall Street Journal
For the Sake of Free Speech, Keep Section 230
The only remedy Reps. McMorris Rodgers and Pallone Jr. offer for online harms is to turn the plaintiffs’ bar loose on tech companies, a curious…
National Review
Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Section 230
The House Energy and Commerce Committee released a draft bill to sunset the online liability shield commonly known as Section 230. The proposal is…
National Review
Free expression depends on it.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee released a draft bill to sunset the online liability shield commonly known as Section 230. The proposal is only about 50 words…
Letters
CEI Leads Coalition Against Section 230 Repeal or Replace
Dear Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, We write to you in advance of the committee hearing on May 22, 2024 to express…
Forbes
Senate AI Working Group’s Roadmap Leaves Many Questions Unanswered
Last week, the Senate AI Working Group released an eagerly-awaited roadmap report, “Driving U.S. Innovation in Artificial Intelligence: A Roadmap for Artificial Intelligence Policy in the United…
Reason
The Scandalous Science Behind Nuclear Regulation
Nuclear power could be a game-changer for energy affordability, grid reliability, and carbon reduction. However, it’s been stifled for decades based on one deeply flawed…
Blog
The CHIPS and Science Act: A potential regulatory issue
Industrial policy is back with a bang. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed vulnerabilities in global supply chains, prompting intense debates in Congress about government’s role in…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Technology and politics with Corbin Barthold
In this week’s episode we cover bringing your parents to a job interview, the case against a universal basic income, and why…
National Review
Net Neutrality Trusts Regulation over Markets
Despite years of investment, innovation, increasing competition, and declining prices under a light-touch regulatory framework, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has reinstated Obama–era net-neutrality rules and…
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…
The 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…
Blog
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
Major questions on net neutrality: A new report
A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report, Major Questions on Net Neutrality: A primer on the FCC’s brewing broadband legal fight, analyzes the FCC’s effort…
News Release
FCC move to impose utility-style regulation on broadband providers vulnerable to legal challenge – CEI paper
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is expected to vote Thursday to impose utility-style regulation on broadband internet access providers under Title II of the…
Study
Major Questions on Net Neutrality
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is poised once again to change and classify broadband internet access service (BIAS), the mass market wireline and wireless broadband…
Forbes
TikTok Is A Beacon Of Democracy In The Social Media Landscape
Recent developments in the U.S. House of Representatives have put TikTok, the immensely popular Chinese-owned social media app, in the crosshairs of lawmakers. The House…
Blog
The FCC regulation web – again
In a January blog I discussed the needless web of regulation created by the FCC’s classification of broadband as a Title II common carrier…
Blog
Wi-Fi on wheels: FCC oversteps its authority with school bus ruling
This week the Competitive Enterprise Institute filed an amicus brief regarding yet another case of mission creep in the Biden administration. In this instance,…
Blog
Spectrum spectacle: Security and competitiveness demand action on spectrum
We are familiar with the proverb “He who hesitates is lost.” Unfortunately, the United States is hesitating in allocating more spectrum to the marketplace and…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Censorship by proxy with Jenin Younes
In this week’s episode we cover Gen Z job satisfaction, dumb biotech policy in the European Union, and figuring out how…
Forbes
Truth Social Trading Frenzy Shouldn’t Concern The SEC
This past week, the stock price of Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), the parent company of Donald Trump’s social media start-up Truth Social, has…
Blog
This model AI legislation would regulate government instead of the private sector
Brand new guidance from the Office of Management and Budget governing uses of artificial intelligence (AI) throughout the federal government was issued last week.
Forbes
Model Legislation On Artificial Intelligence To Regulate Government, Not Big Tech
While there’s considerable chatter, Congress seems unlikely to enact legislation regulating artificial intelligence (AI) this election year. The wait can be worth it, though. There…
Reason
Parents Don’t Want Schools to Confiscate Kids’ Phones
CEI’s Jessica Melugin is cited in Reason on parents position of schools confiscating student’s phones: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law restricting teen use…
News Release
Florida social media law puts all users’ privacy at risk: CEI analysis
A new social media bill signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will ban people younger than 14 years old from using social…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: NASA penalties and emergency alerts
The 2024 Federal Register topped 20,000 pages. The Justice Department sued Apple for having an iPhone monopoly. Russia held an election-themed event where Vladimir Putin…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Paying for organs with Pete Jaworski
In this week’s episode we cover the future of AI and employment, why we shouldn’t trust Chinese economic statistics, and how the…
Blog
The bait and switch of Government Owned Networks
We are all familiar with bait and switch, the deceptive practice where a customer is enticed by one offer and then forced into a higher…
Fox Business
Apple Vision Pro headset becomes tool in operating room
CEI’s Jessica Melugin is cited in Fox Business on Apple Vision Pro becoming an operating room tool: Jessica Melugin, director of the Competitive Enterprise…
News Release
Vague concerns about TikTok insufficient to justify divestiture or ban
The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on legislation that would force ByteDance, the China-based parent company of TikTok, to sell the popular app…
Forbes
How Tech Companies Are Powering Their Operations With Nuclear And Renewables
In a noteworthy move, Amazon Web Services (AWS) recently acquired Talen Energy’s 960MW data center campus in Pennsylvania, which draws power from the neighboring 2.5GW Susquehanna nuclear…
Blog
Crickets: Congressional silence on a new communications act
In what seems to be news to legislators and regulators, the communications marketplace is innovative and dynamic. The platforms used to consume increasingly varied types…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Politically homeless with John Tillman
In this week’s episode we cover an environmental conference in Miami, allegedly underfunded government schools, Google’s AI diversity debacle, and new…
Fox Business
Nobody is going to use Google’s woke chatbot unless they ‘fix’ its bias: Jessica Melugin
CEI’s Jessica Melugin is featured in a Fox News interview about Google’s woke chatbot: Watch the latest video at foxbusiness.com Watch the interview on…
News Release
Supreme Court Today Hears Lawsuits Centered on Social Media Companies’ Property/Speech Rights
Today, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Moody v. NetChoice & CCIA and NetChoice & CCIA v. Paxton. Jessica Melugin, director of…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Understanding AI with Matthew Mittelsteadt
In this week’s episode we cover Elon Musk’s controversial pay package, protecting children online, and the Biden administration’s slamming the breaks…
Comment
CEI comments on ‘right to repair’ petition for rulemaking
Docket ID No.: FTC-2023-0077 Introduction On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), we respectfully submit comments on the Petition for Rulemaking to Protect Consumer’s…
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