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
News Release
AICOA’s heavy-handed approach would harm consumers, stifle innovation, and degrade security and privacy
Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) re-introduced a modified version of the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA), which introduces new regulations…
Blog
BEAD and the cost of conditions
Last month the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that Nebraska had connected one of the first households in the country to broadband…
Blog
The EU ran the experiment, America should not repeat it
“I worry a lot about the broad scope and the vague language that [AICOA] contains that I believe would lead to an untold number…
Search Posts
Newsletter
Cap and Trade, FCC’s “Future of Media” Project and Another Fannie Mae Bailout
Sen. Lindsey Graham withdraws his support for climate legislation co-sponsored by Sens. John Kerry and Joe Lieberman. The Federal Communications Commission is launching a “Future…
Comment
CEI Comments to the FCC on the “Future of Media” Inquiry
Full Document Available in PDF FCC’s “Future of Media” Campaign vs. Separation of Speech and State The Duty to Expand Communications Liberty…
News Release
The First Amendment Doesn’t Need a Bailout
Washington, D.C., May 10, 2010—In recently-submitted regulatory comments, the Competitive Enterprise Institute urged the Federal Communications Commission to take a stand against government interference…
News Release
FCC Broadband Reclassification: An Agency Out of Control
Reactions by Competitive Enterprise Institute telecom policy analysts Wayne Crews and Ryan Radia on Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski’s statement on broadband policy. Washington,…
Wired
FCC Offers Regulation Lite for Broadband Providers, Pleasing Few
Wired cites Wayne Crews on the FCC's net neutrality. Competitive Enterprise Institute blasted the idea as an “unwarranted, unjustifiable power grab by a…
News Release
Misguided Privacy Legislation Threatens Digital Commerce, Innovation
Reps. Rick Boucher (D-VA) and Cliff Stearns (R-FL) today unveiled draft legislation aimed at improving online privacy that would impose new rules on…
CEI Planet
CEI Planet: March – April 2010
To view this issue of the CEI Planet, please click here to download the PDF file. Below are selected articles from the March-April…
Forbes
FTC Should Green-Light Google-AdMob Deal
Google competes in many markets, but its most pressing threat comes not from a rival but from antitrust authorities. The Federal Trade Commission is reportedly…
Blog
Online Gambling Could Have Brought $150 billion and 32,000 jobs to the US
In the past five years since the de facto ban on Internet gambling (congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in 2006) the US…
Newsletter
Stevens’ Legal Legacy, Goldman Sachs and Internet Gambling
Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens is retiring. The SEC is charging Goldman Sachs with securities fraud. Opponents of internet gambling are circulating a memo…
Blog
Online gambling opponents play the Abramoff card
Gambling as an activity for fun has been around since the dawn of human civilzation. When man first discovered fire, there were probably cavemen…
MSNBC
The Constitutional Issues of Cloud Computing
Newsletter
Comcast v. FCC, Chemical Scares and Eminent Domain
The U.S. Court of Appeals’ decision in Comcast v. FCC limits the FCC’s power to enforce net neutrality. Time magazine publishes a list of “household…
News Release
Appeals Court Delivers Legal Spanking to FCC
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Blog
Republicans Will Lose Many Seats in Congress Due to Right-Wing Paranoia About the Census
Republicans will lose many seats in Congress due to right-wing paranoia about the census and refusal to fill out Census forms, gloats the liberal…
Blog
Gene Patents Ruled Invalid
In a pretty remarkable move, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York yesterday held that genes can not be patented…
Op-Eds
Digital Due Process: Protecting Americans’ Privacy by Restoring Constitutional Limits to Government in ECPA
CEI Joins Coalition to Urge Federal Privacy Reforms…
CNET
Tech Coalition Pushes Rewrite of Online Privacy Law
Blog
National ID Plan Insults Americans
President Obama recently gave his thumbs-up to an immigration compromise plan formulated by Chucky “Why Am I So Annoying” Schumer (D-NY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC)…
PC World
Reaction to FCC’s Broadband Plan: Generally Positive
News Release
Broadband Plan Would Vastly Expand Government Power over the Internet
Statements by Competitive Enterprise Institute telecom policy analysts Wayne Crews and Ryan Radia on the FCC’s National Broadband Plan.
Blog
Human Achievement of the Day: Beam me up, Scotty?
Today’s achievement doesn’t quite put us on the final frontier, but the successful transmission of atoms via teleportation by scientists at the University of Maryland…
Newsletter
Sugar, Health Care, and the Internet
Florida’s purchase of a large section of U.S. Sugar property will benefit US Sugar far more than it benefits Florida taxpayers. As Rep. Paul Ryan…
Washington Examiner
FCC summit pushes broadband for all, spending unused stimulus
The Washington Examiner discusses the FCC's Digital Inclusion Summit with Wayne Crews and Ryan Radia. The Competitive Enterprise Institute's Wayne Crews and Ryan…
Blog
The cut-and-paste Splinternet
The way Ben Kunz in a new Business Week artcle puts it, “Each device contains its own widening universe of services and applications, many…
Washington Examiner
The EU Searches for a Monopolist, Finds Google
If policy makers set the terms in a primitive year like 2010, nobody will have to respond to Google.
Blog
CEI Weekly: Marlo Lewis’ Music Video Against Climate Change
CEI weekly is a compilation of articles and blogs from CEI's staff. This week features Marlo Lewis' music video, "How I was not Al Gored…
Tech News World
Microsoft vs. the Zombie Hordes
Blog
In-Flight Wi-Fi: Security Threat?
An article in this month's Infotech & Telecom News on a TSA proposal to ban in-flight wi-fi quotes me at length. Here's what I had…
Ecomerce Times
Europe Sets Antitrust Sights on Google Search
Heartland
TSA Rules Threaten In-Flight Technology Use
Tech News World
FCC Aims to Haul Digital Have-Nots Across the Divide
Newsletter
Desk-Doodling, Broadband, and the Stimulus Anniversary
A twelve-year-old girl in Forest Hills, New York is arrested for doodling on her school desk. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announces he wants faster broadband…
Tech News World
FCC Calls for Faster Internet in the U.S.
Internet access is not a right. It is a privilege; one that we pay for. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, while not explicitly demanding high-speed…
Blog
We’re not #1 and it’s okay
Internet access is not a right. It is a privilege; one that we pay for. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, while not explicitly demanding high-speed Internet…
Blog
Bailout for the First Amendment vs. Preservation of Competing Biases
Clearly many groups contend there’s a “crisis” in journalism, even to the extent of advocating government support of news organizations, despite the dangers inherent…
Tallahassee.com
Market Will Set Value of Comcast-NBC Merger
Blog
Regulation of the Day 110: Watching the Super Bowl
Hosting a Super Bowl party this Sunday? You might be interested to know that it is technically illegal to watch the Super Bowl on a…
Newsletter
Cybersecurity, Global Warming and Organized Labor
Congress considers a bill to fund new cybersecurity initiatives. In the wake of ClimateGate, climate change alarmists are now having to defend the scholastic integrity…
News Release
Government Should Give Comcast-NBC Deal a Chance
Today both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate are holding hearings on the proposed merger between NBC Universal and Comcast…
News Release
Don’t Turn Cybersecurity into a Bureaucracy; Enhance Private Sector Practices
Today the House of Representatives is considering HR 4061, the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act. A solid Cybersecurity Enhancement Act might read “Title I: Stop losing federal…
Statesman
McCaul Pushes Cybersecurity Bill in Congress
Statesman discusses the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act with Wayne Crews. Wayne Crews, vice president for policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, issued a statement critical…
News Release
Report Card for the Obama Administration
One year ago today, Barack Obama took the oath of office as President of the United States. Since then, he and his appointees have had…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 100: Posting YouTube Videos
The Italian government is considering making it illegal for its citizens to post videos on the Internet without a license.
Newsletter
Net Neutrality, the War on Salt and Beach House Insurance
The Federal Communications Commission receives thousands of comments on its proposed “net neutrality” regulations. New York City public health officials launch a campaign to reduce…
Letters
Coalition Letter on Conrad-Gregg
Full Letter Available in PDF CFA and ATR have joined forces with numerous groups representing…
Comment
Net Neutrality Comment to the FCC: Net Neutrality vs “BandWealth”
Full Document Available in PDF On Thursday, October 22, 2009, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)…
Blog
TSA Security Playset
The Playmobil Security Check Point has experienced a new surge in popularity (so much so that it is currently out of stock) on Amazon in…
News Release
FCC ‘Net Neutrality’ Rules Endanger a Truly Open Internet
FCC ‘Net Neutrality’ Rules Endanger a Truly Open Internet Watchdog Group Warns Against Internet Regulation, Urges “Agency Neutrality” in FCC Filing Washington, D.C.,…
Blog
A French Kiwi wine? New Zealand and Australia say “non”
Nice article in the Wall Street Journal today by Anne Jolis on a trademark brouhaha between France and Australia that highlights some…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 97: Full Body Scans and Child Protection Laws
Sometimes, when two regulations love each other much, they get together and have little baby regulations. This is happening right now in Britain.
Statesman
Change We Can Really Believe In
Over the last century, America has lurched down a path toward statism. And Presidents Bush and Obama accelerated the expansion of government power by…
CEI Planet
CEI Planet: November – December 2009
To view this issue of the CEI Planet, please click here to download the PDF file. Below are selected articles from the November-December 2009 issue: …
Newsletter
EPA in Court, Anti-Terrorism Policies and the Hidden Health Care Tax
Recent greenhouse gas regulations issued by the Environmental Protection Agency are sparking legal opposition. Security agencies respond to a suspected terrorist incident onboard a Detroit-bound…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 87: The Volume of TV Commercials
The House passed the Commercial Loudness Act on Wednesday. If it becomes law, the FCC would control the volume level of television commercials.
Blog
The Big Business of Illegal Gambling
Tonight at 9pm CNBC will investigate the horrors of illegal gambling . It will doubtlessly delve into the shady underground economy of gambling, where…
San Francisco Business Times
Intel and FTC Trade Punches While Rivals Cheer
News Release
FTC Suit Against Intel Misguided and Uninformed
Today the Federal Trade Commission filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against Intel Corporation. The suit, which accuses Intel of violating Section 5 of…
E-Commerce Times
Microsoft Agrees to Help Europeans Pick a Browser
E-Commerce Times discusses the European Commissions antitrust case against Microsoft with Wayne Crews. "Microsoft never had any power to prevent choice at all," Wayne…
Washington Examiner
Feds Should Free up Airwaves to Spur Wireless Growth
Every time you make a cell phone call, send a text message, or visit a website on your smartphone, you are using the airwaves. Collectively…
Blog
“Big Media” Critics Miss the Big Picture on Comcast-NBC Deal
Media watchdogs are having a fit this week over the announced agreement between Comcast and NBC Universal. Under this deal, Comcast will hold 51%…
News Release
Banks, Credit Companies Get Brief Reprieve From Crushing Federal Regulation of Internet Gambling
Banks, Credit Companies Get Brief Reprieve From Crushing Federal Regulation of Internet Gambling Taxpayers Face $20 Million Cost to Enforce…
Blog
“I Can’t See the Objection”
The National Federation of the Blind and the American Council of the Blind are seeking a preliminary injunction in federal court to stop…
Newsletter
Health Care Costs, Online Privacy and Workplace Safety
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announces a cost estimate for major new health care legislation. The Members of the House Commerce Committee hold a hearing…
Blog
Making Broadband Accessible: Innovation, Not Intervention
FCC regulators want to provide wider and cheaper broadband access by subsidizing it, raising taxes, and forcing network owners to share their network infrastructure with…
News Release
Congress Meddling in Online Privacy Protection May Backfire, Harm Consumers
Washington, D.C., November 18, 2009—A House subcommittee on Thursday will take a step closer to inserting government as the arbiter of consumer…
Blog
Wireless Customers Don’t Like Variable Billing
The Sunday New York Times ran an article over the weekend that digs into the apparent madness behind cell phone and wireless mobile service…
Blog
DOJ Asks For News Site’s Visitor Info
Declan McCullagh is reporting that earlier this year the Department of Justice subpoenaed the left-of-center news aggregation site Indymedia.us for information including visitor lists…
Blog
Andrew Cuomo Sues Intel
Over at the Washington Examiner's Opinion Zone, Wayne Crews and I explain why New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's antitrust lawsuit against Intel is a…
Washington Examiner
Andrew Cuomo Should Leave Intel Alone
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced on November 4 that he is suing Intel for antitrust violations. Cuomo’s lawsuit is a mistake. He…
Blog
Intel Settles With AMD
Intel and AMD have announced a settlement in their 4-year legal antitrust battle. As per the agreement, Intel will pay AMD $1.25 billion, an…
Blog
Free Government Money: Broadband Edition
As part of the America Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009, congress has set aside $7.2 billion for Obama’s national broadband plan. It should come…
Blog
Cell Phones, Cancer, and Certainty
Every dollar and every hour of researchers' time spent on lessening cancer risks from cell phones is money and time not spent curing heart disease,…
Blog
Sen. Amy Klobuchar Criticizes Verizon, Ignores Wireless Industry Realities
Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) is once again proving that she has no understanding of either the wireless phone industry, the rationale behind contract law,…
Blog
European Regulators Target Another American Tech Company
The European Commission is once again targeting an American tech company with an antitrust investigation. This time the EC has its sights set on…
Forbes
Sued for Success
Computer chip maker Intel is back in court. On Wednesday, New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against…
Newsletter
Intel v. Antitrust, U.S. Chamber Caves on Energy and Accounting for Unfunded Mandates
New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo files an antitrust lawsuit against Intel. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce caves into to special interest pressure on energy…
The Guardian
Intel Struggles Against Rising Tide of Accusations
The Guardian discusses the case against Intel with Wayne Crews. Calling Cuomo's case a "baseless attack", CEI official Wayne Crews suggested that Intel's dominance…
Blog
NY Attorney General Files Antitrust Suit Against Intel
Intel does not enjoy government protection of its market share, nor does it operate in a vacuum, immune from discipline if if its rebates are…
Blog
Nvidia Rumored to Compete in Supposedly Uncompetitive Market
Rumors abound that graphics chip maker Nvidia is getting set to enter the x86 processor market. Recall that, according to AMD’s lawyers, the…
News Release
Think Tank Blasts Cuomo’s Witch Hunt Against Intel
Washington, D.C., November 4, 2009—Today New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against Intel Corporation. The suit, which accuses…
PC World
NY Intel Antitrust Lawsuit Gets Mixed Reviews
PC World discusses the antitrust lawsuit against Intel with Wayne Crews. "Let's remember what abusive monopoly power is supposed to mean: reduced quantity…
Blog
MPAA: Net Neutrality Will Kill Film Industry
The Motion Picture Association of America has come out against net neutrality… sort of. In its filing with the FCC[PDF] late last week,…
Newsletter
Cybersecurity, Tariffs and Union Elections
The Department of Homeland Security opens a new operations center to battle cyber attacks. The federal government continues to add tariffs to inexpensive consumer goods…
Blog
Net Neutrality Not Needed: New BitTorrent Version Throttles Itself
TorrentFreak reports that a new “network-aware” version of the BitTorrent protocol is being beta-tested. The new client, µTorrent 2.0 or µTP, will be able…
Blog
Government Incompetence Costs Woman Her Job
Wired reports that a Maryland woman recently lost her job due to an error in the FBI’s criminal database. Eschol Amelia “Amy” Studnitz, formerly…
Blog
Taxes without Borders
This month's issue of Info Tech & Telecom News contains an article by yours truly on certain states' attempts to collect sales taxes from out-of-state…
Newsletter
Climate Hearings, Blocking Net Neutrality and ‘Astroturf’ Lobbying
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee holds a hearing on proposed climate legislation. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduces a bill into the house to…
Blog
Obama Signs Hate-Crimes Bill Into Law; Critics Say It Circumvents Constitutional Safeguards Against Double Jeopardy
Today, President Obama signed into law a bill that will dramatically expand the federal hate crimes law, enabling prosecutors to bring federal charges against…
Blog
Another Bill to Block Net Neutrality
Net Neutrality’s opponents are fighting back. Last week it was John McCain’s “Internet Freedom Act,” and yesterday, Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced…
Blog
Competition in Wireless Communication: Android Edition
The New York Times reports that several cell phone manufacturers are turning to Google’s free operating system, Android, to run on their upcoming smartphone…
Newsletter
Web Giants Battle over Networks, Obama on Climate and New Financial Regulations
Google and AT&T battle over web rules. President Obama won’t talk climate change at UN negotiations in Copenhagen. The House Financial Services Committee votes to…
Newsletter
Telecom Regulation, Maritime Recycling and the Economics Nobel
The Federal Communications Commission moves to regulate telecom networks in the name of “net neutrality.” Italian police investigate illegal disposal of “toxic” shipwrecks. Experts continue…
Blog
Sen. McCain Introduces Anti-Net Neutrality Bill
Senator John McCain introduced a bill yesterday to combat the FCC’s push for Net Neutrality. The “Internet Freedom Act of 2009” would limit the…
Blog
Net Neutrality at 28 kilobits per second.
Why didn’t the Federal Communications Commission impose net neutrality a decade ago? We don’t need all this multimedia and advanced services. They finally caught…
Newsletter
Health Care Competition, Financial Regulations in Court and Net Neutrality
The House Judiciary Committee votes to strip antitrust protections from health insurance companies who share risk information. Prominent officials and scholars endorse CEI’s Supreme Court…
News Release
Net Neutrality Rules Depress Investment, Reduce Competition
On Thursday, October 22, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would put government, rather than consumers and…
Blog
FTC Sets its Sights on Bloggers
In the past, guidelines have determined the kinds of research claims companies or celebrity endorsers can make about products in advertising. With the recent update,…
Ecomerce Times
Tech Heavies to FCC: Stay on Target
Blog
Regulation of the Day 61: Big Screen TVs – Mankind’s Doom!
On November 4, California regulators may vote to ban big-screen televisions. The large sets use more energy than they would prefer.
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