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
FCC’s license-renewal reviews of ABC stations chill disfavored speech
On Tuesday, the U.S. District Court heard arguments in a First Amendment lawsuit by ABC television stations against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), seeking…
Blog
Protestations aside, Washington wants to regulate AI. It also wants to run it
Washington’s latest AI summit between Trump and tech executives was billed largely as a meeting about safety. Ultimately, it was a meeting about something…
Blog
Stop rogue government AI
Performative Washington, responsible for funding AI weaponry and R&D for years, purports to have suddenly discovered the dangers of artificial intelligence. Recent incidents…
Search Posts
Blog
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai joins CEI and other Experts to Discuss the Future of the Internet
Yesterday the R Street Institute and the Lincoln Network hosted The Future of Internet Freedom, featuring Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai,…
The New York Times
Net Neutrality Hits a Nerve, Eliciting Intense Reactions
The New York Times covers the proposed rollback of Net Neutrality regulations. It usually doesn’t take much to get people on the internet worked…
The Wall Street Journal
Supreme Court to Weigh Warrantless Cellphone Data Searches
The Wall Street Journal covers Carpetner v. United States. A pillar of modern policing will come under Supreme Court scrutiny Wednesday as the government…
The Wall Street Journal
Is It Unreasonable to Expect Cellphone Privacy?
A case that comes before the Supreme Court Wednesday may erode or solidify Justice Antonin Scalia’s legacy. How the justices decide in Carpenter v. U.S. won’t matter…
USA Today
Supreme Court Weighs Privacy Rights in Digital Age in Pivotal Cellphone Case
USA Today covers the upcoming argument of Carpenter v. United States. Timothy Carpenter’s mistake in the armed robberies of cellphone stores in Michigan and Ohio…
Blog
State Governments Want to Tax Your Cyber Monday Deals
Sales tax can only be applied to purchases when the seller has a physical presence in the buyer’s state. …
Blog
This Thanksgiving, I’m Thankful for Hysterical Net Neutrality Advocates
Do you want private entities in a marketplace in charge or do you want government regulators calling the shots?…
Politico
FCC’s next step on net neutrality: Blocking the states
CEI fellow Jessica Melugin quoted in Politico on the FCC’s next on net neutrality. Some states and cities could still try to impose…
Blog
Federal Communications Commission Moves Forward with Net Neutrality Reform
Details of the Federal Communications Commission’s plan to roll back Obama-era net neutrality regulations are circulating this week.
New York Times
Justice Department Sues to Block AT&T-Time Warner Merger
New York Times article discusses the Justice Department’s lawsuit to block the AT&T-Time Warner Merger Legal experts were divided on the merits…
News Release
CEI Says Pai’s Roll Back of Net Neutrality Regulations is ‘Immediate Victory’ for Transparency and ‘Promising Sign’ for Upcoming Vote
Competitive Enterprise Institute adjunct fellow Jessica Melugin offered a response to the news that the Federal Communications Commission is announcing its plan today…
Blog
Federal Office of Financial Research Violates Privacy, Produces Little of Value
The American people would be better off without it.
News Release
CEI Applauds FCC Vote to Relax Media Ownership Rules
Today the FCC voted 3-2 to relax outdated restrictions on media ownership. CEI technology fellow, Jessica Melugin praised the development: “The FCC’s…
Blog
CEI Submits Comments on New Automated Driving System Federal Guidance
Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, joined by the R Street Institute, submitted comments to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in response to the…
Comment
CEI and R Street Comments to NHTSA on Automated Driving Systems 2.0: A Vision for Safety
View Full Document as PDF On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (“CEI”) and the R Street Institute (“R Street”), we respectfully…
Blog
Predictable Attempts to Extend Government Control over Internet Content
Technology companies should take this opportunity to fight against harmful government restriction on business practices, innovation, and investment. The future of the Internet depends on it.
Forbes
The Significance of Sen. Al Franken’s Call to Impose Net Neutrality on Google, Facebook and Amazon
Antitrust and technology market regulatory interventions are staging a comeback, even in the era of President Donald Trump’s push for broad…
Blog
Fed Confirms Government Regulation Is Not the Answer to Equifax Data Breach
More regulation will not help protect the financial system against cyber attacks, such as the Equifax hack.
Blog
Experimental Tech Helps Get Puerto Rico’s Telecom Services Back on Line
The freedom to try something without getting explicit and advanced permission from regulators is what allows innovations to be tried, tested, and either integrated or…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition in Support of International Communications Privacy Act
View Full Document as PDF Dear Chairman Grassley, Ranking Member Feinstein, Chairman Goodlatte and Ranking Member Conyers: We write to you today…
Blog
Politicians and Entrepreneurs: Let Internet Flourish without Burden of Government Regulation
If government is the creator of monopolies and the suppressor of innovation, why not push back against both FCC and FTC regulation of the Internet? …
Forbes
The Internet of Things Wants to Know Where Its 5G Is
A major pledge of the Trump Administration was cutting red tape and boosting America’s infrastructure. Ten months in, there are lots of moving parts to…
News Release
CEI Leads Supreme Court Amicus Brief in Support of Internet Freedom
It is crucial that the Supreme Court confirm that the Telecommunications Act doesn't give the FCC broad power to regulate the Internet.
Blog
Ghouls and Goblins and Guidances
You could consider CEI to be the Ghostbusters of Washington, fighting back ghouls and goblins on both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue.
Blog
Federal Communications Commission Rightly Relaxes Media Ownership Rules
The FCC’s announcement that it will relax media ownership rules is good news for consumers. It’s heartening to see the agency act to eliminate…
News Release
CEI Applauds FCC Announcement Relaxing Media Ownership Rules
Today the FCC announced plans to revise media ownership rules, freeing up the industry to function with greater competition and less restrictions. These changes are…
The Hill
Right-Leaning Groups Back International Data Privacy Bill
The Hill covers CEI and other groups’ support of the International Communications Privacy Act. A coalition of right-leaning groups is pressing Congress to act…
The Washington Times
Conservatives Fear More Left-Leaning Media with AT&T, Time Warner merger
The Washington Times discusses the AT&T-Time Warner merger with Wayne Crews. The proposed AT&T merger with Time Warner has some conservatives nervous about its…
News Release
FCC Reauthorization Should Be A Deauthorization
The Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Ryan Radia offered comment prior to the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology hearing today on the Federal…
The Wall Street Journal
Oil and Spectrum Rights Models Offer a Clue
Thomas W. Hazlett’s “How Politics Stalls Wireless Innovation” (op-ed, Oct. 2) outlines the irrationality of the current political mismanagement of the electromagnetic spectrum and…
News Release
CEI Comments on Pending Nomination of Pai to FCC
Jessica Melugin, adjunct fellow with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, commented on the pending nomination of Ajit Pai to the Federal Communications Commission: “The Senate should…
InsideSources
Three Early Lessons From the Equifax Hack
InsideSources covers the Equifax breach and Jim Harper‘s response to it. It’s been almost two weeks since Equifax reported the hack of 143…
Foundation for Economic Education
People Are Complaining About iPhone X Because That’s How Innovation Works
The iPhone X has not even been released and people are already complaining about it. That shouldn’t be surprising. It is one of the…
News Release
CEI Responds to NHTSA Self-Driving Car Guidance Updates
Marc Scribner of the Competitive Enterprise Institute responded today to the NHTSA announcement of updated guidance for self-driving cars: “The Department of Transportation’s…
Blog
Net Neutrality Rules Threaten Internet Free Speech
The supposed good intentions of net neutrality advocates don’t justify the real world harm of those regulations. …
Federal Times
Report Calls for Drastic Workforce Cuts at Regulatory Agencies
Federal Times covers CEI’s publication Shrinking Government Bureaucracy. The non-profit Competitive Enterprise Institute is all about shrinking government. In a newly released report…
Blog
The Equifax Breach and Regulation
In the Equifax breach, regulation is a likely contributor to the problem. It is probably not a good solution.
Blog
Why Should Millennials Want to Shrink Government Bureaucracy?
Free markets and limited government are for every generation.
Forbes
IRS Responds To Privacy, Other Challenges In Bitcoin Records Fight
Forbes covers the amicus brief filed in Coinbase v. United States. The federal government fired back last week as answered opposition to its…
Blog
Who Benefits from FCC’s “No-Blocking” Rule?
The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) 2015 Open Internet Order included a “no-blocking” rule that prohibits Internet service providers (ISPs) from charging content providers a fee…
Comment
CEI Submitted Comments to the FCC on Restoring Internet Freedom
View Full Document as PDF On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), we respectfully submit these reply comments regarding the FCC’s…
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Wagner, McCaskill Efforts to Go After Backpage Site Attracting Powerful Foes
St. Louis Post-Dispatch covers CEI’s statements in a letter to Congress regarding an internet freedom bill. Efforts by several members of the Missouri…
Blog
President’s Summer Policy Update
When it comes to the institutions of capitalism, the advance of human welfare, and liberty, we are here because we love the work.
Blog
Net Neutrality: Market Competition or Political Control?
The Internet is no exception to the rule that markets work better than the federal government does.
Comment
Coalition of 83 Organizations, Elected Officials, and Individuals Submit Comments In the Matter of Restoring Internet Freedom
View Full Document as PDF Dear Chairman Pai, Commissioner O’Rielly, and Commissioner Clyburn: These coalition comments are updated from the July 17,…
Washington Free Beacon
Report: Reducing Regulatory Agencies’ Authority Could Boost Economy, Increase Job Creation
The Washington Free Beacon covers CEI’s latest publication Shrinking Government Bureaucracy. Reducing some of government’s regulatory agencies’ authority could boost economic growth and…
TechCrunch
Privacy Advocates Advise Supreme Court to Protect Phone Location Data under the 4th Amendment
TechCrunch covers CEI’s amicus brief in Carpenter v. United States. Among the Supreme Court’s many upcoming cases is Carpenter v. United States,…
Study
Rethinking the Federal Communications Commission
View Full Document as PDF Created by the Communications Act of 1934, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) wields broad authority to regulate…
Cato
To Apply the Fourth Amendment in the Digital Age, Go Back to Its Text
Cato covers CEI’s amicus brief in Carpenter v. United States. Timothy Carpenter and Timothy Sanders were convicted in federal court on charges stemming…
Blog
Defending 4th Amendment Privacy Protections for Digital Property
People have property rights in data about themselves that is allocated by contract between them and their service providers.
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