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
Discard Static Market Analysis, Let Sprint and T-Mobile Merge
The Competitive Enterprise Institute has been making a convincing case for a swift and condition-free approval from regulators of the proposed Sprint and T-Mobile…
Blog
How to Articulate a Free-Market Vision for the Future
The Competitive Enterprise Institute views most market failure rationales for government intervention as wrong, overstated, or unproven (or all of the above). The Competitive Enterprise Institute…
Blog
California’s Attempt at Net Neutrality Clearly Unconstitutional
On September 30, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law SB-822, a set of regulations on Internet service providers that’s slated to go into…
News Release
CEI Appeals Unlawful Conditions FCC Imposed on Cable Provider Merger
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) and four individuals – John France, Daniel Frank, Jean-Claude Gruffat, and Charles Haywood – filed an appeal today with the…
The Daily Caller
Opinion: Why the Government Should Stand Aside and Allow T-Mobile and Sprint to Merge
On Sept. 11, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced it needed more time to review the pending merger of T-Mobile and Sprint. Meanwhile, the Department…
News Release
CEI: Dept. of Justice is Right to Challenge Legality of California “Net Neutrality” Law
The Department of Justice recently filed a lawsuit against the state of California, claiming the state’s newly-signed law regarding “net neutrality” seeks to regulate interstate…
Linux Insider
Despite Emmys, Road Ahead Is Bumpy for Streaming Services
Linux Insider cited CEI’s Research Fellow and Regulatory Council Ryan Radia on streaming services. “Wireless networks regularly suffer from congestion, including when too…
Multichannel News
FCC Approves 5G Rollout-Related Reforms
Multichannel News cited CEI on FCC 5G reforms. “The FCC’s plan to cut red tape is a step in the right direction for…
News Release
CEI Commends FCC Vote to Streamline 5G Buildout – America’s Next Generation of Wireless Technology
Today, the Federal Communications Commission voted to streamline the buildout of 5G infrastructure, America’s next generation of wireless technology. The Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Jessica Melugin,…
Washington Examiner
13 State Reps To Meet With Justice Department On Antitrust Action Against Social Media Giants
Washington Examiner cited CEI’s joint letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions. A group of technology activists and think tanks recently …
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Requesting Restraint on Social Media Bias Action
We write to express our concern over your plans to convene a meeting of state attorneys general later this month “to discuss a growing concern…
Washington Examiner
Conservatives To Jeff Sessions: Attacking Facebook Will Empower ‘President Elizabeth Warren’
Washington Examiner cited CEI missive letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “Suppose that, after years of President Elizabeth Warren tweeting…
Fox News
Sessions Urged Not To Go After Social Media Companies By Technology Activists
Fox News cited CEI’s Vice President For Strategy and Senior Fellow Iain Murray on social media letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions. In a …
News Release
CEI Applauds Sensenbrenner Bill to Stem Fallout from Supreme Court Decision on Internet Sales Tax
Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) introduced the Online Sales Simplicity and Small Business Relief Act of 2018 today, aimed at protecting taxpayers and online entrepreneurs from…
The Hill
If a Conservative Facebook is Such a Good Idea, Why Hasn’t it Happened?
Donald Trump Jr. has joined in his father’s attacks on social media — but with a twist. He told Axios that “if a Trump supporter…
Blog
Ditch Antitrust Regulation in Favor of Competing Bigness
The Federal Trade Commission (born in 1914, fathered by Woodrow Wilson) is hosting a series of hearings and discussions on “Competition and Consumer Protection…
Politico
Real Talk on Capital Gains
Politico cited CEI’s platform economy video. CEI has a new video out today “extolling the benefits of the modern digital ‘platform…
PJ Media
Here’s Why Bureaucrats See a Lethal Threat in the ‘Platform Economy’
PJ Media cited CEI’s platform economy video. The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) has a great new video out explaining why the Platform Economy —…
The Sun
Online Firms Like Amazon Face Higher Taxes to Help Struggling High Streets, Philip Hammond Hints, but Will it Put Up Prices?
The Sun cited Associate Director of the Center for Technology & Innovation Jessica Melugin on Internet Sales Tax. “But experts have warned that…
Blog
Real Sin for Social Media Companies Not ‘Censorship,’ but Getting into Bed with Government
Social media outlets have been filled with commentary this week about the decisions by Apple, Facebook, YouTube, and Spotify to remove content created by…
The Joint Economic Committee
Ryan Radia Testifies Before the Joint Economic Committee in Congress on Digital Trade
Ryan Radia, Research Fellow and Regulatory Counsel, gave testimony before the United States Congress Joint Economic Committee on the need for U.S.
Forbes
Networking and Automation are Upending the Scholarly Study of Entrepreneurship
The changing nature of work via the sharing economy, automation and networking is one among a profusion of variables (such as economic liberty) affecting modern…
Comment
Testimony of Ryan Radia: The Need for U.S. Leadership on Digital Trade
Chairman Paulsen, Ranking Member Heinrich, and Members of the Committee, thank you for giving me the opportunity to testify before you today. My name is…
Blog
Driving Innovation: Timbro Index Charts Scope of Global Sharing Economy
The Swedish think tank Timbro has published the first global index of the sharing economy. The Timbro Sharing Economy Index (TSEI) is the…
Letters
CEI Joins NTU Coalition Letter in Support of House Judiciary Committee’s Wayfair Hearing
On behalf of the millions of citizens represented by the undersigned organizations, we commend you for holding a hearing to address the critical issue of…
Comment
Testimony of Jessica Melugin on the Supreme Court’s Wayfair Decision for the House Judiciary Committee
Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony. I am Jessica Melugin, Associate Director of the Center for Technology and Innovation and the Competitive Enterprise…
Law360
State AGs, ABA Press High Court Over Google Privacy Deal
Law360 cited CEI’s Ted Frank and Melissa Holyoak on the Supreme Court privacy settlement with Google. Petitioners Theodore H. Frank and Melissa Ann Holyoak…
Blog
European Regulators Wrong on Google Fine, Wrong on Antitrust Policy
Dominance and popularity are not the same as a coercive monopoly. The European Commission is behaving in protectionist fashion, not in a manner benefitting consumers,…
Blog
Justice Department Shouldn’t Second-Guess Shareholders in T-Mobile-Sprint Merger
T-Mobile and Sprint—the third and fourth largest mobile carriers in the United States, respectively—are in the process of merging into a single company…
News Release
CEI: Consumers Will Suffer if AT&T-Time Warner Merger is Delayed or Scuttled
Yesterday, the Department of Justice appealed a courts’ decision to approve the AT&T-Time Warner merger in a filing with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Blog
A Quick Lesson in Antitrust: Netflix and Comcast
Every time a major corporate merger is announced, pundits predictably warn of impending doom if regulators allow it to happen. Yet, pundits and regulators don’t know any…
News Release
Supreme Court Refuses to Consider If Searching Internet IPs Requires Warrant
The Competitive Enterprise Institute is disappointed that the Supreme Court has refused to consider if the government can search what websites a person accesses online…
Automotive News
Can Regulators Keep up with the Pace of Self-Driving Tech?
Automotive News cited Marc Scribner on self-driving vehicles, standards, safety technologies and regulations. “This goes well beyond the types of technology NHTSA has…
Fox Business
VIDEO: Jessica Melugin Discusses South Dakota v. Wayfair Ruling on Fox Business
Associate director of the Center for Technology & Innovation at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Jessica Melugin, discusses the Supreme Court’s disappointing…
The New York Times
Supreme Court’s Wayfair Decision Will Hurt Online Shopping
Thursday’s Supreme Court decision has changed how states can tax online shopping. In South Dakota v. Wayfair Inc., the court upheld a state law that…
News Release
CEI Commends Supreme Court’s Decision Protecting Carpenter Against Unreasonable Search
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Timothy Carpenter in Carpenter v. United States, finding that the government violated his Fourth Amendment protection against…
Blog
Supreme Court Devastates Small Online Businesses and Consumers in South Dakota v. Wayfair
Today’s Supreme Court decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair is extremely disappointing and will likely cost online sellers and consumers dearly. Stopping state regulatory…
News Release
CEI on Supreme Court’s Wayfair Ruling That Will Devastate Small Online Businesses and Consumers
The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling today cuts against the longstanding American ideal of “no taxation without representation.” This ruling will devastate many small online businesses,…
Forbes
Universal Basic Income: What’s The Plural Of Apocalypse?
Is homo sapiens, in the final analysis, a being incapable of living unless supported by a universal basic income (UBI)? One of the mounting threats…
Blog
Last Chance for the 115th: Keeping the Internet Sales Tax at Bay
Bad Internet sales tax legislation (mercifully) continues to stall in Congress. Pro-tax expansionists like Rep. Kristi Noem (R-SD) made a big political push to tie…
Blog
Keep Entrepreneurs Free from Internet Sales Taxes
Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute released a new video on Internet sales taxes in which Center for Technology and Innovation Associate Director Jessica Melugin…
News Release
CEI Commends Judge’s Approval of AT&T-Time Warner Deal in Antitrust Lawsuit
Today, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon approved the AT&T-Time Warner merger. Judge Leon rejected the Justice Department’s argument in its antitrust lawsuit aimed at blocking…
Blog
Putting the Net Neutrality Scare Stories to Rest
Today is the first day of the Internet operating under the Federal Communications Commission’s Restoring Internet Freedom Order (RIFO), which was adopted last December but is…
France24
Heightened Debate in US as EU Privacy Rules Take Effect
France24 cited Ryan Radia on the market conditions created by GDPR. Ryan Radia of the Competitive Enterprise Institute said that although GDPR…
The Daily Caller
Facebook And Google Accused Of Violating Europe’s New Law On The First Day
The Daily Caller cited Ryan Radia on the impact of GDPR in enabling favorable market conditions to the dismay of small businesses. “The…
Daily Mail
Heightened Debate in US as EU Privacy Rules Take Effect
DailyMail cited Ryan Radia on the market conditions generated by GDPR likely favoring large business to the dismay of start-ups and small firms.
News Release
CEI Report: Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation Costs Everyone, Provides Little
In a new Competitive Enterprise Institute report released today, CEI’s regulatory counsel and technology policy expert Ryan Radia argues that the EU’s new privacy rules…
Study
European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation and Lessons for U.S. Privacy Policy
The European Union’s (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which enters into effect on May 25, 2018, is the most significant policy change regarding data…
News Release
Net Neutrality Regulations Are Harmful, Unnecessary, and Unconstitutional
Today, the Senate passed a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution, expressing disapproval of the Federal Communications Commission’s Restoring Internet Freedom Order. The resolution is an…
Blog
Congressional Review Act Wrong Way to Legislate on Net Neutrality
On Wednesday, May 16, the Senate is expected to vote on a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval that purports to undo…
Blog
Charting the Telecom Future with Free State Foundation
Our friends at the Free State Foundation recently held their 10th Annual Telecom Policy Conference here in Washington, D.C., and the proceedings covered the…
News Release
Net Neutrality Regulations Are Not Neutral, Harm Innovators and Consumers
A group of Senators are pushing for a vote on a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to overturn the Federal Communications Commissions’ (FCC) Restoring Internet…
Blog
Big Senate Net Neutrality Vote Coming Soon
The debate over net neutrality is heating up again this week, as Democrats in the Senate attempt to overturn new rules adopted by the…
Study
Platform Economy Bibliography
View Full Document as PDF It is hardly news that the growth of the online economy has upended a wide array of…
Blog
How to Encourage Tech Competition: Deregulate Finance
It’s May Day, and in the pages of the New York Times appears a paean to the halcyon days of the 1930s, urging a…
Forbes
Social Media Filtering Is Not Censorship
Governments can censor. And in a convoluted way, that's what social media regulation would do.
Washington Journal
VIDEO: Jessica Melugin Discusses Internet Sales Tax on Washington Journal
Jessica Melugin, associate director of the Center for Technology & Innovation at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, joined Washington Journal on C-SPAN to…
Blog
House Tech Panel Hears Testimony on Paid Prioritization
Yesterday, members of the House Energy & Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a hearing on Internet prioritization. Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) opened…
Blog
AI in the UK: Lords’ Report Makes Startups Less Competitive
The British House of Lords recently published a report on artificial intelligence, which includes policy recommendations that would hamper the development of AI domestically and…
News Release
CEI Experts Respond to Supreme Court Hearing on Internet Sales Tax in Wayfair Case
Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) Associate Director of the Center for Technology and Innovation Jessica Melugin responded to today’s Supreme Court argument in South Dakota v…
CNBC
AUDIO: Ryan Radia Discusses Increased Regulation of the Tech Sector On CNBC
Research Fellow and Regulatory Counsel, Ryan Radia, recently joined Power Lunch on CNBC to discuss calls for increased regulation of the tech sector.
Blog
If Trump Is Serious about Jobs, Embrace AI and Loosen Labor Laws
There is a lot of panic about the implications of artificial intelligence technologies for the future of work. Some scholars, such as Nobel laureate Joseph…
The Lars Larson Show
AUDIO: Wayne Crews Discusses Mark Zuckerberg’s Testimony In Congress With Lars Larson
Wayne Crews, Vice President for Policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, joined the Lars Larson program to discuss Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s recent testimony before…
Blog
Facebook Privacy Critics Ignore Benefits of Social Media
Facebook is not a tool designed to violate privacy nor fan the flames of hate, but it and other social media platforms have been some…
Blog
Senator Grills Zuckerberg While Gathering His Own Facebook User Data
One of the most glaring moments of hypocrisy during yesterday's Facebook hearing came from Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) telling Zuckerberg that he felt “betrayed”…
Blog
Zuckerberg Testimony Hints at Devil’s Bargain with Big Government
Much of the political class in Washington, D.C. is currently holding its breath for the big event of the week: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s long-awaited…
Forbes
Mark Zuckerberg Testimony: Will Washington Cast The First Stone At Facebook?
As Facebook is embroiled in three separate privacy crises, let he who never transacts commercially or politically cast the first stone.
Blog
Congress Impatient for Zuckerberg Privacy Testimony
With Facebook in Congress’s crosshairs, America’s leading Internet companies—sometimes known as “big tech”—arguably face a greater risk of regulation than at any time in their…
The Wall Street Journal
Cryptocurrency: Does Fed Want to Imitate Venezuela?
John Berlau writes a letter-to-the-editor to The Wall Street Journal about the dangers of the U.S. government issuing its own digital currency. After Kevin Warsh…
News Release
CEI Opposes Internet Sales Tax in the Name of Federalism in Wayfair Amicus
On April 17, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear the internet sales tax case South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., which could have a huge impact on people…
CNBC
How Amazon Wins if Internet Sales Tax Goes Into Effect
In April, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case that could affect the future of online commerce, specifically small online sellers and those who…
Blog
Investigate Labor Relations Board Confidentiality Breach
Earlier this week, the Competitive Enterprise Institute sent a request to the National Labor Relations Board Office of Inspector General to investigate NLRB member…
Blog
Wayfair Supreme Court Case Could Upend How We Buy and Sell Things Online
In April, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case, South Dakota v. Wayfair, Corp, that could have a huge impact on people who sell…
C-SPAN
VIDEO: Marc Scribner Discusses Automotive Innovation and Wireless Technology at New America Event
C-SPAN covers New America’s event on automotive innovation and wireless technology featuring CEI Senior Fellow Marc Scribner as a panelist. …
CNBC
VIDEO: Ryan Radia Discusses Regulatory Oversight of Data Collection on CNBC
Ryan Radia, Research Fellow and Regulatory Counsel at CEI, joined CNBC’s Power Lunch to discuss regulatory oversight of data collection.
Blog
European-Style Tech Regulation Not the Answer to Facebook Privacy Concerns
The fallout at Facebook continues to grow after it was revealed that millions of Facebook users’ data was used by the consulting firm Cambridge…
Blog
Tax Complexity a Major Headache for Small Businesses Online
For a lot of small businesses in America, taxes are not just an expensive hassle but a scary, anxiety-inducing ordeal. Taxes are the…
The Boston Globe
Is it Time to Lay Down the Law on the Internet?
The Boston Globe discusses the renewed interest in internet privacy in the wake of the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal. But Wayne Crews, vice…
The Hill
Senate Can’t Let U.S. Railroad Regulator Roll Back Progress
Few Americans give much thought to the Surface Transportation Board (STB), the nation’s economic regulator of railroads. Yet, the STB oversees a critical infrastructure network…
Blog
Consumers Lose in European Union’s Struggle against Google
Anti-technology hysteria continues to build in the European Union. Margrethe Vestager, the European Commissioner for Competition, confirmed today that she is still considering breaking…
Fox Business
Dropbox IPO Shows Tech Upstarts Still Have It
The long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) by Dropbox, Inc. was a success, shares soared about 40% in the debut. The pop also tells us a…
Blog
Next Steps in Facebook Privacy Fallout
Privacy policies at Facebook—and, by extension, other major online platforms—have sparked furious debate in recent days because of the revelations regarding…
Yahoo News
In blockbuster antitrust trial, Big Tech looms in background
Blog
Impressive Work on Display by Students for Liberty
Congratulations are in order to our friends at Students for Liberty and their CEO Wolf von Laer on a successfully annual conference recently held here…
Blog
Online Sales Tax Bill a Small-Business Killing Tax Hike
The Wall Street Journal editorial board was entirely correct yesterday when they said, “Republicans have spent the last year cutting taxes and regulations, which…
Blog
5G Will Work—If Government Gets out of the Way
To usher in a new era of 5G virtual reality, 4K video, and self-driving cars, a major network upgrade is needed. The greater data demands…
Study
Online Sales Taxes Make Government Bigger and Undermine Federalism
View Full Document as PDF The rapid growth of online retailing has prompted state and local government officials to seek greater authority…
Blog
Melugin: Keep Online Sales Taxes out of Omnibus Budget Bill
Today Jessica Melugin, associate director of CEI’s Center for Technology & Innovation, joined U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) and a number of other free-market…
The Hill
Congress, Bring the FCC’s Authority up to Speed
On Tuesday, March 6, the U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously to pass a bill to reauthorize the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), an agency with…
News Release
CEI Argues Against Adding Internet Sales Tax to Omnibus Spending Bill
Today, Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Jessica Melugin joined U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) at a press conference to…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Opposing Remote Transactions Parity Act (RTPA), H.R. 2193
View Full Document as PDF On behalf of the millions of citizens represented by the undersigned organizations, we write in strong opposition…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Urging Incorporation of Intermediary Immunity into NAFTA’s Digital Trade Chapter
View Full Document as PDF Dear Ambassador Lighthizer, Secretary Guajardo, and Minister Freeland, We are American, Canadian, and Mexican scholars and advocates…
Blog
Don’t Bring Net Neutrality Regulations Back from the Dead
Republicans on Capitol Hill are looking to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory with their recently introduced net neutrality legislation, Sen. John Kennedy’s (R-LA) Open Internet…
Blog
Don’t Let an Online Sales Tax Hike Creep into Omnibus Spending Bill
With the siren song of the omnibus spending bill calling, legislators would be wise to resist pressures to include increases in online sales…
Blog
Chuck Schumer’s Unconstitutional Money-Wasting Machine
If you wanted a counterterrorism technology that could match Amtrak in terms of derailments, you couldn’t do much better than to use “stand-off explosive detection…
Blog
CEI’s Ryan Radia Weighs in on Latest in Net Neutrality Debate
CEI has done its share on the topic for more than 10 years. Tune in to FreedomWorks live streams on February 26 to hear CEI’s…
Investor's Business Daily
Competition In Technology Is More Vibrant Than It Looks
The clamor is rising for Big Tech firms to be broken up. With Amazon and Alphabet, Google’s parent company, reporting record profits, voices from both…
National Review
More Antitrust Revisionism Aimed at Big Tech
In a long but surprisingly weak story, the New York Times’ Charles Duhigg is the latest analyst to try to find an argument for why antitrust law…
USA Today
Supreme Court weighs privacy rights in digital age in pivotal cellphone case
USA Today cited the Competitive Enterprise Institute about the dangers to personal freedoms and privacy for third-party information to be available to law enforcement without requiring a…
Reason
Self-Driving Cars Will Make Most Auto Safety Regulations Unnecessary
Reason quoted Marc Scribner on the necessity of pragmatism which should be utilized to expedite the implementation of self-driving cars before federal auto regulators idealistic…
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