National Review
Chasing Platforms Instead of Ambulances: Social Media Liability Trial Kicks Off in California
Proceedings have commenced in a trial poised to redefine the boundaries of free expression on the internet. The first-of-its-kind test case will determine if social media…
National Review
Don’t Let Harmful EU Tech Regulations Spread Across the Globe
The European Union’s rejection of the digital revolution has been a cancer on the continent’s tech sector, member countries’ per capita GDPs, and the various…
The Sacramento Bee
POINT: Throwing parental rights on the barbie won’t fly in the United States
The world’s first social media ban of users under age 16 is now in effect in Australia. Whatever parents’ genuine concerns and understandable frustrations around…
Civitas Outlook
In the Long Run, the Meta Case Is Dead
It’s official: Meta is not illegally monopolizing the “personal social networking” (PSN) market through its 2012 purchase of Instagram and 2014 purchase of WhatsApp. The…
The Dispatch
Antitrust Law Has Never Been Static
Last week a federal judge ruled that Meta was not an illegal monopoly, citing the changes in the social media landscape since the company bought…
Civitas Institute
The First Amendment Vise
It’s been a rough ride for freedom of speech lately. The reads, “Congress shall make no law…prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of…
Civitas Institute
Current Antitrust Actions Endanger America’s AI Edge
“It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near one” writes J.R.R. Tolkien in The Hobbit. But that’s precisely…
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…
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.
National Review
Trump Transition at FTC Is No Reagan Revolution
Don’t call it a “comeback.” Those hoping for a Reagan-era-like return to economic sanity or regulatory humility in antitrust at the Federal Trade Commission…
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…
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…
National Review
Baseless Federal Investigations Would Stifle America’s Pioneering AI Industry
The Biden administration is going beyond antitrust enforcement in AI and is instead trying to predict the future of the industry itself. Reports indicate…
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…
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…
The Dispatch
Let Parents, Not Politicians, Keep Kids Safe Online
Many parents today are rightly concerned about what their kids see on social media and how much time they spend online. And politicians have noticed.
Fox News
Why creating an international body for AI is a bad idea
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt recently re-upped his calls for a global body, akin to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), to advise member…
National Review
Biden Order on Artificial Intelligence Puts Too Much Faith in Regulators
President Biden’s executive order (EO) on artificial intelligence (AI) directs more than a dozen federal agencies to, among other things, “establish guidelines…
Fox News
We need to avoid a ‘ready, fire, aim!’ approach to AI regulation
The panic to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) came almost immediately after last fall’s release of ChatGPT popularized the technology with the public. Some industry insiders…
National Review
Keep the FTC’s Hands off Artificial Intelligence
The general panic over artificial intelligence and the Federal Trade Commission’s aim to insert itself into every corner of the U.S. economy recently dovetailed in …
D.C. Journal
FTC Lawsuit Against Amazon’s Prime Is Poor Use of Limited Resources
The Federal Trade Commission is suing Amazon for allegedly tricking customers into signing up for the company’s Prime membership and making it difficult to cancel…
National Review
FTC Continues War on Bigness by Opposing Microsoft Video-Game Acquisition
The FTC is doubling down on its opposition to Microsoft’s acquisition of video-game company Activision Blizzard by filing to block the merger in a…
The Washington Post
Social media’s effects on children are not yet clear
In their May 12 op-ed, “We must protect kids online,” Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and…
Washington Examiner
Effort to limit children’s social media access draws bipartisan support in the Senate
Congressional efforts to regulate the internet to shield minors from harm online is an old story, going back to the internet’s…
National Review
Politicians Are Squandering America’s Chance to Get It Right on TikTok
National-security concerns about the world’s most popular app, TikTok, might be legitimate, but addressing them is proving a master course in Washington dysfunction. Significant questions remain…
National Review
Not-So-Quietly Quitting: Wilson’s Resignation a Canary in the Coal Mine of the FTC
FTC commissioner Christine Wilson made the most of her resignation announcement in the pages of the Wall Street Journal. Her thoughtful…
National Review
The FTC Soda Wars
The Federal Trade Commission’s new probe into the pricing practices of Coke and Pepsi is the latest step in the agency’s march away from protecting consumers.
Barrons
Opinion: Two App Stores Don’t Make a Monopoly
Elon Musk and others’ complaints about the fees Apple and Google ‘s App Stores charge developers are putting pressure…
National Review
Antitrust’s Cloudy Crystal Ball
Even in the wake of Meta’s biggest mass layoff ever and a $71 billion loss this year, antitrust regulators around the world are peering into crystal…
National Review
The Supreme Court Gets Another Chance to Rein in the Administrative State
The Constitution vests its executive power in the president of the United States. But in the 1935 case of Humphrey’s Executor v. U.S., the Supreme Court ruled…
National Interest
Anti-Trust Bills Will Harm U.S. Consumers and National Security
Proposed antitrust bills aimed at Big Tech will inadvertently put individual users and national security at risk. Three policies within the proposed legislation are especially problematic:…
Real Clear Policy
US Should Learn From Europe’s Damaging Tech Regulations
Final European Parliament approval of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA) last week puts…
National Review
U.K. Regulator Deservedly Loses Case against Meta
The recent announcement of the final verdict in the U.K.’s case to block Meta’s acquisition of GIF library Giphy is a partial victory for…
National Review
Regulators’ Misguided Crackdown on Nicotine Products and Their Makers
Federal agencies must really love black markets. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a plan to limit nicotine in cigarettes and …
National Review
How the New FTC Majority Will Rewrite Antitrust Laws without Congress
As time runs out for major antitrust legislation on Capitol Hill, the Federal Trade Commission emerges as the last, best hope for neo-Brandeisians looking for aggressive…
National Review
Don’t Follow Europe on Tech Regulation
Policy-makers in the EU are about to finalize new digital-platform rules, many of which mirror U.S. proposals currently stalled in Congress. Like past European tech regulation,…
Washington Examiner
What Elon Musk gets wrong about Apple App Store fees
Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter has some in the throes of ecstasy and others fearing a social media apocalypse. But, whatever happens, it’s good news that the…
National Review
After Elon Musk’s Takeover of Twitter, Will Conservatives Learn to Love Section 230?
Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter has many on the political right hopeful that, once under his control, the site will take down less…
The Washington Examiner
What Elon Musk gets wrong about Apple App Store fees
Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter has some in the throes of ecstasy and others fearing a social media apocalypse. But, whatever happens, it’s good news that the…
The Washington Examiner
Biden’s Executive Order Marks the Government’s Initial Foray into Cryptocurrency
The regulatory future of cryptocurrency looks uncertain in Washington, but there is growing acceptance that blockchain finance is here to stay. President Joe Biden issued…
National Review
With Inflation Rising, Why Punish Companies Seeking to Lower Prices?
In a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, a venture capital investor in the e-commerce firms Deliverr and Wish calls for breaking up Amazon because…
The Washington Examiner
Bill Targeting Big Tech Advanced Out of a Senate Committee on Bipartisan Vote
In what could be the most significant step toward regulating Big Tech, a bipartisan bill to change online shopping dramatically is moving ahead in the…
Real Clear Policy
It Should Be the End of the Line for the Senate Antitrust Bill
The American Innovation and Choice Online Act, which advanced out of the Senate Judiciary committee after a markup last Thursday, will hurt U.S. consumers and…
Inside Sources
Biden Administration Threatens Consumers with Net Neutrality, Again
A big priority for progressives and, hence, the Biden administration is reinstatement of Obama-era net neutrality regulations. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will once again regulate internet service providers under Title II of the Telecommunications…
National Review
Can I Speak to a Manager?
Earlier this month, U.S. senators Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.) and Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) unveiled plans for their American…
National Review
Property Rights and Infinite Cyberspace
What is the one force that can prevent the purported Big Tech villains such as Facebook and Google from being displaced as the dominant platforms? Republicans.
The Orange County Register
Conservative Social Media Platforms Can’t Succeed Without Content Moderation
The latest social media platform from the Trump team, Gettr, went from an intended safe space for conservative beliefs to a hellscape of imposter accounts, offensive memes and…
The Orlando Sentinel
If Businesses are Liable for Internet Posts, Consumers Lose
Even amid Washington gridlock, one thing almost everyone seems to agree on is that the way companies moderate online content that makes people mad, and that…
Inside Sources
Consumers Lose if Congress Makes Businesses Liable For Everyone’s Internet Posts
National Review
When Antitrust Is Anti-Consumer
Lina Khan, a noted proponent of expanding and altering U.S. antitrust law, was confirmed last week as a commissioner to the Federal…
National Review
Why Ohio’s Attempt to Regulate Google as a ‘Common Carrier’ Is a Terrible Idea
A decade ago, when Google search was first accused of self-preferencing its own results, a colleague of mine created a meme with text over…
Real Clear Policy
Government Regulation of App Stores Could Wind Up Costing Consumers
App stores are in the crosshairs of regulators around the world, threatening the privacy and security of consumers in jurisdictions throwing the red tape at…
National Review
It’s Time to Exempt News Organizations from Antitrust Restrictions
Congress is currently considering a bill that would allow news organizations to collectively negotiate with online-content distributors, such as Google and Facebook. If passed,…
National Review
Should Social-Media Companies Be Considered ‘Common Carriers’?
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s concurrence in Joseph Biden v. Knight First Amendment at Columbia University recommends regulating social-media platforms as if they were…
Fortune
Don’t Put Big Tech or Big Government in Charge of the Truth
The divide among Americans on a wide range of issues is being amplified by social media. Charges of misinformation and censorship online are raising the…
Inside Sources
Government Antitrust Lawsuit Against Facebook Should be Dismissed
Facebook’s filing to dismiss antitrust lawsuits by the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) and state attorneys general is a chance to pause unwarranted political punishment of…
USA Today
Protecting Publius: Online Anonymity is Critical for Protecting Freedom to Dissent
The bipartisan loathing of Section 230, the liability shield that protects online platforms from being legally responsible for what their users post, has…
National Review
Antitrust Litigation Usually Causes More Harm Than Good. Big Tech Is No Different
Advocates of expanded antitrust regulation often cite past cases to demonstrate the benefits of pursuing litigation against today’s Big Tech firms. But when the details of…
The Foundation for Economic Education
Economic Nationalists and Anti-Corporate Progressives Both Want More Government Power
Last month President Biden designated Rebecca Slaughter as acting chair of the Federal Trade Commission, where she has served as a commissioner since 2018. During a…
Real Clear Policy
Why Critics Should Leave Section 230’s Liability Protections Alone
Attacks on Section 230, the liability limiting shield for online platforms, are coming from President Trump, Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill. But the debate around curtailing or…
National Review
Facebook Acquisitions Benefitted Its Employees, Sellers, and Consumers. Where Is the Harm?
The claim by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 48 state attorneys general that Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp qualifies as anticompetitive behavior foolishly focuses…
Financial Times
Google Antitrust Case Shows the Flaws in Competition Regulation
The US Department of Justice’s filing of an antitrust lawsuit against Google on Tuesday reflects growing concern in Washington about the power wielded by big technology…
National Review
Don’t Change Antitrust Law to Undermine Tech Companies and Consumers
A new House Judiciary Committee report on competition in the technology industry starts from the premise that everything Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google…
Bloomberg Law
Fortnite Creator Epic’s Battle With Tech Giants Could Harm Consumers
If you have middle school-aged children or older, chances are you’ve heard of Fortnite, an online multi-player game, created by Epic Games Inc., that allows users…
National Review
House Antitrust Hearing Discusses Everything but Antitrust Law
In Wednesday’s antitrust hearing with the CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google, questions from liberal members of Congress laid the groundwork for expanding the…
The Washington Examiner
Congress is Dragging Jeff Bezos to the Hill to Explain a Routine Business Strategy
Alongside his fellow Big Tech CEOs, Jeff Bezos will appear before the House Judiciary Committee next Monday to testify about Amazon Marketplace’s business practices with…
Washington Examiner
William Barr Wading Into Dangerous Territory with Possible Support for Anti-Tech Regulation
Last month, Attorney General William Barr said, “valid questions have been raised on whether Section 230’s broad immunity is still necessary, at least in its current…
The American Conservative
Embracing The Idea Of Unregulated Fake News Everywhere
Recently a controversy arose over a CBS News shot of a supposed line for coronavirus testing that turned out to include staged medical staff posing…
Washington Examiner
Why is there bipartisan support for limiting online liberty?
Facebook recently announced the first 20 members of its independent Oversight Board on content moderation. Many criticized the political bent of the majority of the…
Fortune
Why Recent Antitrust Regulation Isn’t Really About Consumer Protection
In its second hearing today, the House Judiciary Committee continued its investigation into the tech antitrust issue. This latest iteration of “hipster antitrust” is nothing more…
Fox News
Conservatives Who Want Facebook, Other Social Media Regulated Should Think Twice
There are growing calls from both sides of the political aisle for government regulation of speech on social media platforms, but letting government dictate what…
Inside Sources
Cities Should Stop Slowing Down America’s 5G Revolution
The Federal Communications Commission recently approved a proposal to speed up deployment for the next generation of wireless service, known as 5G. The plan puts states and…
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…
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…
Washington Examiner
Online Sales Taxes Won’t Solve States’ Budget Problems
For almost 20 years, state and local politicians have lobbied Congress for permission to reach across their borders and collect sales taxes from online businesses…
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…
USA Today
No, the Internet Is Not About to Be Destroyed
The headlines regarding the Federal Communications Commission’s upcoming vote on “net neutrality” regulations suggest impending doom. “FCC Is Revving Up to Destroy the Internet…
Fortune
States Are Secretly Trying to Tax Your Online Purchases
States and localities currently cannot tax online purchases made from companies outside their own borders. Yet over the past two decades, state and local…
Inside Sources
Point: Net Neutrality Bad for Consumers
The FCC’s proposed rollback of its 2015 Open Internet Order has put the term “net neutrality” back in the political zeitgeist. The phrase itself is…
The Hill
Congress Must Put an End to Online Taxation Without Representation
The recent reintroduction of the misnamed Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA) is the latest in the effort to expand taxes on internet sales. Proponents of taxing…
RealClear Markets
Wal-Mart’s Jet.com Buy Puts Online Sales Tax at the Forefront
Watchdog.org
The Internet Grinch Tax Threat
Proposals to expand sales tax collection on Internet purchases just won’t go away. And this holiday shopping season—which kicked off with a $3 billion Cyber…
The Hill
Latest Internet sales tax bill gives states unprecedented taxing power
This week’s introduction by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) of yet another Internet sales tax bill illustrates the importance of understanding this complex issue and the…
The Roanoke Times
A New Idea for Tax Fairness Online
The misleadingly named Marketplace Fairness Act died a quiet death during the House of Representatives’ lame-duck session, but is it really the end? What does…
Roll Call
The Grinch Who Taxed The Internet
Austin American Statesman
Texans Should Beware of Internet Sales Tax
Texas is one of the nation’s best states for doing business, according to a recent CNBC survey. Lone Star lawmakers deserve credit for the pro-growth…
The Oklahoman
Think Tank Fellow: Taxing At Place Of Origin Is The Best Method
Starved for cash, cities in Oklahoma and across the nation are looking to new sources of revenue. Their latest target? The Internet. Municipal officials are…
Forbes
The Real Reason Amazon Flip-Flopped On Internet Sales Taxes
Proponents of the Marketplace Fairness Act claim it’s about fairness to traditional retailers and cash-strapped states. But the flip-flop by Amazon.com, now one of…
Washington Examiner
Internet sales tax bill a bad idea
If less complexity, fewer loopholes and lower rates are the signposts of meaningful tax reform, the dubiously named Marketplace Fairness Act embodies the exact…
Missoulian
Baucus can help Montana by opposing Internet tax
As chairman of the powerful Finance Committee and senior senator from a non-sales tax state, Montana’s Max Baucus is uniquely positioned to protect both American…
The Washington Times
Internet sales taxes attack states’ rights
Proponents of Internet sales taxes are asking the lame-duck Congress to bless their state tax cartel as part of a larger tax reform package by…
The Washington Times
State Cartel Looking to Hike Internet Taxes
A handful of U.S. senators are teeing up legislation to capture more tax revenue on Internet purchases. Certainly there are valid (and some not so…
The Mercury News
An Alternative to California Proposal to Tax E-Commerce
Painful awards shows aren’t the only odious things stirring in California these days. State lawmakers want to collect sales taxes on Californians’ purchases from…
Op-Eds
The Govs Who Stole Christmas: Jessica Melugin Op-Ed
Chances are you purchased at least one gift over the Internet this Christmas season. The online shopping mall and research service Bizrate.com reported that shoppers…
Op-Eds
Melugin Letter To The FTC
December 5, 2000Robert PitofskyChairmanThe Federal Trade Commission600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.Washington, DC 20580 Dear Chairman Pitofsky: Recently, Amazon.com contacted its…
Op-Eds
Amazon.com Puts Consumers in Control: Melugin in TechCentralStation.com
Published in TechCentralStation.com<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> September 25, 2000 …
Op-Eds
Privacy Precepts Learned the Hard Way: Melugin Op-Ed in Washington Times
For recently bankrupt Toysmart.com, trying to liquidate its customer information database has been more like playing with matches than children’s toys. Last week’s…
Op-Eds
Double-Click For Consumers: Melugin Op-Ed in Washington Times
Published in The Washington Times<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> August 1, 2000 “We…