Breaking Down a Big Week in the Net Neutrality Case
Blog Post

Breaking Down a Big Week in the Net Neutrality Case

While the eyes of much of the country were on Pennsylvania and Georgia last week, the tech community was focused on Cincinnati, where the US Court of Appeals for the…

Respecting All First Amendment Stakeholders: The Constitutional Key for Platform Regulation
Blog Post
AEIdeas

Respecting All First Amendment Stakeholders: The Constitutional Key for Platform Regulation

It’s an all-too-predictable, rinse-and-repeat pattern: (1) A state adopts a statute to protect minors from the social media’s supposedly deleterious effects; (2) the law is challenged on First Amendment grounds; (3) a…

The Power of Pivots: How Smart Companies Change the Game (with Gary Shapiro)
Podcast

The Power of Pivots: How Smart Companies Change the Game (with Gary Shapiro)

What separates the companies that successfully pivot from those that become cautionary tales in business history? How do government regulations either foster or hinder innovation in today’s tech landscape? And…

Determinants of Industry Concentration and Dispersion
Working Paper
AEI Economic Policy Working Paper Series

Determinants of Industry Concentration and Dispersion

Abstract Given the political and public interest in rising industry concentration in developed economies, researchers have been working on uncovering underlying mechanisms and implications. Various causes of concentration have been…

How Much Do Consumers Hate Online Ads? Not Much!
Blog Post
AEIdeas

How Much Do Consumers Hate Online Ads? Not Much!

The Program on the Economics of Privacy at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School has been looking at empirical evidence around people’s privacy interests. Among their recent presentations was a paper in progress…

Twenty-Four Ways to Understand 2024
Article
The Dispatch

Twenty-Four Ways to Understand 2024

Economist Deirdre McCloskey opens The Narrative of Economic Expertise with an observation that blew me away when I read it as an undergraduate: It is pretty clear that an economist, like a…

Why The Washington Post’s Non-Endorsement Is No Cause for Alarm
Blog Post
AEIdeas

Why The Washington Post’s Non-Endorsement Is No Cause for Alarm

Much digital ink has been spilled over The Washington Post’s decision to forgo endorsing a presidential candidate this year. The Post frames this as a return to its roots, with owner Jeff Bezos reportedly viewing it…

Does Privacy Regulation Compromise the Public Good?
Blog Post
AEIdeas

Does Privacy Regulation Compromise the Public Good?

In the early days of the internet, a commonly-heard mantra was “information wants to be free.” To many, this meant no charges should be imposed for either the use of…

Free Speech, Smartphones, and Ballot Selfies: A Little Self-Restraint, Please
Blog Post
AEIdeas

Free Speech, Smartphones, and Ballot Selfies: A Little Self-Restraint, Please

Arriving at the polls on November 5, some voters will be tempted to capture and post a selfie with their completed ballot, perhaps to let followers know who they voted…

How Tech Regulatory Approaches Have Changed, and Not for the Better
Article
The Dispatch

How Tech Regulatory Approaches Have Changed, and Not for the Better

As president, Bill Clinton had failures, both personal and professional, but one thing he got right during his time in office was the Framework for Global Electronic Commerce. Released in July…

Cybersecurity Concerns with QR Codes: Staying Safe in the Digital Age
Blog Post
AEIdeas

Cybersecurity Concerns with QR Codes: Staying Safe in the Digital Age

Quick Response (QR) codes, those black and white squares whose popularity surged with the rise of contactless interactions during the COVID-19 pandemic, from restaurant menus to parking meters, have become…

Both Harris and Trump Pose Problems for U.S. Energy Producers.
Op-Ed
The Dispatch

Both Harris and Trump Pose Problems for U.S. Energy Producers.

AEI Scholar Benjamin Zycher contributed to the Dispatch’s Symposium titled Regulatory Policy Experts: Both Harris and Trump Threaten Constraints on Innovation, as a group of experts outlined the many ways in…

What Happens in Europe Does Not Stay There
Article
Washington Examiner

What Happens in Europe Does Not Stay There

U.S. climate policies, designed to yield a utopia of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by, say, 2050, are preposterous. The costs are massive. Consumer resistance is such that important components of the policy agenda are…

The Benefits of Playing Small Ball and Other Observations About Social Media Litigation at the Supreme Court
Blog Post
AEIdeas

The Benefits of Playing Small Ball and Other Observations About Social Media Litigation at the Supreme Court

The US Supreme Court’s 2024 rulings involving social media platforms and First Amendment issues provided fodder for earlier posts drilling into matters such as the right to listenand Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s prominent…

Why Western North Carolina Spurned Flood Control Measures Decades Ago
Article
The Dispatch

Why Western North Carolina Spurned Flood Control Measures Decades Ago

The July 17, 1916, edition of The Asheville Citizen could have easily been reprinted late last month and maintained its relevance: “Asheville today is absolutely isolated from the outside world, is a city…