Protect Kids, Not Big Tech’s Market Position

April 17, 2023 | Evan Swarztrauber

Lawmakers across the political spectrum are increasingly focused on reining in the market power and abuses of Big Tech, particularly when it comes to social media. If the history of tech policy is a lack of regulation and firms avoiding responsibility for “moving fast and breaking things,” then there’s perhaps no more illustrative example than
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Tech Legislation Presents Opportunity for Republican Unity

February 8, 2023 | Luke Hogg

This piece was originally published in the Deseret News. House Republicans had a rough start to the new year, with internal squabbles delaying the instatement of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Now, Republicans have to find a rallying point — otherwise, they risk wasting the next two years. Thankfully, one proposal provides a clear path toward
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The Future of Twitter is Open, or Bust

November 7, 2022 | Richard Reisman

This piece was originally published in Tech Policy Press. Elon Musk owns Twitter. Or rather, whatever is left of it after today’s massive layoffs. It’s hard to see any future for the company at this point, particularly as its twin challenges of content moderation and revenue sustainability are deeply intertwined. As a business, Twitter is facing substantial financial obstacles,
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Elon Musk Doesn’t Understand What He’s Bought

November 4, 2022 | Jon Askonas

This piece was originally published in UnHerd. Elon Musk has promised that Twitter’s lords and peasants system (i.e. verification) will be coming to an end. The new CEO said that verified “bluecheck” users would now be subject to a monthly fee of $8. Discussion of the proposal exploded with (broadly) media-adjacent people saying that the changes would effectively destroy Twitter and (broadly)
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Innovation and Antitrust: Learning from Past Government Antitrust Enforcement Actions

September 16, 2022 | Jonathon Hauenschild

As Congress returns from the August and Labor Day recess, competition policies may be high on the priority list, with Sen. Klobuchar reintroducing the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act and likely lobbying Sen. Chuck Schumer for a vote on her American Innovation and Choice Online Act. Before considering legislation, though, Congress should take a close
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Google’s Decision Not to List Truth Social Raises Political Questions

September 13, 2022 | Jonathon Hauenschild

This piece was originally published in Newsweek. Social media platforms are having a tough time. First, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt released a trove of documents strongly suggesting the companies coordinated with the government to suppress information about COVID-19. Then, Google announced it would not list Truth Social in its Play Store due to “insufficient content moderation” practices, particularly those terms prohibiting violent
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Antitrust Reform After AICOA

August 22, 2022 | Luke Hogg

Despite months of pressure on leadership to bring antitrust legislation to the floor, the Senate left town for the August recess without voting on the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA). While Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has stated that AICOA could still receive a vote this fall, Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s signature effort to rein
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Can Antitrust Reform Legislation Get to 60 Votes?

August 16, 2022 | Luke Hogg

This piece was originally published in The Hill. With the August recess underway, it is time to take stock of Congress’ remaining agenda. One big item that is still on Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) public to-do list is the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA). After promising a floor vote on the bill earlier this summer, the
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Focusing on Enforcement to Hold Big Tech Accountable

July 18, 2022 | Luke Hogg

By Jonathon Hauenschild and Luke Hogg With the August recess approaching and the November elections looming, the window is rapidly closing for the current Congress to enact legislation updating antitrust laws to hold big technology companies accountable. That could be good news for American consumers, since the flagship bill under consideration in the Senate might force
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The path to principled reform for monopolies

July 12, 2022 | Luke Hogg

Conservatives across the country have grown increasingly distrustful of large online platforms. From content suppression during COVID-19 to the deplatforming of Parler to large-scale data breaches, high-profile incidents have led many on the center-right to question Big Tech’s influence over our lives. With Republicans poised to gain seats in Congress in November, lawmakers should be looking ahead to the 118th
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Don’t Rush a Bad Bill

June 17, 2022 | Luke Hogg

Democrats’ poorly-drafted antitrust bill will do little for Republicans, and its consumer backlash will undermine future legislative efforts Republicans and Democrats alike have grown increasingly mistrustful of large online platforms in recent years. But the basis for this mistrust comes from two conflicting lines of thinking. Whereas Democrats are primarily concerned with market power and
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How Punishing Big Tech Harms America

April 5, 2022 | Luke Hogg

Last week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee expressing its support for legislation that would ban large tech platforms (primarily Amazon, Apple, Google, and Meta) from a range of “discriminatory” behaviors such as self-preferencing their own products. The letter argues that the American Innovation and Choice Online Act
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Building state capacity at FTC and DOJ

June 16, 2021 | Zach Graves

Within the House’s package of anti-monopoly proposals, the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2021 is the odd one out. It has a longer legislative history, stronger bipartisan support, is relatively incremental, and is not explicitly targeted at big tech. Despite some nay-saying from the peanut gallery, as well as a more fraught political environment
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How To Fix Big Tech Without Big Government

May 17, 2021 | Zach Graves

Interoperability and open protocols can solve many of the problems of centralized cyber power without a heavy regulatory hand. Partisanship is at an all time high in Washington. But one issue policymakers on both sides seem to agree on is that something should be done to rein in the power of Big Tech. The American
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How Intra-Industry Conflicts Shape the Techlash

March 23, 2021 | Zach Graves

In 2013, The Economist coined the term “techlash,” predicting that CEOs of large tech firms would soon “join bankers and oilmen in public demonology.” In recent years, this has come to fruition. A majority of both Republicans and Democrats now support increased regulation of the tech industry. Additionally, half of Americans favor breaking up large firms like Amazon, Facebook, Apple, and Google.
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Promote Competition Without Punishing Success

October 30, 2020 | Garrett Johnson

The “break-them-up” crowd does not grasp the negative consequences of sweeping anti-tech actions. With declining public sentiment about the tech industry and its impact on society, we’ve witnessed a growing chorus of advocates and policymakers arguing that now is the time for the federal government to take drastic action. Indeed, half of Americans now favor breaking up and more
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