R Street’s Technology and Innovation policy program conducts research and advocacy around the public policy frameworks that govern both established and emerging technologies. Our goal is to push back against laws and regulations that impede economic progress or individual liberty, and to advance policy solutions that allow technology to move at the speed of innovation.
Technology and Innovation
The Issue
Publications
The R Street Institute commends the Commission’s continued deregulatory approach to broadband which has allowed significant investment in networks and deployment of cutting-edge services. On…
Review of: “National Strategy for Critical And Emerging Technologies,” The White House, October 2020. https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/National-Strategy-for-CET.pdf.
On…
Startups Need the Supreme Court to Keep APIs Open
Charles Duan
From Morning Consult:
And nascent startups would be at an inherent disadvantage in those license negotiations: They would be bargaining with “API owners” who had veto power over whether the…
, PennLaw
Proceed with caution: Why curtailing Section 230 immunity is not the solution to social media regulation
Charles Duan & Jeffrey Westling
From PennLaw:
Once the company was determined to have violated practices of “good faith” content moderation, it would become liable for all user-generated content and face an unprecedented…
, Techdirt
Should Antitrust Protect Competitors Or Competition?
Jeffrey Westling
While there is plenty of breaking news to go around, tech junkies will not have missed the Department of Justice’s long-awaited announcement of their antitrust lawsuit against Google. This is just…
Regulating Ghost Guns
Charles Duan
From The Regulatory Review:
First Amendment questions about restricting schematics for 3D-printed guns can be avoided by using copyright law, R Street Institute’s Charles…
, Zenger
Gloves Come Off as Trump, Biden Talk Foreign Policy
Paul Rosenzweig
From Zenger:
“Digital intimidation is of only modest importance,” said Paul Rosenweig, Resident Senior Fellow for National Security & Cybersecurity at R Street Institute, a Washington…
ICYMI: The Best in Tech Policy for September 2020
Jeffrey Westling
From Stand Together:
“Is Big so Bad? Political Competition Enforcement Threatens Consumers” by Jeffrey Westling (R Street)
, reason
545 Migrant Kids Snatched by the U.S. Government Are Still Missing Parents
Shoshana Weissmann
From reason:
On Zoom, Jeffrey Toobin, and Section 230: Inappropriate sexual behavior during a video chat with colleagues could bring lawsuits, notes Shoshana Weissmann, riffing on current…
, TechDirt
Jeffrey Toobin’s Zoom Dick Incident Is The Perfect Example Of Why We Need Section 230
Shoshana Weissmann
From TechDirt:
Shoshana Weissmann noted that this story — as horrific as it might be — is also a perfect example of why we have Section 230.
Revealing one’s self in a work setting can…