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Reviving and Reimagining the Federal Data Strategy for Mission Success

The Federal Data Strategy suffers from a lack of leadership and fails to link its well-defined principles and practices to government-wide and agency-level missions. The Biden administration must revive and reimagine it in order to succeed in transforming the federal government into a 21st century organization.

How to Restore Limiting Principles for “Unfair Methods of Competition” in Antitrust Law

The FTC has granted itself the power to bring antitrust enforcement actions based on amorphous and politically motivated ideas of “fairness.” There should instead be a uniform standard for what constitutes fairness in both consumer protection and competition policy.

Data Isn’t the New Oil; That Might Be a Good Thing

Defending Digital Series, No. 18: The war in Ukraine and the return of persistent inflation have made it clear that energy is still much more important to peoples’ lives than digital data.

Energizing Innovation in Fiscal Year 2024

The FY 2024 budget request, if met, could maintain bipartisan momentum for clean energy innovation. Congress should support that innovation to foster domestic clean energy industries that can compete globally, minimize foreign dependencies, and address climate change.

The Great Revealing: Taking Competition in America and Europe Seriously

With its provocative claim that America now has less economic competition than the EU, Thomas Philippon’s book The Great Reversal has become a bible for neo-Brandeisians. But reports of the death of competition in America are highly exaggerated: While U.S. antitrust remains effective, EU competition policy has failed to stimulate innovation, productivity, or growth.

Why Merger Guidelines Must Do More to Support Productivity, Innovation, and Global Competitiveness

Antitrust authorities want to revise merger guidelines based on dubious theories of potential harm that fail to recognize how many mergers foster innovation, productivity, and U.S. global competitiveness. New merger guidelines should better account for these considerations.

Digital Equity 2.0: How to Close the Data Divide

Unlike the digital divide, many ignore the data divide or argue that the way to close it is to collect vastly less data. But without substantial efforts to increase data representation and access, certain individuals and communities will be left behind in an increasingly data-driven world.

The Digital Inclusion Outlook: What It Looks Like and Where It’s Lacking

Achieving digital inclusion requires a comprehensive understanding of the digital divide and standardized methods for addressing related topics such as reasons for nonadoption and digital illiteracy—but in getting people online, individualized approaches are the way to go.

Tech Panics, Generative AI, and the Need for Regulatory Caution

Exaggerated and misleading concerns about generative artificial intelligence have crowded out reasonable discussion about the technology, generating a familiar, yet unfortunate, “tech panic.”

NFTs: US Policies and Priorities in 2023

Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, offer unique policy challenges. While the United States has taken some important steps to address the potential risks and benefits of the technology, there is more policymakers can do to protect consumers while encouraging innovation.

China Hasn’t Invented A New Type of Capitalism; It’s Following A Proven One

China’s economy is best viewed as a giant Asian Tiger. China’s great success stems mostly from its vast size and its use of the proven Asian development model. Claims that it’s mostly the result of exploitive and unfair communist practices distort U.S. priorities and policies.

Short Circuited: Electrical Engineering Degrees in the United States

Innovation in electrical engineering (EE) powers the U.S. economy, yet the share of students graduating with EE degrees has declined. This reduces EE innovation and production in the United States. Congress should act.

Schumpeter Is Right, Brandeis Is Wrong: Large Retailers Benefit the Economy More Than Small Retailers

Large retail companies are more productive than small retailers. That is why they can offer better prices to consumers, pay higher wages to their employees, and contribute more to the overall economy—which puts the lie to the neo-Brandeisian argument that “big is bad.”

Europe’s Cloud Security Regime Should Focus on Technology, Not Nationality

The EU’s new cloud cybersecurity regime should focus on good security practices, as the U.S. FedRAMP regime does. Emulating China’s protectionist focus on firm nationality is a bad security practice that weakens transatlantic influence over cybersecurity issues globally.

What Kind of Industrial Policy: Progressive or Hamiltonian?

Progressives want to replace neoliberalism with green-equity-focused industrial policy, which would make America poorer and weaker. Washington should instead adopt a Hamiltonian agenda to win the global competition for advanced industry leadership, especially versus China.

Critics of Generative AI Are Worrying About the Wrong IP Issues

Critics argue developers of generative AI systems such as ChatGPT and DALL-E have unfairly trained their models on copyrighted works. Those concerns are misguided.

Balancing Privacy and Innovation in Smart Cities and Communities

Smart city technology could modernize local government services and improve residents’ quality of life. To reap these benefits and maintain public trust, cities and communities need to balance the interests of innovation and privacy.

The Flawed Analysis Underlying Calls for Antitrust Reform: Revisiting Lina Khan’s “Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox”

In the 2017 law journal article that established her reputation, now FTC Chair Lina Khan ignored or misapplied the economics of two-sided markets, mischaracterized competitive conditions, and did not consider the pro-competitive effects of Amazon’s conduct.

Filling Gaps in US Spectrum Allocation: Reforms for Collaborative Management

Interrelated gaps and failures in the process and policies used to efficiently allocate spectrum demand comprehensive reform. To prevent future failures, policymakers must improve device performance, increase data gathering and sharing, and clarify the spectrum allocation process.

Ten Principles for Regulation That Does Not Harm AI Innovation

Concerns about artificial intelligence have prompted policymakers to propose a variety of laws and regulations to create “responsible AI.” Unfortunately, many proposals would likely harm AI innovation because few have considered what “responsible regulation of AI” entails.

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