Aegis Project for Defending U.S. Technology Leadership
The United States is now engaged in its most consequential technological competition since the War of 1812 against the techno-economic powerhouse of that era, Great Britain. Its principal adversary today is China, which is conducting a state-orchestrated campaign of innovation mercantilism to dominate the world’s advanced industries and degrade U.S. economic power.
At this critical juncture, America’s technology companies, especially large multinational companies, play an essential role in bolstering U.S. competitiveness and security, yet they face mounting governmental policy assaults at home and abroad, reducing their ability to innovate and compete. With China sparing no expense and adhering to few trade rules or global norms in its quest for technological supremacy, the stakes couldn’t be higher: America’s technological leadership, economic prosperity, and national security hang in the balance.
ITIF’s Aegis Project for Defending U.S. Technology Leadership is dedicated to helping the United States prevail in this struggle by identifying and opposing domestic and international policies that undermine the competitive position of major U.S. technology companies. U.S. policymakers must understand that limiting attacks on America’s tech leaders is key to maintaining the nation’s global power and leadership. (Read more.)
Knowledge Base
Big Tech Policy Tracker
ITIF’s Big Tech Policy Tracker is a knowledge base documenting domestic and international policies that undermine leading U.S. technology companies’ ability to innovate and compete at a time when their success is essential for U.S. competitiveness and security.
Featured Publications
What Vance Left Unsaid in Paris: America’s AI Leadership Hinges on Big Tech Leadership
Vice President Vance was right to warn against stifling AI innovation with excessive regulation, but the Trump administration must go further by pushing back against policies like the EU’s Digital Markets Act and similar U.S. regulatory efforts that undermine American tech leadership. To maintain global competitiveness, the U.S. should support its leading tech companies, ensuring they have the scale and capital needed to drive AI and technological advancements, rather than subjecting them to restrictive regulations that benefit foreign competitors.
What America Can Learn From China About Big Tech
America should reconsider its antagonistic approach toward Big Tech, instead forging strategic partnerships with these firms—similar to China's recent pivot—to maintain global technological leadership and competitive edge in critical fields like AI and semiconductors.
The Global Spread of Protectionist Policies That Squeeze American Tech Companies
A growing proliferation of antitrust regulations, content-moderation requirements, data-localization mandates, digital service taxes, exorbitant fines and fees, and local content requirements reveals a clear pattern: They are designed to unfairly burden and extract revenue from American Big Tech.
Why Is the FTC Working With Temu While China Advances in AI?
The DeepSeek breakthrough does not vindicate or discredit antitrust policies but is a wake-up call. Rather than celebrating moves to hobble its tech ecosystem, the United States needs a coherent national strategy that leverages all American innovative capabilities to ensure U.S. AI leadership.
The FTC’s Amazon-Temu Blunder: Working With China to Target American Tech
The FTC's surprising decision to partner with Chinese-owned Temu in its antitrust case against Amazon reveals a dangerous misalignment between American antitrust policy and national security interests, highlighting how regulatory overreach could end up strengthening China's tech dominance.
