Internet

Join ITIF for an expert panel discussion examining how the rapid growth of state privacy laws is influencing the debate over federal privacy legislation.

Congress is right to flag Alipay over national security and data risks, but a blanket ban without first conducting audits or establishing reciprocity safeguards would be premature. Regulators should investigate the platform before Congress considers banning it.

AI-enabled “ghost student” scams are siphoning millions in federal financial aid by exploiting weak, document-based identity verification systems at U.S. colleges. While the Department of Education has tightened ID checks, Congress should establish interoperable, high-assurance digital IDs to prevent fraud at scale and ensure aid reaches real students.

ITIF’s spring seminar course explores core emerging technologies and issues that are reshaping our world and, in the process, creating public policy challenges and opportunities. The course is open to congressional and federal staff only.

Chinese online marketplaces like AliExpress and Temu often list counterfeits of American products while limiting search engine indexing, making it difficult for rights holders to detect infringements. The U.S. Trade Representative should include these platforms on the 2025 Notorious Markets List and consider indexing transparency as a criterion for future listings.

Watch now for a panel discussion examining the global movement to ban social media for youth, the tradeoffs these policies present, and alternative approaches that balance safety, rights, and the realities of growing up in a digital world.

Jonathan Haidt’s claims that smartphones and social media are the primary drivers of the youth mental health crisis overstate the evidence and ignore broader social, economic, and developmental factors. Rather than imposing blanket bans, policymakers should focus on teaching digital literacy and supporting age-appropriate, responsible technology use.

If the USTR is serious about protecting U.S. consumers and businesses from copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting, it should designate Chinese online platforms Temu, AliExpress, and SHEIN as notorious markets.

As Daniel Castro writes in Government Technology, a new Information Technology and Innovation Foundation analysis finds a sharp “digital marriage divide,” with only 10 states offering largely end-to-end online processes while many still rely on paper forms and in-person visits. Castro argues the barriers are legal and administrative—not technological—and calls for reforms such as permitting electronic signatures to modernize marriage services

App store–level age verification laws pose privacy, security, and free-speech risks while leaving websites unregulated, whereas device-level, opt-in parental controls offer a more comprehensive and safer way to protect children online.