Commentary
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Setting the Policy Agenda on Innovation Issues
- Alongside our in-depth policy reports, ITIF’s long-running Innovation Files blog serves as a forum where analysts provide quick takes, quips, and commentary on the latest in technology and innovation policy.
- Other blogs from ITIF include In the Arena, Rob Atkinson’s notes on the battle of ideas (also on Substack at policyarena.org), plus special series, such as The Brussels Effect, examining how the EU exports its regulatory agenda; Defending Digital, examining spurious critiques of the tech industry; and Innovate4Health, covering the intersection between intellectual property and life sciences innovation.
- ITIF analysts also frequently contribute op-eds and commentary pieces to leading publications around the world.
February 13, 2026|Op-Eds & Contributed Articles
Dating Is Digital. Why Is Getting Married Still So Offline?
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
February 13, 2026|Blogs
American Culture and the Decline of the Digital Spirit: Part II
The culture of digital and AI opposition is a growing threat to American prosperity and power. Unless we return at least to neutrality, other nations unburdened by this self-doubt will surpass us.
February 13, 2026|Blogs
How Foreign Non-Tariff Attacks Threaten American Innovation
Global trade is evolving into a form of mercantilist economic warfare where foreign nations use discriminatory regulations to target the U.S. tech sector, draining its wealth and undermining American innovation.
February 12, 2026|Blogs
App Stores Shouldn’t Have to Parent the Internet
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.
February 11, 2026|Blogs
Op-Art: The High Toll of Europe’s Payment Sovereignty
European calls for “payment sovereignty” misdiagnose the problem: Visa and Mastercard lead through competition, not coercion, and a state-backed alternative would entrench protectionism instead of enabling regulatory reforms that would let European firms scale and compete globally.
February 9, 2026|Blogs
The United States Needs Permanent Space Stations
Congress confirmed Jared Isaacman to lead NASA in late 2025. He should begin his tenure by finalizing NASA’s plan to transition from the ISS to commercial space stations, because the United States must maintain a presence in low-earth orbit to remain competitive.
February 9, 2026|Blogs
America’s Cyber Withdrawal Needs a Replacement
The Trump administration’s withdrawal from international cybersecurity forums like the GFCE and Hybrid CoE risks creating gaps in global coordination, early warning, and norm-setting. Strategic disengagement must be paired with replacement mechanisms to preserve multilateral cyber capacity, maintain allied cohesion, and safeguard U.S. interests.
February 9, 2026|Blogs
Fact of the Week: Industries Impacted by a Quasi-Robot Tax in South Korea Reduced Industrial Robot Installations by 28 Percent
After South Korea reduced its tax credit for automation in 2018 from 7 percent to 3 percent for large firms, South Korean industries, on average, reduced robot installations by 28 percent compared with their Japanese counterparts.
February 8, 2026|Op-Eds & Contributed Articles
Why Korea Must Learn the New Trump Trade Playbook
The Trump administration’s tariff pressure reflects a transactional shift in U.S. trade policy, linking reciprocity to investment execution, regulatory predictability, and geopolitical alignment. Korea can adapt to this new playbook or absorb the economic consequences.
February 7, 2026|Op-Eds & Contributed Articles
New Research Shows Teen Social Media Bans Might Not Be the Answer
Ash Johnson writes in The Hill that teen social media bans are based on moral panic rather than evidence, misdiagnose screen time as the harm, and should be replaced with nuanced, evidence-based policies that empower parents, incentivize safer platform design, and target specific, demonstrable risks.
