Press Releases

In an effort to justify aggressive antitrust enforcement against “big tech” platforms, critics have advanced a novel theory of harm, arguing that consumers effectively overpay for free online services by giving up too much data at the expense of their personal privacy. Yet there is no evidence breaking up big online platforms would improve digital privacy.

The FTC announced today that it is amending its complaint against Amazon’s Prime subscription service. The complaint is still unconvincing.

The regional economies of U.S. states fare well in “innovation competitiveness” compared to states across Europe and Latin America, according to a pair of new rankings compiled by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) in partnership with a consortium of other think tanks in the Global Trade and Innovation Policy Alliance (GTIPA).

A global network of think tanks led by ITIF and ITIF’s Center for Data Innovation issued a “Global Declaration on Free and Open AI,” calling on governments to ensure that generative AI tools serve democratic ideals and promote global progress.

“The ITA has been one of the World Trade Organization’s most successful agreements, spurring adoption of technologies that drive innovation and productivity across all sectors of the economy. Expanding the ITA would generate significant growth for all nations that participate,” said Stephen Ezell, vice president of global innovation policy at ITIF, who co-authored the report.

Now that the FCC has a full complement of Commissioners, it should remain focused on the communications policy issues that most benefit consumers.

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the leading think tank for science and technology policy, welcomes Joe Coniglio as the new director of the Schumpeter Project on Competition Policy.

The European Union has designated Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance (TikTok), Meta, and Microsoft as “gatekeepers”, making them subject to rules set out in the Digital Markets Act. As a result, the move will not only be interpreted as reflecting more of the same flawed approach to innovation taken by the EU, but outright protectionism aimed primarily at American firms that risks straining the transatlantic alliance.

Among the world’s top 2,500 investors in research and development (R&D), there were only 260 small, pre-profit firms in 2021—and an astounding 193 of them (85 percent) were biotech and biopharmaceutical start-ups from the United States, according to a new analysis by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the leading think tank for science and technology policy.

People with the fewest resources stand to benefit the most from broadband connectivity, but the most effective subsidy program to bridge the gap between low-income consumers and broadband—the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)—is set to run out of money by 2024.