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United Kingdom

February 20, 2025

Selective Outrage Over AI and Copyright

The UK’s copyright system has long prioritized economic interests over creators’ control, allowing industries to learn from creative works without permission. Critics now opposing AI training have benefited from these same principles. A fair debate should acknowledge this precedent rather than selectively restricting AI.

January 6, 2025

Comments to UK Home Office’s Consultation on the Codes of Practice for the Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Act 2024

The IPA has garnered significant attention from a host of tech companies due to new requirements to notify the Secretary of State of “relevant changes” to their systems that could potentially impede government access.

December 2, 2024

The New UK Data Bill Is Good but It Could Be Much Better

The UK’s new Data (Use and Access) Bill aims to enable AI and data-driven services, reviving parts of the previous DPDI Bill. To seize post-EU opportunities, it should adopt provisions tightening personal data definitions and aligning government-ICO priorities.

November 25, 2024

Digital Transformation Should Be at the Heart of the UK’s Economic Agenda

The UK stands at a critical moment when embracing digital transformation, AI, and data innovation is not just an opportunity but also a necessity. By implementing forward-thinking policies, the UK can not only drive economic growth but also position itself as a global leader in emerging technologies.

November 18, 2024

Key Facts Missing in the Creative Community’s Statement on Unlicensed AI Training

Thousands of creators signed a statement opposing AI's unlicensed use of creative works, calling it a threat to livelihoods. But this overlooks that AI training uses public data within established norms, creators resist adapting to change, and copyright already protects against unauthorised use.

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Canada

February 20, 2025

How Can Canada Fight Smart Against the Trump Tariff Threat?

While Trump’s tariffs pose an unprecedented threat to Canada’s economy, they should serve as a wake-up call. Canadian policymakers must seize this moment to enact bold reforms that drive innovation, boost productivity, and strengthen global competitiveness.

February 5, 2025

Understanding Trump’s Mindset Is Key if Canada Wants to Survive This Trade War

Unfortunately for Canada, Trump is a steadfast protectionist. To respond effectively to his threatened tariffs, Canadian officials must first understand Trump's mindset.

February 3, 2025

Canadian Economic Nationalism in the Trump Era: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Canada’s lagging productivity and innovation, combined with the second term of Donald Trump, is driving the country’s policy leaders to embrace a deeply flawed idea: techno-economic nationalism. This approach will harm Canadian innovation and provoke Trump.

February 2, 2025

Trump the Protectionist: Canada and Mexico Are the First Salvos

Opponents should argue 1) this beef with Canada and Mexico is trivial; 2) without allies, America will lose the war against China, period; and conversely 3) a key way to beat China is to develop a North American production system.

January 27, 2025

Building Canadian Start-Ups Through Global Experience

Instead of viewing foreign tech companies as competitors to domestic innovation, Canada must embrace their complementary role in fostering a vibrant, interconnected tech ecosystem.

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Africa

September 16, 2024

Fact of the Week: AI Rice Farming Technology in Nigeria Reduces Water Use by 30 Percent

A new irrigation technology incorporating AI sensors reduces water use by 30 percent and methane emissions by 47 percent compared to continuous irrigation methods.

June 11, 2024

Comments to Kenya’s Competition Authority Regarding the Draft Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2024

Proposed changes to Kenya’s competition regime will hinder, not help its digital economy. Rather than impose substantial changes based on the false premise that digital markets require special treatment, Kenya should use existing enforcement tools to police its growing digital markets.

August 19, 2019

Comments to the U.S. International Trade Commission Regarding the Digital Economy and Trade in Sub-Saharan Africa

ITIF’s submission focuses on the ITC’s interest in recent developments in the digital economy for key SSA markets, including national and regional regulatory and policy measures and market conditions that affect digital trade.

May 6, 2019

Fact of the Week: Ethiopian Youth Given $300 Start-up Grants at Random had 36 Percent Higher Wages After One Year, But No Effect After Five Years

When attempting to evaluate the effect that a policy intervention can have on development or innovation, researchers and policymakers routinely look to short-term impacts, both out of urgency and because of the difficulty in maintaining contact with participants over several years.

October 22, 2018

Fact of the Week: Adoption of Mobile Money in Kenya Lifted 194,000 Households Out of Extreme Poverty

Over the last decade, mobile money services have brought banking to populations that have lacked formal financial services by allowing users to manage money on their mobile phones. First launched in Kenya in 2007, 96 percent of Kenyan households now use mobile money and can withdraw funds in physical currency from 110,000 agents across the country.

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Asia-Pacific

February 7, 2025

Comments to New Zealand’s Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Regarding Review of the Commerce Act of 1986

While ITIF commends the MBIE for analyzing the efficacy of its current regime, substantial changes to New Zealand’s competition laws should be a response to clear market failures that improves consumer welfare, and not merely an attempt to keep up with perceived global or regional trends.

January 24, 2025

Comments to Standards Australia Regarding Children’s Safety in the Metaverse

Standards Australia should establish age-based guidelines for the metaverse using existing content ratings; require device operating systems to create an opt-in “trustworthy child flag” system; work with global, government-led groups to build voluntary industry standards with a focus on interoperability; and promote digital literacy campaigns for children to operate in the metaverse safely.

January 16, 2025

Disconnected Progress: The Hidden Price of Internet Restrictions in Pakistan

Pakistan's frequent Internet shutdowns, justified by the government as measures to address political unrest, have significantly harmed the nation's economy, with estimated losses ranging from $892 million to $1.6 billion in 2024. To preserve economic activity and social value, policymakers should explore alternative approaches to addressing security concerns without restricting Internet access.

December 31, 2024

Response to the Electronic Transactions Development Agency’s Consultation Regarding Digital Markets and Competition

Thailand’s emerging digital markets are driven by innovation, growth, and the spirit of entrepreneurship. Hastily adopting the PEA as proposed risks introducing unnecessary regulatory burdens, fostering regulatory capture, and stifling innovation without clear evidence of market failure.

December 9, 2024

Why South Korea Should Resist New Digital Platform Laws

Policymakers in South Korea are weighing a raft of digital market provisions inspired by the EU’s Digital Markets Act. Their goal is to rein in allegedly anticompetitive practices by Big Tech firms. But the proposed interventions are unwarranted and risk harming innovation, straining relations with the United States during uncertain times, and opening the door to China.

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China

February 22, 2025

How to Close Loopholes on Chinese E-Commerce and Boost US Retailers

A well-calibrated approach that prevents Chinese companies like Shein and Temu from exploiting loopholes while incentivizing compliance and supporting vetted sellers on U.S. platforms would best serve U.S. economic and strategic interests.

February 18, 2025

A Policymaker’s Guide to China’s Technology Security Strategy

The U.S. government must adopt a clear-eyed view of China’s technology security strategy by recognizing China is temporarily lagging in some sectors, rapidly catching up in others, and already leading in many.

February 18, 2025

Fact of the Week: A New Study Finds the US Share of Global Manufacturing Will Fall to 11 Percent by 2030

A new study finds the U.S. share of global manufacturing will fall to 11 percent by 2030, while China’s will increase to 45 percent.

February 13, 2025

Reevaluating US AI Strategy Against China

Recent developments, including DeepSeek’s notable successes, have cast doubt on the effectiveness of the U.S. export control policy and show how U.S. firms may ultimately pay the price unless the Trump administration takes a new approach.

February 13, 2025

Salt Typhoon Exposes US Cyber Vulnerabilities

To strengthen U.S. cybersecurity leadership and effectively counter cyber threats, the administration should enhance interagency coordination with a central cybercrime database, collaborate with the private sector to address cybersecurity gaps in critical infrastructure, standardize data breach reporting, and build international coalitions for global cyber norms.

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Europe

January 17, 2025

Comments to the European Commission Regarding Proposed Measures for Interoperability Between Apple iOS and Devices

Instead of treating Apple as a public utility, the Commission should work to ensure that interoperability requirements align with the broader theoretical framework that orients European competition policy, such as condemning unilateral conduct that may harm rivals only when it does not constitute competition on the merits.

January 15, 2025

The EU Has Been Taking Advantage of America’s Effort to Combat Chinese Economic Mercantilism

The EU over the last 7 years has cravenly ducked the industrial fight against China, attempting to expand its exports while America shoulders the costs. That cannot be allowed to continue as the new Trump administration ratchets up pressure against our common adversary.

December 20, 2024

Apple vs. Europe—the $38 Billion Battle Over the DMA

The incoming administration is unlikely to take kindly to Europe's continuing antitrust attacks against Apple and other U.S. technology companies using a highly aggressive approach to DMA enforcement.

November 1, 2024

Who Is the New Vestager? EU Names Teresa Ribera as Competition Commissioner

While it remains uncertain what Ribera’s tenure will bring, early signs indicate she could drag sustainability into competition policy and pursue an unacceptable double standard of pushing European firms to grow while singling out American ones for aggressive enforcement.

November 1, 2024

Comments to the European Commission Regarding Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union

Unfortunately, new proposed guidelines for enforcing against abusive exclusionary conduct untether liability from likely harms to competition and consumer welfare.

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Global

November 21, 2024

US Connectivity Investments Dwarf the Rest of the OECD

Private ISPs have invested the equivalent of 2 BEAD programs every year since the BEAD statute was enacted.

November 14, 2024

GTIPA Perspectives: The Vital Importance of Digital Inclusivity for Global Economic Growth

Information and communications technology (ICT) is driving global economic growth and economic opportunity. Many countries are taking effective steps to deploy digital infrastructure, enhance citizens’ digital skills and literacy, empower women and disabled citizens to leverage digital tools, and helping small- and medium-sized enterprises take advantage of digital technologies.

September 23, 2024

We Need an Allied Effort to Establish New Global Manufacturing Hubs to Compete With China

China accounted for 35 percent of global manufacturing as of 2023. The United States and Western allies should launch a global competition to establish competing manufacturing hubs in countries that commit to reforming restrictive regulations, reducing corruption, boosting skill development, and ensuring adequate financial incentives and infrastructure.

August 28, 2024

Alzheimer’s Disease Next Game Changer: TauRx Pharmaceutical’s Novel Tau Aggregation Inhibitor

TauRx is revolutionizing Alzheimer's treatment with a novel drug that targets toxic brain proteins, offering fresh hope in the fight against this devastating disease.

August 16, 2024

Innovative Cure For All: How CurASeal’s Plant-Based Technology Advances Bleeding Control and Wound Healing

InCurA is revolutionizing MENA's medical landscape with AI-optimized, locally produced hemostatic solutions like CurASeal, bridging the gap between innovation and accessibility while reducing reliance on global imports.

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Latin America

July 15, 2024

Comments to Brazil’s National Data Protection Authority Regarding Processing of Personal Data of Children and Adolescents

A combination of privacy-protective age verification systems utilizing digital forms of identification and AI, parental controls that are readily available and easy to use, and greater transparency from digital platforms would increase children’s safety and privacy, encourage innovation in improved safety and privacy controls, and better inform policymakers and parents on next steps to protect children.

June 7, 2024

Mexico, Maize, and Food Sovereignty

Mexico's newly elected president, Claudia Sheinbaum, can reverse President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's anti-innovation policies toward genetically modified maize, and improve the lives of small farmers across Mexico.

May 15, 2024

Assessing University-Industry Research Attention in Latin America and the Caribbean

The current scope of University-Industry (U-I) collaboration in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) opens opportunities for research to progress in innovative directions.

May 13, 2024

Comments to Brazil’s National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) Regarding Digital Markets and Competition

Regulation in the digital sector should only be necessary to remedy market failure that cannot be addressed by the current legal framework, which simply is not true.

May 2, 2024

Comments to Brazil’s Finance Ministry Regarding Digital Markets Regulation

As Brazil crafts its own Digital Markets Act in the mold of the EU’s, it should be aware of the potential shortcomings and unsubstantiated advantages associated with such wide-ranging economic regulation within the digital market landscape.

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