Exploring the Metaverse

Last year, Facebook rebranded itself as Meta, signaling its shift from traditional social media to a big bet on the so-called metaverse. This network of 3D, online spaces is accessed through virtual reality headsets like Meta’s Oculus and promises to revolutionize internet communications. But is there substance behind the hype, or is the metaverse just [...]

How should states put federal broadband funds to use? A conversation with Sen. Deb Fischer

On April 4, AEI’s Ajit Pai hosted an event on how states can use $65 billion from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) for broadband build-out. Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) emphasized that the IIJA’s priority is to connect unserved communities to the internet and recommended that individual states establish broadband offices. Watch the recorded [...]

Break Up Big Tech? The Economics of Antitrust from Both Sides of the Question

The success of the digital economy has given rise to some of the wealthiest companies the world has ever known. Over the last decade or more, concerns have arisen among some economists about whether existing antitrust laws are adequate to address the market power exercised by these “Big Tech” companies and their products and platforms [...]

Russians Need More Access to Internet Content, Not Less. Social Networks Should Re-Open There.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is domestically propped up by misinformation and his propaganda machine, not informed popular support. Putin’s fear of the truth leaking to his citizens is obvious. Look no further than his ruthless efforts to control and bend communications about the conflict, including his move to shut off Russians’ access [...]

Klobuchar and Clark are wrong about the Department of Defense competition study

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and retired US Army Gen. Wesley Clark teamed up in an Open Markets Institute forum to argue in support of current efforts in Congress to rewrite the meaning of antitrust in the US. These efforts include Klobuchar’s American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA), the Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform [...]