Public Utility Research Center Director and Gunter Professor Mark Jamison discussed the House Report on Competition in the Digital Markets with Federal Trade Commissioner Christine Wilson (BA ’91) and Aurelien Portuese, director of antitrust and innovation policy at the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF). The House report focuses on a handful of tech giants to draw policy recommendations about antitrust enforcement. One of the most dramatic policy recommendations of the report is the structural separation of digital platforms – namely,
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Biden’s broadband plan would waste $100 billion
Public Utility Research Center Director and Gunter Professor Mark Jamison argues that President Biden’s proposed strategies related to broadband in his American Jobs Plan have already been tested and don’t work. Read more of Jamison’s reasoning in this opinion piece from The Hill.
Free speech in the digital age: Assessing the values and consequences of free expression
Does free speech apply to all corners of society, including the internet? The Constitution prohibits Congress from making any law “abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press,” and, since the 1960s, courts have interpreted this as an expansive right of individuals and institutions with few exceptions. However, public support for free speech seems to be decreasing, especially as it pertains to social media platforms. Free speech critics support more government controls and are pressing social media platforms to
Three things every state can learn from the Texas utility meltdown
Late-night hosts and pundits were quick to poke fun at the Texas power system when scenes of winter storm devastation there began rolling in. But the challenges facing Texas are not unique to Texas. Similar organizations control electricity in much of the country, and utilities everywhere face damage from severe storms. The struggles facing Texas today could be yours tomorrow. Director of Energy Studies Ted Kury answers the question: what can we learn from Texas’s woes? See Kury’s three suggestions
Antitrust in America: How a New Administration Tackles Digital Platforms
In 2020, U.S. policymakers set their sights on digital markets, culminating in the House Judiciary Committee’s report on competition and digital services, two antitrust cases against Facebook, and three against Google. Currently, all eyes are on the Biden-Harris Administration and Congress to set the course for the next four years. Public Utility Research Center Director and Gunter Professor Mark Jamison shared his insights with a panel of experts about how American antitrust will play out and its impact on American
Biden Administration Approved Texas Power Request, Contrary to False Claim
Public Utility Research Center Director of Energy Studies Dr. Ted Kury helps inform this fact checking story about the U.S. Department of Energy approving a request to allow power plants in snowstorm-battered Texas to temporarily bypass some environmental limits during its energy crisis, in order to produce more power. Viral headlines falsely claimed the department rejected the request. See how Kury helped debunk the false claim in this story from the University of Pennsylvania Annenberg Public Policy Center’s FactCheck.org.
How the Texas electricity system produced low-cost power but left residents out in the cold
Americans often take electricity for granted – until the lights go out. The recent cold wave and storm in Texas have placed considerable focus on the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, the nonprofit corporation that manages the flow of electricity to more than 26 million Texans. Together, ERCOT and similar organizations manage about 60% of the U.S. power supply. From my research on the structure of the U.S. electricity industry, I know that rules set by entities like
Florida state officials draft legislation on Big Tech censorship
Public Utility Research Center Director and Gunter Professor Mark Jamison weighs in on proposed legislation in Florida that would address alleged censorship, election interference and privacy violations by social media companies. See why Jamison doesn’t believe legislation like this is the best course of action in this story from CBS 12 News.
China joins global push to rein in tech companies
China recently joined the chorus of governments advancing plans to impose new competition obligations on a small cadre of large technology companies, like Amazon.com Inc., Facebook Inc. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. While some policy makers, competition specialists and smaller tech companies say new laws are needed to allow new tech rivals to emerge, others, like Public Utility Research Center Director and Gunter Professor Mark Jamison, argue that proposed digital-competition rules go too far. See what Jamison had to say
After the Trump bans, social media faces a politically fraught future
“With Twitter and Facebook banning President Donald Trump and Amazon kicking right-wing site Parler off its web servers, the power of big technology companies has never been more evident,” writes Business Columnist David Nicklaus of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Nicklaus spoke with Public Utility Research Center Director and Gunter Professor Mark Jamison about the effects of these decisions on the future of social media. See what Jamison had to say in this story from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.