Center for Technology & Innovation Policy

Innovation – and the technology that comes from it – has made all of our lives better in almost incalculable ways. Whether its access to clean water, transportation that can take us anywhere we want to go, or the information revolution, many of us would be lost without these technologies. Yet when it comes to technology advancements, government often gets in the way. Rules and regulations make it difficult for innovators to improve our lives. Louisiana often lags behind in embracing new technology stifling innovation and job creation while also hurting consumers in the process.

Government Searching For Reasons To Run the Internet

Government Searching For Reasons To Run the Internet

When seeking answers online, where do you typically turn? For many, the immediate response is Google. The ease of typing a question or prompting Siri, which utilizes Google’s search results, has become an integral part of our daily lives. Yet, while we effortlessly enjoy this digital convenience, the federal government is meticulously examining our search...

By Team Pelican

How Congress Stalling on Spectrum Will Slow Louisiana’s Connectivity

How Congress Stalling on Spectrum Will Slow Louisiana’s Connectivity

As the scorching heat of a Louisiana summer drives residents indoors, our dependence on internet-connected devices becomes increasingly evident. Yet, for far too many in Louisiana, access to affordable and dependable internet remains a luxury in an era where connectivity has transformed into a necessity. Even with the federal government investing over a billion dollars...

Candidate Questionnaire 2023

Candidate Questionnaire 2023

Does your candidate support jobs and opportunities in Louisiana? Election Day 2023 is fast approaching. Join us in asking candidates if they support transformational change for Louisiana. Use our candidate questionnaire as a resource. 

By Team Pelican

AI: What Are the Real Risks?

AI: What Are the Real Risks?

A few weeks ago, the White House stunned people all across the world when it convened some of the nation’s largest technology companies and announced a planned executive order regarding artificial intelligence (AI). It wasn’t a celebratory event, as one might expect, to highlight immense advancements in technology, preview how AI can increase educational and...

By Erin Bendily, Ph.D.

New Pelican Paper: Antitrust Enforcement? Put Power in the Hands of Consumers

New Pelican Paper: Antitrust Enforcement? Put Power in the Hands of Consumers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Baton Rouge, July 19, 2023 — Everything old is new again, and that’s turning out to be true in the case of a growing drumbeat to use antitrust tools to rein in big technology companies like Apple, Amazon, Meta, and Google. But as a new policy report from the Pelican Institute points...

By Vance Ginn, Ph.D.

Don’t Fear the Robots

Don’t Fear the Robots

Suddenly, artificial intelligence (AI) seems to be everywhere, especially in the news. As with most innovations, a never-ending stream of news articles warning of dystopian terrors has been written with little evidence to support the concerns. Often these fears seem as if they were a cut-and-paste from a script for the apocalyptic Terminator film, when...

By Bartlett D. Cleland

Star Trek tech: if government stays out of the way

Star Trek tech: if government stays out of the way

In Star Trek, Captain Kirk communicates to his allies and enemies via a giant video wall on his space ship’s holodeck. Decades ago, those science fiction fantasy technologies seemed far fetched, but apps like Zoom and Apple’s Facetime have made real-time video chat a reality. The next wave of technology is approaching at warp speed–some...

By Bartlett D. Cleland

Co-Parenting with the Government? Beware.

Co-Parenting with the Government? Beware.

The mental health of preteens and teenagers across America has been a growing concern as suicide remains the third highest cause of their deaths. The causes of suicide are largely unknown and complex. Some point to the decline of the family structure, with fewer two-parent households, more parents working full-time, and subsequently more kids spending...

By Erin Bendily, Ph.D., Vance Ginn, Ph.D.

Not A Great Look

Not A Great Look

Last week, Christine Wilson, a commissioner at the FTC, wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal announcing her resignation from the FTC. The reason: Lina Khan’s continual disregard for the rule of law, abuse of power, and the enablement of it by senior officials. We’ve written a lot about the dangerous direction of the...

By John Kay

Social Media and the Supreme Court

Social Media and the Supreme Court

Next week, the Supreme Court is set to hear cases involving the content moderation practices of social media platforms, including Gonzales v. Google. At the heart of the cases is Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. If you don’t know, Section 230 has governed online expression since it was enacted in 1996. In general,...

By John Kay

Internet For All: Let the Process Work

Internet For All: Let the Process Work

Last year, the Federal Communications Commission released its nationwide broadband availability map. If you don’t know, a broadband connection is anything faster than a 25 Mbps download speed and a 3 Mbps upload speed. Translation: that’s the speed you need to watch a 4K movie or conduct a Zoom meeting. The map’s release is part...

By John Kay

tsk tsk tsk

tsk tsk tsk

Epic Games is in trouble. The creator of the popular video game Fortnite has reached an agreement with the FTC to pay $520 million in relief over allegations that the company violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Allegedly, the company used underhanded tactics to cause players to make unintentional purchases.  Epic will pay...

By John Kay