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Are eSports Winning the Content War?

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What does Netflix CEO Reed Hastings worrying? Hulu, Amazon, or Disney’s streaming service? Netflix is competing for a limited resource: people’s leisure time. Unfortunately for Hastings, that competition can come from anywhere. A potential new competitor for that time has burst onto the scene: eSports, or competitive video gaming, is growing quickly. Netflix has taken notice- in a 2017 shareholders’ report, Netflix noted that it lost more viewers to the game Fortnite than to HBO. eSports aren’t only driving parents of young gamers crazy, the industry is rapidly growing, expected […]

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“The Costs and Benefits of Banning Huawei” (Two Think Minimum Podcast)

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Two Think Minimum Podcast TranscriptEpisode 018: “The Costs and Benefits of Banning Huawei”Recorded on: April 9, 2019 Panel Recording: TPI hosted a panel of experts on April 9, 2019 in Washington, D.C. to discuss technical concerns and the costs and benefits of banning Huawei from U.S. telecommunications markets. Experts from the National Defense University, George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, Virginia Tech, the New America Foundation and Politico participated in the discussion. The panel took place from 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm at 409 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC […]

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“Tyler Cowen and Big Business: A Love Letter to an American Anti-Hero” (Two Think Minimum Podcast)

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Two Think Minimum Podcast TranscriptEpisode 017: “Tyler Cowen and Big Business: A Love Letter to an American Anti-Hero”Recorded on: May 2, 2019 Scott Wallsten: 00:00 Hi, and welcome back to TPI’s podcast, Two Think Minimum. It’s Thursday, May 2nd, 2019 and I’m Scott Wallsten, President and Senior Fellow at the Technology Policy Institute. Today we’re excited to talk with Tyler Cowen about his new book entitled Big Business, A Love Letter to an American Anti-Hero. Among other things, Tyler is the New York Times bestselling author of The Great Stagnation […]

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Infrastructure Bill Needs Reverse Auctions and Evaluations for Cost-Effective Results

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New talk of a $2 trillion national infrastructure bill may be aspirational, but if the Trump-Pelosi-Schumer troika can take the time to push “pause” on the verbal missiles aimed at each other, then maybe we should pay attention. Last year, President Trump included rural broadband access in his infrastructure plan, and it remains part of the discussion. We at the Technology Policy Institute are on high alert. If broadband is included, we want it to be done the right way. As we said last June, any rural broadband infrastructure programs […]

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“Blockchains and Cryptocurrencies” (Two Think Minimum Podcast)

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Two Think Minimum Podcast TranscriptEpisode 016: “Blockchains and Cryptocurrencies: Privacy, Regulatory Certainty, and Innovation”Recorded on: March 15, 2019 Panel Recording: Blockchain 201: Policy Questions for 2019, 12:30 – 2:00 PM, Capitol Visitors Center, First Street, NE, CVC – Congressional Meeting Room North (CVC 268), Washington, DC 20515.  Blockchain and cryptocurrency experts discussed their 2019 policy priorities at a recent luncheon on Capitol Hill on March 15, 2019 hosted by the Technology Policy Institute in conjunction with the Blockchain Caucus. Scott Wallsten: 00:00:00 Thank you all for coming. Thank you to […]

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Costs and Benefits of Banning Huawei

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TPI recently convened a panel of experts to discuss the costs and benefits of banning Huawei equipment from telecommunications networks, particularly new 5G networks. Huawei has become the leading global manufacturer of networking equipment, with Nokia and Ericsson trailing behind, although its share of the U.S. market is much smaller. Huawei also manufactures handsets and software platforms, raising concerns that its influence in 5G networks around the world could become a powerful asset for Chinese industrial policy. Our five key takeaways from the event are: The underlying issues Huawei and […]

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Note to Congress: Antitrust Exemptions Could Harm Publishers and Consumers of News

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The top Democrat and Republican on the House antitrust subcommittee introduced the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act this week. This act would give news publishers a 48-month “safe harbor” anti-trust exemption to negotiate collectively with news platforms, such as Google and Facebook. Previous Congresses have tried and failed to enact similar legislation, so it may not gain traction this time around, either. Still, journalism today faces real problems, so it’s worth thinking about why this legislation isn’t the answer. Our democracy requires a vibrant Fourth Estate, as we all learned […]

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A Future Without Netflix or Amazon?

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If I were to tell you Netflix may disappear in the near future, you would look at me as if I were crazy. But when Needham Senior Analyst Laura Martin says it, it makes sense. At TPI’s event on March 5, 2019, entitled Who Will Survive in Big Tech’s New Competitive Landscape? The View from Wall Street, Martin the findings of her new report. The report details how competition between billion dollar tech companies with large user bases will unfold over the next 3 to 5 years. The FAANGs (Facebook, […]

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Blockchains and Cryptocurrencies: Privacy, Regulatory Certainty, and Innovation

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Blockchain and cryptocurrency experts discussed their 2019 policy priorities at TPI’s recent luncheon on Capitol Hill on March 15, 2019. The conversation focused on stablecoins, privacy, and regulatory uncertainty. 5 Takeaways: “Stablecoins,” cryptocurrencies backed by resources like fiat money, property, or metals, offer the kind of price stability that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin do not. Some aspects of new privacy laws are incompatible with blockchain. For example, GDPR mandates a “right to be forgotten,” but that’s impossible on an immutable blockchain. Regulatory uncertainty is holding back investment. Congress needs ongoing discussions […]

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Economist Scores Front-Row Seat at Trump Era Hill Brawl

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Wallsten demonstrates his reading skills to the committee. Answering lawmakers’ policy questions is an important part of my job as an economist and think tank president. Usually, testifying before Congress is a great way to be of service. That may have been the case this week at the House Judiciary subcommittee brawl over the T-Mobile and Sprint merger. I’m still deciding. To their credit, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle listened to the panel of witnesses and asked the CEOs and opponents of the merger some substantive questions. But […]

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