Expert Commentary by Jerry Brito

Craigslist Takes Upstart Competitors to Court

Reason
By Jerry Brito |
May 06, 2013
Classified-ads site Craigslist is a big, fat bully. That’s the conclusion many in tech policy circles have come to after a federal court ruled last week that the company can carry on with a suit against three smaller competitors. In Craigslist’s shoes, however, you might resort to bullying, too.…

How Government Regulations Distort the Television Airwaves

Reason
By Jerry Brito |
Apr 26, 2013
Of all the distortionary federal regulations in existence, few are more patently inefficient and convoluted than those governing the television airwaves. Aereo, a new startup backed by media mogul Barry Diller, is looking to blow it all up.…

Bitcoin vs. Big Government

Reason
By Jerry Brito |
Apr 10, 2013
Interest in Bitcoin has surged along with its valuation. Last week saw its exchange rate soar past $100 for the first time ever, landing the virtual currency on the front pages of The Washington Post and the Financial Times.…

A Free-Market Fix for Music Copyrights

Reason
By Jerry Brito |
Mar 08, 2013
If a federal policy strips owners of their rights to dispose of their property as they see fit, institutes price-fixing by unelected bureaucrats, and in the process picks an industry's winners and losers, you'd expect Republicans in Congress to be against it. But when it comes to copyright, all bets are off.…

Cyber-Security: Stand Down, for Now, Congress

Time
By Jerry Brito |
Feb 22, 2013
Washington, it seems, can’t get no satisfaction.…

Le Stasis C’est Moi

The Umlaut
By Jerry Brito |
Feb 21, 2013
The U.S. has Boeing and Europe has Airbus. The U.S. has General Motors and Germany has Volkswagen. The U.S. has Napa and France has Bordeaux. The U.S. has Google, Amazon, and Facebook, and Europe has zilch.…

Free WiFi For the Masses? Not So Fast

Washington Examiner
By Jerry Brito |
Feb 08, 2013
A front-page story in the Washington Post on Monday reported that the "[t]he federal government wants to create super Wi-Fi networks across the nation, so powerful and broad in reach that consumers could use them to make calls or surf the Internet without paying a cellphone bill every month." Wow -- free federal Wi-Fi for the masses!…

Why We Should Fear a Do-Something Congress

The Umlaut
By Jerry Brito |
Feb 07, 2013
Last week, former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, a mass-shooting survivor, testified before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence. Her testimony was emotional given how difficult it is for her to speak. She was succinct in her advise to legislators:…

Aaron Swartz: The Punishment Did Not Fit the Crime

Reason
By Jerry Brito |
Jan 31, 2013
Aaron Swartz, a 26-year-old computer prodigy and Internet activist, was facing decades in prison for violating federal hacking laws when he took his own life earlier this month.…

What’s Wrong With a Copyright Alert System?

Reason
By Jerry Brito |
Jan 04, 2013
In January, Internet service providers will begin sending notices to subscribers suspected of illegally downloading music or movies using peer-to-peer file-sharing networks. After five increasingly sternly worded warnings, subscribers’ Internet access will be slowed down or partially blocked.…

Contact

Jerry Brito

Research Areas

Accountability, Broadband Regulation, Economic Regulation, Cybersecurity, Oversight, Intermediary Liability, Midnight Regulations, Reform, Hurricane Katrina - Gulf Coast Recovery, Privacy & Data Collection, Spectrum Reform, Law, Universal Service Reform, Regulation, Tech Policy

Links

Videos

Why Bitcoin is Here to Stay: Q&A with Jerry Brito

Jerry Brito | April 17, 2013

Jerry Brito Discusses Bitcoin on Huffpost Live

Jerry Brito | April 12, 2013

Jerry Brito Discusses Net Neutrality

Jerry Brito | March 13, 2013

Jerry Brito Discusses the Copyright Crackdown on Huffington Post Live

Jerry Brito | January 09, 2013

Why Copyright Law is so Mickey Mouse - And How to Fix It

Jerry Brito | December 13, 2012
More Videos

Books

Copyright Unbalanced: From Incentive to Excess

Jerry Brito | Nov 30, 2012
Copyright Unbalanced is not a moral case for or against copyright; it is a pragmatic look at the excesses of the present copyright regime and of proposals to expand it further. It is a call for reform—to roll back the expansions and reinstate the limits that the Constitution’s framers placed on copyright.
More Books

Podcasts

Jerry Brito Discusses Bitcoin on NPR Marketplace

Jerry Brito | May 17, 2013