RTP's Fourth Branch Podcast

What is the legislative and legal background of the recent Executive Order on Preventing Online Censorship, how will it affect Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, and what may be the unforeseen consequences of this move? These and other questions are addressed in this episode. Featuring: - [Host] Adam Thierer, Senior Research Fellow, Mercatus Center, George Mason University - Ashkhen Ka...

As small businesses across the country grapple with the current and potential impacts associated with COVID-19, the National Federation of Independent Business continues to track the latest developments from healthcare officials, congress and the administration. Please join us to hear about how the organization is supporting small businesses during this time, and which government policies are posi...

While most agree cybersecurity is a vital part of modern national security and see cyber-attacks as an evolving and dangerous threat, the question of how best to utilize the resources of the United States to protect the nation against cyber-attacks is far more contested. Many in the cybersecurity space see the path forward as including more public-private partnerships since private companies are o...

Journalists and academics seem convinced that artificial intelligence is often biased against women and racial minorities. If Washington’s new facial recognition law is a guide, legislators see the same problem. But is it true? It’s not hard to find patterns in AI decisions that have a disparate impact on protected groups. Is this bias? And if so, whose? Do we assume the worst about decisions with...

In October of 2019, President Trump issued an executive order that imposed a series of restrictions and requirements on Federal agencies, and even included a requirement that agencies publish their guidance on the internet. The purpose of the executive order was to promote transparency and democratic fairness in the administrative law process. This has led to a renewed debate over what the relatio...

How can data privacy enforcement provide clarity for businesses while protecting the public from harm? What might be the best enforcement options available to the FTC and state attorneys general going forward? Jennifer Huddleston and Ian Adams discuss. Featuring: - Ian Adams, Executive Director, International Center for Law & Economics - Jennifer Huddleston, Director of Technology and Innovation P...

In 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed a rule entitled “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science.” The proposal garnered over 9,000 unique public comments. On March 18, 2020, EPA published a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking that, among other things, states that the EPA would be required to make public important information underlying both significant regulatory act...

As countries, states, and locales have worked to get a handle on the spread of the COVID19 pandemic, one solution that appears to have been effective is thorough contact-tracing. In this episode, Jennifer Huddleston and Brent Skorup discuss how contact-tracing might work here, what privacy concerns it might involve, and what it means for data privacy going forward. Featuring: - Jennifer Huddleston...

On September 4, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission announced sweeping regulatory changes to the operation of YouTube, one of the internet’s most popular websites. YouTube has 2 billion monthly active users and features content from more than 50 million individual creators, most of whom are small businesses or individuals. Many of the creators affected earn money using YouTube and stand to lose, in...

In this episode, Brooks Rainwater and Jon Riches discuss developments in state and local regulations surrounding home-sharing and home-based businesses. How do we balance safety and public goods with innovation and entrepreneurialism? Featuring: - Brooks Rainwater, Senior Executive & Director, Center for City Solutions, National League of Cities - Jon Riches, Director of National Litigation, Goldw...

In this episode, Ajit Pai joins Adam Thierer and Brent Skorup to discuss the principles driving the Federal Communications Commission in recent years, the "Keep Americans Connected" pledge, and how things have changed for the FCC in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Featuring: - Ajit Pai, Chairman, Federal Communications Commission - Brent Skorup, Senior Research Fellow, Mercatus Center, George...

On March 18, the Senate passed and the President signed into law the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act.” Among other things, this new law, set to take effect no later than April 2, 2020, creates a new paid sick leave mandate for all employers with fewer than 500 employees and expands the application of the Family Medical Leave Act to cover all employers in certain circumstances related to t...

On March 4, 2020, the Regulatory Transparency Project sponsored a symposium with the University of Pennsylvania Federalist Society student chapter. The second panel of the symposium was titled "Should Social Media Platforms Be Viewpoint Neutral? Should the Government Care?" Featuring: - Adam Candeub, Michigan State University College of Law - Carrie Goldberg, C. A. Goldberg PLLC - Arthur Milikh, H...

On March 4, 2020, the Regulatory Transparency Project sponsored a symposium with the University of Pennsylvania Federalist Society student chapter. The first panel of the symposium was titled "Do We Need to Rethink Antitrust for Big Tech?" Featuring: - Roger Alford, Notre Dame University - Jay Himes, Labaton Sucharow LLP - Salil Mehra, Temple University School of Law - Moderator: Christopher Yoo,...

The recent Supreme Court ruling in Allen v. Cooper is the latest development in a decades-long series of Congressional enactments and Supreme Court rulings over whether and how Congress can abrogate the sovereign immunity of States from intellectual property infringement suits. This all-star panel will discuss the Court’s most recent decision in the context of the evolution of the Court’s sovereig...

Join us as Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai discusses how the FCC is addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. What measures has the FCC taken to date, and what is planned in the future? Featuring: - Ajit Pai, Chairman, Federal Communications Commission Visit our website – www. RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.

Join us as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary Eric Hargan discusses the role of his agency. Likely topics include COVID-19, as well as the agency’s regulatory reform efforts. Featuring: - Eric Hargan, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Visit our website – www. RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with...

On November 1, 2019, Neora, a Texas-based healthcare products multi-level marketing (MLM) business, filed suit in Illinois Federal Court against the FTC. The suit alleges that throughout three years of enforcement actions, the agency attempted to unilaterally and retroactively change the law governing MLMs without Congressional action or formal rulemaking. Neora asserts that in these types of regu...

The Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice recently announced a policy that the Division would no longer agree to Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs) in settlement agreements or judicial consent decrees resolving violations of environmental laws. As defined by EPA, a SEP is an environmentally beneficial project or activity that is not required by law, but th...

The COVID-19 pandemic has the medical community scrambling to address shortages of supplies and some clinicians to properly care for all of the many patients who will present soon with significant symptoms. Among the problems is a lack of sufficient numbers of physicians in some of the communities that have been hardest hit by the spread of the virus. This episode will examine the current process...

Governments at all levels are figuring out how to make sure sick people are treated and that coronavirus doesn’t spread. Some experts are now drawing attention to possible regulatory reforms ( https://www.rstreet.org/2020/03/18/small-regulatory-reforms-that-can-help-people-during-the-pandemic/) , as early reports suggested that federal agencies may have prevented private testing for COVID-19 befor...

In this episode, Matthew Feeney hosts a discussion with Ashkhen Kazaryan and Caleb Watney on the approach regulators might take to the brave new world of facial recognition technology. Featuring: - Ashkhen Kazryan, Director of Civil Liberties, TechFreedom - Caleb Watney, Fellow, Technology and Innovation, R Street Institute - [Moderator] Matthew Feeney, Director, Project on Emerging Technologies,...

38 states have certificate of need (CON) laws which make it illegal for healthcare providers to offer healthcare services to patients without first getting government permission. Defenders of CON laws assert that they are needed to control healthcare costs. However, these anti-competitive laws may violate a host of constitutional provisions, including state anti-monopoly clauses. Many courts have...