'That System Is Being Used Against You': Edward Snowden Makes the Case for Internet Privacy. Is He Right?
Online companies might not be as nefarious as you think.
Policy
Lawmakers in Hawaii, Texas, and Georgia Are Making Alcohol Sales More Difficult, While Pols in Alabama and Wisconsin Embrace Liberalization
Hawaii's 10-cent booze tax draws ire of brewers, while Alabama moves toward legalizing alcohol delivery.
California Massively Increased the Amount of Housing the Bay Area Has To Allow. YIMBY Lawsuit Says 'Eh, Could Be More.'
A new lawsuit from two YIMBY groups argues that the state failed to incorporate a jobs-housing balance when calculating the number of new homes the San Francisco Bay Area has to plan for.
What Tech Policies Should We Expect from the Biden Administration?
Some trends to look for over the next four years
The Silver Lining in Biden's Massive Housing Plan
A Democratic White House and a Republican Senate might be the best of all worlds when it comes to federal housing policy.
Will Democrats Learn to Love the Congressional Review Act?
The CRA may offer Democrats a quick and easy way to repeal Trump Administration regulations, if they are willing to use it.
One of Biden's First Actions In Office Will be To Exercise Powers He Admits He Doesn't Have
Biden's willingness to extend a nationwide eviction moratorium, while declining to mandate masks nationwide, demonstrates a worrying inconsistency in his views on presidential powers.
Biden's Revival of Trump's Eviction Moratorium is at Odds with His Position on the Legality of a National Mask Mandate
Biden correctly recognizes he doesn't have the authority to impose a general national mask mandate. The same reasoning shows the nationwide eviction ban is also illegal.
Will Joe Biden Destroy Trump's Legacy of Deregulation?
Trump did more than any recent president to pare back regulatory red tape, but the incoming Biden administration is eager to add more.
Biden's Recovery Plan Would Extend the Federal Government's Extraordinary Eviction Ban Through September 2021
Eviction bans were enacted as an emergency public health measure. They’re quickly becoming a permanent policy.
Parler's Antitrust Lawsuit Over Amazon Deplatforming Has Tough Road Ahead
Amazon denies any impropriety in its decision to suspend the Twitter alternative, dismissing the suit as "meritless."Â
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy Vetoed One Outdoor Dining Bill Because It Took Too Much Power Away From Zoning Officials. Will He Do That a Second Time?
Garden State lawmakers have unanimously passed two bills now allowing restaurants to keep their outdoor operations running so long as their indoor dining rooms are restricted.
DERBY-PIE Trademark Owner Can't Stop Newspaper from Discussing Other Derby Pies
An interesting illustration of the "non-trademark use" doctrine.
Congress Targets Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google for Being Popular
After a 16-month investigation into the big four tech companies, it seems the most that congressional busybodies can accuse them of is routine business practices and having popular services.
Pandemic-Slammed Small Businesses Require Regulatory Relief
Entrepreneurs discouraged by red tape even before COVID-19 need officials to leave them alone.
Edward Glaeser's "Four Freedoms" Strategy for Revitalizing American Capitalism
The Harvard economist explains how to expand opportunity for the young by deregulating housing, labor, and education.
In a Last-Minute Reversal, HHS Voids FDA Fees on Distillers Who Produced Emergency Hand Sanitizer
Thanks to coverage at Reason and pushback from the industry, the federal government voided $14,000 fees on do-gooder craft distillers just in time for the new year.
Eviction Moratoriums Are Transforming From Emergency Stopgaps to Permanent Programs
A growing number of states are enshrining eviction moratoriums into laws that won't expire until well into next year.
How Biden Can Terminate Trump's Border Wall Project - And Save Money and Protect Property Rights in the Process
Joe Biden can easily stop further work on the wall, protect property owners against further takings of private property, and save money in the process. Additional steps may be tougher, but are still worth considering.
COVID Relief Bill Includes $25 Billion in Rental Assistance, 1-Month Extension of the CDC's Eviction Moratorium
Congress' extension of a federal ban on evictions does little to address the legal problems with the policy.
Therapist Elizabeth Brokamp Fights for the Right To See Patients Virtually
"I hope my case can start removing senseless boundaries to teletherapy," said Brokamp, who is suing in federal court on First Amendment grounds.
Trump Outlaws Ugly Federal Buildings
Plus: House OKs bloated $1.4 trillion spending package, new Amash bills aim to protect asylum seekers and immigrant detainees, and more...
What a Frozen Cherry Pie Says About FDA Regulatory Foot-Dragging
It took 15 years for the agency to decide that consumers didn’t actually need to be protected from the threat of substandard fruit desserts.
The U.S. Government Spent Billions Failing To Defend Its Own Agencies From Cyberattacks
Plus: Google gets hit with another antitrust lawsuit, the U.S. falls in a new ranking of human freedom, and more...
Dozens of States Just Sued To Break Up Google. The Biggest Losers Would Be Consumers.
If the lawsuit were to succeed, it would hurt the people it seeks to help.
The Case for Paying College Athletes
The Supreme Court has decided to hear a case challenging the legality of NCAA rules restricting compensation for college athletes. Legal issues aside, the policy case for abolishing these rules is strong.
Foxconn Debacle is Yet Another Example of the Dangers of Using Eminent Domain to Promote Economic Development
As in many previous cases, government officials promised huge economic gains from seizing property for transfer to private interests - but failed to deliver.
FTC and State Prosecutors Join Antitrust Dogpile on Facebook
Plus: Sexual misconduct at the FBI, Tulsi Gabbard and Mike Lee don't understand the First Amendment, and more...
Libertarian History/Philosophy
Walter E. Williams, Free Market Scholar and Iconoclast, RIP
"I just do my own thing," said the George Mason University economist and author of The State Against Blacks.
Sometimes Bigger Is Better
Republicans and Democrats are working together on an antitrust push against big tech. It will backfire big-time.
Will Cities Survive 2020?
COVID-19 is reigniting old debates about zoning, public health, urban planning, and suburban sprawl.
Giant Metal Monolith Discovered In Utah Desert Possibly Extraterrestrial, Definitely a Code Violation
Little gray men encounter reams of red tape.
The Conservative Antitrust Case Against Big Tech Is a Giant Self-Own
It's hard to take seriously complaints that there are no alternatives to Facebook when they're made on Twitter.
Department of Energy Rolls Back Obama's Dishwasher Restrictions
You might finally be able to buy a dishwasher that gets the job done, unless Joe Biden changes the rules again.
Libertarians Should Make More Use of Referendums
Libertarianism is far from wildly popular, overall. But libertarian causes have done well in referenda in recent years. We can build on that.
The CDC's Eviction Moratorium Is Neither Necessary Nor Legally SoundÂ
Despite fears that a pandemic-ravaged economy would force renters from their homes in droves, evictions were down nationwide at the end of summer.
Unions Lost a Major Battle in Their War on the Gig Economy
Nearly 60 percent of Californians approved a proposition to exempt Uber and Lyft from most of Assembly Bill 5.
The Atlanta Sex Toy Magnate Who Can't Stop Picking Fights
Michael Morrison used to be a boxer. Now he brawls with zoning boards and tax collectors.
Trump Ran as the Nation's NIMBY in Chief. It Didn't Work.
The president promised to save suburbanites' neighborhoods from a wave of new housing development. They voted against him anyway.
The Nation's Top YIMBY Legislator Crushes His Socialist Opponent
California Sen. Scott Wiener coasted to victory in an election that pitted his deregulatory housing agenda against his opponent's socialist vision.
Victories for Liberty, Property Rights, and Nondiscrimination on Three Major California Ballot Measures
Beneficial outcomes on at least three of four important California ballot measures: racial preferences, rent control, and protecting ride-share businesses and workers.
Trump, Biden Voters Both Like Government Housing Spending a Lot More Than Housing Development
A new survey from realty company Redfin finds that only 24 percent of Trump supporters and 32 percent of Biden voters support reducing zoning regulations in their neighborhood.
Californians Vote on Four Ballot Measures with Major Stakes for Liberty, Property Rights, and Justice
These votes could have a big impact on the nation as a whole, as well as California.
The Trump Administration's Real Deregulatory Record
As is so often the case, Trump's claims are not matched by Trump's actual record.
Trump's Foxconn Deal Became Just Another Government Development Debacle
The Taiwanese manufacturer promised Trump and then–Governor Scott Walker 13,000 new jobs and a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant. They've delivered a mostly empty building that's one-twentieth the promised size.
Occupational Licensing Reform Is a Biden Policy We Can All Favor
Occupational licensing rules are more often arbitrary bureaucratic hurdles than they are protections for health or safety.
