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Jerry Brito: Articles, Commentary, and Publications

Mercatus on Policy - Ending Translucent Government: Putting Government Data Online

April 28, 2008

Mercatus Senior Research Fellow Jerry Brito examines government transparency regulation and the need for greater access to public information online.

Public Interest Comment on Establishing Procedural Requirements to Govern Section 10 Forbearance Petition Proceedings

March 7, 2008

This comment addresses the Federal Communications Commission's request for comments on the need for procedural requirements to govern forbearance under Section 10 of the Communications Act of 1934 as amended, and specifically the proposals made by Covad Communications Group, NuVox Communications, XO Communications, Cavalier Telephone, and McLeodUSA Telecommunications (hereinafter "Covad") in their joint petition.

Put more government data online

January 8, 2008

In this Des Moines Register article, Jerry Brito makes a case for making public information available online in order to facilitate transparency.

Mercatus Reports: Winter 2007 - Transparency

December 31, 2007

This report in the Winter 2007 issue of Regulation discusses transparency of government data and ways the government can display information to make it more useful to the public.

A Tale of Two Commissions: Net Neutrality and Regulatory Analysis

November 1, 2007

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have both investigated the need for "net neutrality" policies intended to prevent broadband providers from treating different types of traffic differently. This article, recently published in CommLaw Conspectus, assess the FCC's legal authority to implement net neutrality rules and recommends that the FCC conduct a thorough regulatory analysis to improve the quality of the net neutrality debate.

Mercatus Reports: Fall 2007: Regulators' Budget

October 24, 2007

This report in the Fall 2007 issue of Regulation describes the findings in the latest edition of the Regulators' Budget series, prepared by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and the Murray Weidenbaum Center at Washington University in St. Louis. This study analyzes the budgets and staff sizes of federal regulatory agencies.  

Mercatus Reports: Fall 2007: Considering Net Neutrality

October 24, 2007

This report in the Fall 2007 issue of Regulation describes the findings of a recent Mercatus Center study on net neutrality and regulatory analysis.

Hack, Mash & Peer

October 22, 2007

The federal government makes an overwhelming amount of data publicly available each year. Laws ranging from the Administrative Procedure Act to the Paperwork Reduction Act require these disclosures in the name of transparency and accountability. However, the data are often only nominally publicly available. First, this is the case because it is not available online or even in electronic format. Second, the data that can be found online is often not available in an easily accessible or searchable format. If government information was made public online and in standard open formats, the online masses could be leveraged to help ensure the transparency and accountability that is the reason for making information public in the first place.

Net Neutrality: Where's the Beef?

July 24, 2007

Mercatus scholars Jerry Brito and Jerry Ellig address the results of an FCC inquiry into data discrimination that would justify regulation of the Internet in this Tech Central Station op-ed.

Public Interest Reply Comment on Broadband Industry Practices

July 16, 2007

The Federal Communications Commission issued a Notice of Inquiry seeking public comment on "Broadband Industry Practices." In this reply comment, Jerry Ellig and Jerry Brito assess whether other major commenters have provided sufficient evidence to justify net neutrality regulation. 

Growth in Regulation Slows

June 19, 2007

The 29th annual Regulators' Budget report, Growth in Regulation Slows: An Analysis of the U.S. Budget for Fiscal Years 2007 and 2008, examines the Budget of the U.S. Government to track the expenditures and staffing of federal regulatory agencies between 1960 and 2008.

Public Interest Comment on Broadband Industry Practices

June 15, 2007

The Federal Communications Commission issued a Notice of Inquiry seeking public comment on "Broadband Industry Practices."  The purpose is to assess the case for and against different forms of "net neutrality" policies intended to prevent broadband providers from treating different types of traffic differently.

Written Testimony on First Responder Communications Submitted to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce

March 22, 2007

Lack of interoperable radio communications among first responders is a serious issue as the 9/11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina have recently highlighted. The interoperability problem is the result of what economist Mancur Olson called a collective action problem.

Failure to Communicate

March 13, 2007

For more than two decades, the nation's first responders to emergencies have had to contend with radio communications that were not up to the task. Each time a major calamity such as the Oklahoma City bombing, 9/11 or Hurricane Katrina throws a spotlight on the problem, a blue-ribbon panel is convened. And each time the panel invariably offers the same prescription: more funding and more radio spectrum for public safety agencies.

Public Safety Communications Interoperability

February 26, 2007

The FCC seeks comment on its new plan to create national license for a public safety broadband network.  It plans to assign to a nonprofit licensee 12 of the 24 MHz of public safety spectrum in the 700 MHz band that will become available after the digital television transition. The licensee will be able to offer service to public safety for a fee. It will also be able to sell excess capacity on its network to private users on an unconditional interruptible basis.

Sending out an S.O.S.: Public Safety Communications Interoperability as a Collective Action Problem

February 22, 2007

Lack of interoperable radio communications among first responders is a serious issue as the 9/11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina have recently highlighted. It is also a perennial problem that has existed for nearly 30 years. The interoperability problem is the result of what economist Mancur Olson called a collective action problem. The collective action problem in this case is the result of the national policy of public safety spectrum segregation and balkanization. That is, the federal spectrum gives each of the 50,000 public safety agencies in the country their own radio license over which to build out a communications system. While the policy affords localities great flexibility to build a system that best suits their needs, more often than not it results in custom systems that aren't compatible with those of their neighbors.

Mercatus Reports: Fall 2006

November 1, 2006

Mercatus Reports: Tort Reform | Nanotech | Public Safety Interoperability

Will Broadband Kill the Broadcast Star?

September 6, 2006

Mercatus Legal Fellow Jerry Brito writes on the fate of broadcast television in the Internet age.

Video Killed the Franchise Star: The Consumer Cost of Cable Franchising and Proposed Policy Alternatives

August 18, 2006

By constraining competition, local video franchising imposes significant costs on two groups of consumers. Current cable subscribers pay higher prices than they would pay if there were competition, and potential customers forego cable TV service because they believe it is too expensive at current prices. Two decades of studies by government agencies and independent scholars consistently find that competition leads to lower cable rates. The FCC has authority under several federal statutes to identify and preempt unreasonable franchising practices.

Public Nuisance: The Costs of Giving Everyone A Say on Cable Television

July 26, 2006

Mercatus Center Legal Fellow Jerry Brito writes on public access television.

The Use Of RFID For Human Identification

May 22, 2006

RFID technology has been used effectively to manage inventories of goods and to track objects in supply chains and other logistical undertakings. However, the tracking of humans using RFID, especially by government, presents serious privacy questions and generally outweigh any benefit that could be gained. While the threats to privacy presented by RFID tracking of consumer goods have been exaggerated, government use of RFID to identify humans does entail serious privacy consequences. Moreover, the costs of employing RFID in a government identification system are also significant.

Rule of Law: Who's Your Daddy?

March 25, 2006

Regulatory Studies Program Legal Fellow Jerry Brito and GMU School of Law student Bridget C.E. Dooling write about the challenges involved with the use of orphan works.  

Written Testimony on Orphan Works Submitted to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property

March 22, 2006

The Copyright Office has submitted a report to Congress outlining the extent of the orphan works problem and recommending a legislative solution. Orphan works are creative works the authors of which cannot be ascertained. If a work's copyright owner cannot be found to secure their permission to use the work, then no one will ultimately use the work lest they risk liability for copyright infringement. An efficient solution to the orphan works problem will create an incentive for would-be users of a work to take every reasonable step, in good faith, to identify the work's copyright owner in order to acquire permission to use the work. Perfunctory attempts to seek permission, or sham attempts made in bad faith, should not qualify a user for protection.

The Spectrum Commons in Theory and Practice

March 16, 2006

The FCC has designated a 50 MHz block of spectrum between 3650 and 3700 MHz as a "commons" for unlicensed use. Several parties have filed petitions for reconsideration in opposition to the designation. This proceeding presents a real world case that can be used to analyze whether a "commons" allocation is any more efficient than traditional allocation by command-and-control.

Mercatus Reports: Spring 2006

March 1, 2006

Mercatus Reports: Guide for Guidances | Spectrum Commons | The Katrina Success Story You Didn't Hear

An Orphan Works Affirmative Defense to Copyright Infringement Actions

March 1, 2006

The Copyright Office has submitted a report to Congress outlining the extent of the orphan works problem and recommending a legislative solution. This article proposes a new orphan works affirmative defense to infringement actions similar to the fair use affirmative defense.

Video Franchising

February 13, 2006

The FCC seeks comment on whether certain franchising practices by local governments unreasonably restrain competition in video services.

Written Testimony on Video Franchising Submitted to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

February 13, 2006

Written Testimony on Video Franchising Submitted to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation - Hearing Date: February 15, 2006

Mercatus Reports: Winter 2005-2006

January 1, 2006

Mercatus Reports: Texas Telecom Regulation | Natural Gas Quality Standards | Orphan Works | Very Boring Reasons Behind High Gas Prices