The Free State Foundation is a non-profit, nonpartisan think tank. Its purpose is to promote, through research and educational activities, understanding of free market, limited government, and rule of law principles at the federal level and in Maryland.
FSF focuses on eliminating unnecessary and counterproductive regulatory mandates, especially those applicable to the communications and other high-tech industries, and on reducing overly burdensome taxes, protecting individual and economic liberty, including property rights, and making government more effective, efficient, and accountable.
Who We Are
Led by Randolph J. May, FSF's President, the scholars of The Free State Foundation have decades of experience in the public policy arena and academic settings promoting free markets, secure property rights, and individual liberty. Mr. May is a nationally known legal and policy expert in the field of regulation, as well as a widely recognized expert in communications, administrative, and constitutional law. FSF's scholars combine solid academic expertise with professional and practical experience in a way that makes their research especially impactful in influencing both federal and state public policy.
New at FSF
The speakers have been announced for the Free State Foundation's "If I Were the FCC Chairman..." lunch seminar at the National Press Club, June 4, 2013. The seminar will feature nationally-recognized senior leaders in the communications policy field who will discuss what they would do if they were the new FCC Chairman. Register now!
Free State Foundation Distinguished Adjunct Senior Fellow and former Federal Communications Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate participated at the May 13-17 World Summit on the Information Society Forum 2013. The World Summit represents the largest annual gathering of the “ICT for development community” in Geneva, Switzerland at the ITU headquarters. Ms. Tate serves as the ITU's Special Envoy for Child Online Protection. She participated in numerous forums and events and was the moderator of a High Level Dialogue: Women's Empowerment in the Information Society: Systemic, Scalable Strategies. Ms. Tate will also participate in World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) on May 17 as a former official Laureate for 2009. In addition, Ms. Tate will be part of the official delegation to the Global Youth Summit in Costa Rica in September 2013 hosted by Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla.
The Minority Media and Telecommunications Council is celebrating women’s history month with outstanding FCC women leaders, April 10, 2013, in the National Council of Negro Women Building, Washington, DC. Former Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate, a Distinguished Adjunct Senior Fellow at The Free State Foundation, is the lead opening speaker and will introduce FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel as the opening “storyteller.” FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn will provide the closing remarks. In the history of the FCC, 15 women have been appointed FCC commissioners. Many of these talented women, along with others who have held important positions at the Commission, will be in attendance. In addition to an extensive list of FCC women leaders, Commissioner Robert McDowell will also join the celebration, sharing his stories of the remarkable women he has worked with over his years at the FCC, including his all-woman staff.
The March 21, 2013, Free State Foundation Fifth Annual Winter Telecom Policy Conference opened with FSF President Randolph May's conversation with FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai. During the conversation, Commissioner Pai discussed his regulatory philosophy, reforming FCC processes, the FCC's IP Transition proceeding, broadband policy, net neutrality mandates, spectrum auctions, video regulation, and much more. You can view a video of their conversation here.
We were very pleased that Senator Marco Rubio delivered his first major address on communications policies and telecom priorities at the Free State Foundation's Fifth Annual Winter Telecom Policy Conference. Sen. Rubio is a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and its Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet. Here is a link to the written copy of Sen. Rubio’s speech, and you can view a video of his presentation here.
A revised agenda for the Free State Foundation's Fifth Annual Winter Telecom Policy Conference, “Completing the Transition to a Digital World: How to Finish the Job and Why It Matters,” has been released. Please note that due to an unavoidable scheduling conflict, Senator Marco Rubio will deliver his keynote address at 1:00 p.m. during lunch. The conference will open with FSF President Randolph May's conversation with FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai. There will be three panels featuring an outstanding line-up of leading experts from government, industry, and academia discussing the most important communications policy issues of the day. Register now for the March 21, 2013, conference.
Register now for the Free State Foundation's Fifth Annual Winter Telecom Policy Conference, “Completing the Transition to a Digital World: How to Finish the Job and Why It Matters,” at the National Association of Home Builders on Thursday, March 21, 2013, 8:30 a.m.-3:15 p.m. Keynoters are Senator Marco Rubio, Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai. As in the past, an outstanding line-up of leading experts from government, industry, and academia will discuss and debate the most important communications policy issues of the day.
View the video of the Free State Foundation's January 23, 2013, luncheon to celebrate FSF’s new book, "Communications Law and Policy in the Digital Age: The Next Five Years," at the National Press Club. Several of the book's contributing authors, all prominent scholars and experts in the field of communications policy, discussed their chapters and led a lively, interactive exchange concerning today's hottest-topic issues. Speakers included: Christopher Yoo, Professor, University of Pennsylvania Law School and Member of FSF's Board of Academic Advisors - "Internet Policy Going Forward: Does One Size Still Fit All?"; Daniel Lyons, Professor, Boston College Law School, and Member of FSF's Board of Academic Advisors - "Reforming the Universal Service Fund for the Digital Age"; Ellen Goodman, Professor, Rutgers School of Law – Camden, and Member of FSF's Board of Academic Advisors - "Public Media Policy Reform and Digital Age Realities"; and Seth Cooper, FSF Research Fellow - "Restoring a Minimal Regulatory Environment for a Healthy Wireless Future."
To view photos of the Free State Foundation’s October 18, 2012, "Ideas for Communications Law and Policy Reform in 2013" seminar at the National Press Club, go to the Events page. The program opened with a conversation concerning FCC reform between FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell and FSF President Randolph May. This was followed by a panel discussion by some of the nation's leading communications law and policy experts: Robert Atkinson, President, Information Technology & Innovation Foundation; James Gattuso, Senior Research Fellow in Regulatory Policy, The Heritage Foundation; David Honig, President, Minority Media & Telecommunications Council; and Adam Thierer, Senior Research Fellow, Mercatus Center.
Distinguished Adjunct Senior Fellow of the Free State Foundation and former Federal Communications Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate, International Telecommunications Union Special Envoy and Laureate for Child Online Protection, and Academy Award-winning actor Geena Davis, founder of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, the Co-Chairs of The Healthy MEdia Commission for Positive Images of Women and Girls, announced the release of a report offering a variety of recommendations and best practices to encourage more healthy and realistic portrayals of women and girls across all media. The Healthy MEdia Commission for Positive Images of Women and Girls, consisting of more than 50 leaders from the media industry, creative community, academia, and youth-serving nonprofits, including the Girl Scouts of the USA, the National Association of Broadcasters, and the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, completed more than a year of deliberations with the release of this report on November 13, 2012.
Free State Foundation President Randolph J. May will speak on "The Federalist Papers and Administrative Law" on September 27, 2012, at the Federalist Society’s Vermont Student Chapter. The program is entitled "The Administrative State." Mr. May will focus on Federalist Papers 47 and 51.
Congratulations this week to Free State Foundation’s Distinguished Adjunct Senior Fellow and former FCC Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate, co-chair of the Healthy MEdia Commission for Positive Images of Women and Girls, which is receiving the Diversity Advocate Award at the 29th Annual Walter Kaitz Foundation Fundraising Dinner on September 12, 2012, at the Hilton New York in New York City. This award is presented annually to an individual or organization outside of the cable industry that has demonstrated a commitment to diversity. Ms. Tate co-chairs The Healthy MEdia Commission along with Academy Award-winning actor Geena Davis.
Job Openings for Policy Analysts: The Free State Foundation has positions open for senior and junior policy analysts with experience regarding regulated industries. Some expertise and prior experience regarding communications and Internet policy is a definite plus, and the ability to analyze market structure and competition in dynamic markets characterized by rapid technological advances is a definite plus as well. Excellent writing skills an absolute prerequisite. Click here to view a full job description.
On August 1, 2012, Free State Foundation President Randolph May will moderate a Federalist Society Teleforum titled “Spectrum Policy in the Age of a Spectrum Crunch.” Participants Michael Calabrese, Senior Research Fellow, Open Technology Institute, New America Foundation, and Prof. Thomas W. Hazlett, Director, Information Economy Project, National Center for Technology and Law, George Mason University School of Law, will debate, from divergent perspectives, a range of hot-topic key policy issues. These issues include the FCC's approach to spectrum allocation and assignments; the design of newly-authorized "incentive" spectrum auctions to free up underutilized spectrum; the role, if any, of spectrum caps in transaction reviews; and the repurposing of government spectrum for private sector use.
Healthy MEdia Commission for Positive Images of Women and Girls will be honored with the Diversity Advocate Award at the 29th Annual Walter Kaitz Foundation Fundraising Dinner on September 12, 2012, at the Hilton New York in New York City. This award is presented annually to an individual or organization outside of the cable industry that has demonstrated a commitment to diversity. The Healthy MEdia Commission is co-chaired by Free State Foundation’s Distinguished Adjunct Senior Fellow and former FCC Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate and Academy Award-winning actor Geena Davis.
On July 23, 2012, the Free State Foundation joined TechFreedom, Competitive Enterprise Institute, and the Cato Institute in filing an Amicus Brief in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the lawfulness of the FCC's Net Neutrality regulations. The amicus brief argues that the FCC's new regulation of Internet service providers violates their free speech rights under the First Amendment and their property rights under the Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause. The brief also argues that the FCC lacked statutory authority to promulgate the new rules regulating Internet providers.
Free State Foundation President Randolph J. May was featured in a July 18, 2012, Maryland Reporter article concerning Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler's views on Internet privacy regulation. Mr. Gansler argues for an active state Attorney General role in Internet privacy enforcement, while Mr. May says enforcement should be left to the Federal Trade Commission. Mr. May is also concerned that state Attorneys General bringing their own enforcement actions will impose “undue costs on the economy.” Mr. Gansler is the new president of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG).
Deborah Taylor Tate, Distinguished Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Free State Foundation and a former Federal Communications Commissioner, willmoderate a panel of current and former FCC Commissioners on July 18, 2012, at the MMTC’s FCC and Telecom Policy Luncheon during the MMTC’s 10th Annual Access to Capital and Telecom Policy Conference 2012 at the Westin Georgetown Hotel. Ms. Tate is also the co-chair of the "Healthy MEdia Commission" and the first ITU Special Envoy for Child Online Protection.
Free State Foundation President Randolph May will participate as a panelist, Thursday, June 28, 2012, at the Federal Communications Bar Association’s program, “The 2012 WCIT: Crafting International Telecommunication Regulations for the Twenty-First Century.” The program focuses on the upcoming World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT), at which Internet governance issues will be addressed.
View a slideshow of the Free State Foundation’s seminar, "The Multi-Stakeholder Private Internet Governance Model: Can It Survive Threats From The UN?" held at the National Press Club on May 30, 2012.
View C-SPAN’s video of the Free State Foundation’s seminar, "The Multi-Stakeholder Private Internet Governance Model: Can It Survive Threats From The UN?" The event was held May 30, 2012, at the National Press Club.
View a May 14, 2012, live video interview with Free State Foundation President Randolph J. May and the Wall Street Journal's Jason Riley for the WSJ Opinion Journal Live program. Netflix, net neutrality, spectrum policy were the topics discussed.
Deborah Taylor Tate, Distinguished Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Free State Foundation and former Federal Communications Commissioner, received an award on May 9, 2012, from Crittenton Services of Greater Washington, which runs educational programs for girls. After receiving the award for her children’s advocacy work, she told a roomful of teenage girls to “Aim high, and don’t be afraid to ask for help during the climb.” Tate is the co-chair of the Healthy MEdia Commission and the first ITU Special Envoy for Child Online Protection.
Register now for the Free State Foundation’s lunch seminar, May 30, 2012, 11:45 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at the National Press Club. The seminar, titled "The Multi-Stakeholder Private Internet Governance Model: Can It Survive Threats From The UN?," will address threats to the survival of the current multi-stakeholder privatized Internet governance model posed by competing government-control models put forward in the United Nation's International Telecommunications Union and other international venues. The seminar will focus especially on the upcoming World Conference on International Telecommunications 2012 (WCIT - 12), to be held this coming December, at which Internet governance issues are expected to be addressed. The lead speakers will be Richard Beaird, Senior Deputy United States Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy - Department of State, and FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell. The commenters will be Jacquelynn Ruff, Vice President, International Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs, Verizon; Gigi Sohn, President, Public Knowledge; and Richard Whitt, Director and Managing Counsel for Public Policy, Google.
Deborah Taylor Tate, Distinguished Adjunct Senior Fellow of the Free State Foundation, former Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, and Co-Chair of the Healthy MEdia Commission, will moderate a panel at Common Sense Media’s May 10, 2012, symposium addressing the cognitive, social, & emotional impact of media on children’s lives. The symposium, "The Impact of Media on the Health & Well-Being of Children," will be held at from 9 a.m. to 12 noon in the Cannon Caucus Room on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC.
View a slideshow of the Free State Foundation’s Fourth Annual Telecom Policy Conference, "The Internet World: Will It Remain Free From Public Utility Regulation?" held on March 20, 2012, at the National Press Club.
Videos of the Free State Foundation's Fourth Annual Telecom Policy Conference, "The Internet World: Will It Remain Free From Public Utility Regulation?" held on March 20, 2012, at the National Press Club, are available here. For your convenience, the conference sessions are broken into five video segments – the three keynote presentations of Steve Moore, Mignon Clyburn, and Danny Weitzner, plus Panels I & II.
The agenda is now available for the Free State Foundation's Fourth Annual Telecom Policy Conference. The conference is Tuesday, March 20, 2012, 8:30 a.m. – 2:15 p.m. at the National Press Club. The agenda and registration information is here.
Steve Moore, Editorial Board Member and Senior Economics Writer for the Wall Street Journal, will deliver the opening keynote address at the Free State Foundation's Fourth Annual Telecom Policy Conference on Tuesday, March 20, 2012, at the National Press Club. He joins FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, who will participate in a lunchtime keynote conversation with FSF President Randolph May. In addition, an outstanding line-up of leading experts from government, industry, academia, and think tanks will discuss and debate the most important communications policy issues of the day. The conference theme is "The Internet World: Will It Remain Free From Public Utility Regulation?" Register now!
Randolph May, President of the Free State Foundation, conducted a podcast with the Heartland Institute to discuss his new book, A Call for a Radical New Communications Policy: Proposals for Free Market Reform, on January 12, 2012. Bruce Edward Walker, Managing Editor, Infotech and Telecom News for the Heartland Institute, conducted the interview with Mr. May, who addressed his various proposals for changing the Communications Act.
Free State Foundation President Randolph May announced the release of a new book, A Call for a Radical New Communications Policy: Proposals for Free Market Reform. The book is a collection of eight of Mr. May's law review articles, with a Foreword that places the articles in the context of a free market-oriented communications policy reform framework that is consistent with fundamental constitutional principles. For those seriously interested in reforming communications law and policy, the book is an essential work. A Call for a Radical New Communications Policy can be ordered from Amazon here, and from Barnes & Noble here.
Randolph May, President of the Free State Foundation and a Public Member of the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS), will participate in the ACUS 55th Plenary Session on December 8-9, 2011, in Washington, DC. ACUS is an independent federal agency dedicated to improving the administrative process through consensus-driven applied research, providing nonpartisan expert advice and recommendations for improvement of federal agency procedures. Its membership is composed of federal officials and experts with diverse views and backgrounds from both the private sector and academia.
Deborah Taylor Tate, Distinguished Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Free State Foundation and former Federal Communications Commissioner, will participate on December 9, 2011, in the United Nations Economic and Social Council’s Special Event on Cybersecurity and Development, organized jointly by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the International Telecommunication Union. Ms. Tate’s panel topic, “An International Framework to Combat Cybercrime and Improve Cybersecurity,” will include child pornography issues. She is the co-chair of the Healthy MEdia Commission and the first ITU Special Envoy for Child Online Protection.
Free State Foundation President Randolph May will participate on a panel discussion on November 17, 2011, at the American Bar Association's Section of Law and Regulatory Practice Fall Conference held at the Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center in Washington, DC. The 10:45 a.m. panel, “The Government in the Sunshine Act: A Current Assessment,” will discuss the Sunshine Act’s impact on multi-member agencies, such as the FCC.
In her role as the Special Envoy for Child Online Protection, Deborah Taylor Tate, a Distinguished Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Free State Foundation and a former Federal Communications Commissioner, has been invited by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as a moderator, speaker, and participant in ITU Telecom World 2011 in Geneva, Switzerland, Oct. 24-27, 2011. She also served as a Judge for the "Young Innovators and Not for Profits challenge" which included projects from youth and undeveloped nations from around the world. The winners will be announced at Telecom World and will receive mentorships and scholarships for their projects. Tate will moderate and introduce the ITU Secretary General Hamadoun Toure at a special event dedicated to Global Child Online Protection activities following the Secretary General's Call to Action in 2009. Costa Rican President Laura Chincilla, Patron for the COP Initiative, will also participate. Tate was the first Special Envoy created by the ITU to recognize her international work regarding the education and empowerment of children online and internet/media literacy.
Here is the program brochure for tomorrow's, October 12, 2011, Free State Foundation's Fifth Anniversary Celebration Lunch at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. If you have not registered and would like to attend, please click here for registration information.
Rep. Cliff Stearns, Chairman, House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, has joined the outstanding line-up of keynote speakers along with Sen. Jim DeMint, Ranking Member, Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet, and Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Vice-Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, for the Free State Foundation's October 12, 2011, Fifth Anniversary Celebration Lunch at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Our program – "Communications Law and Policy in the Digital Age: The Next Five Years" – includes a complimentary lunch, subject to space limitations and reservations. Register now!
Senior Fellows
The Free State Foundation's Senior Fellows and Staff are acknowledged experts in their academic and professional fields, and their accomplishments have been widely recognized. They have held senior positions in academia, government, and business. Their expertise and experience on state and federal policy matters spans the disciplines of law, economics, business strategy, and organizational management.
View a slideshow here of the Free State Foundation’s Fifth Annual Telecom Policy Conference, "Completing The Transition to a Digital World: How to Finish the Job and Why It Matters," held at the National Association of Home Builders on March 21, 2013.
Order FSF's new book, "Communications Law and Policy in the Digital Age: The Next Five Years," here!
View the YouTube video of FSF's January 23, 2013, event celebrating FSF’s new book, "Communications Law and Policy in the Digital Age: The Next Five Years," at the National Press Club.
View YouTube videos of FSF's October 18, 2012, "Ideas for Communications Law and Policy Reform for 2013" Seminar at the National Press Club.
View C-SPAN’s video of the Free State Foundation’s May 30, 2012 seminar,
"The Multi-Stakeholder Private Internet Governance Model: Can It Survive Threats From The UN?"
View the video of FSF's March 20, 2012, Fourth Annual Telecom Policy Conference
"The Internet World: Will It Remain Free From Public Utility Regulation?"
View the slideshow of The Free State Foundation’s Fifth Anniversary Celebration Lunch held on October 12, 2011, at the Mayflower Hotel here .
View the video of the Free State Foundation's October 12, 2011 Fifth Anniversary Celebration Lunch program, "Communications Law and Policy in the Digital Age: The Next Five Years."
View C-SPAN's video of the Free State Foundation's April 12, 2011 Seminar, "Regulatory Reform at the FCC: Why Not Now?"
View a slideshow of FSF's April 12, 2011, "Regulatory Reform at the FCC: Why Not Now?" Seminar here.
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"The value of liberty was thus enhanced in our estimation by the difficulty of its attainment, and the worth of characters appreciated by the trial of adversity."
George Washington
FSF October 12, 2010 Seminar: "Looking Forward: Will Congress Establish Broadband Policy?" The video is available here.
FSF April 16, 2010 Seminar: FCC's "Future of Media" Inquiry The video is here.
A link to the video for FSF's 2010 Annual Winter Telecom Policy Conference may be found here.
Order FSF President Randolph May's book, "A Call for a Radical New Communications Policy"! Click here.
Order FSF's "New Directions in Communications Policy" book now! Click here.
For more information, contact: info@freestatefoundation.org Mailing Address: The Free State Foundation, P. O. Box 60680, Potomac, MD 20859 Office Location: 6259 Executive Blvd., Rockville, MD 20852 Phone: 301-984-8253
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