Permissionless Innovation: The Continuing Case for Comprehensive Technological Freedom

Will innovators be forced to seek the blessing of public officials before they develop and deploy new devices and services, or will they be generally left free to experiment with new technologies and business models?

In this book, Adam Thierer argues that if the former disposition, “the precautionary principle,” trumps the latter, “permissionless innovation,” the result will be fewer services, lower-quality goods, higher prices, diminished economic growth, and a decline in the overall standard of living.

When public policy is shaped by “precautionary principle” reasoning, it poses a serious threat to technological progress, economic entrepreneurialism, and long-run prosperity. By contrast, permissionless innovation has fueled the success of the Internet and much of the modern tech economy in recent years, and it is set to power the next great industrial revolution—if we let it.

This new edition includes . . .

• Expanded case studies of major technological innovations, including commercial drones, driverless cars, 3-D printing, virtual reality, the Internet of Things, and more
• A deeper exploration of modern tech critics and their rationales for holding back technological innovation
• New discussion of “global innovation arbitrage”—that is, the ways in which innovators are now able to move around the globe in search of more hospitable regulatory environments
• An exploration of how the United States and Europe took different approaches to innovation policy and the results
• A more detailed look at concerns about economic disruptions associated with new technologies, such as robotics and automated systems
• An expanded policy recommendations section

Adam Thierer is a senior research fellow with the Technology Policy Program at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He specializes in technology, media, Internet, and free-speech policies, with a particular focus on online safety and digital privacy. His writings have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Economist, the Washington Post, the Atlantic, and Forbes, and he has appeared on national television and radio. He also contributes to the Technology Liberation Front, a leading tech policy blog.

Thierer has authored or edited eight books on topics ranging from media regulation and child safety issues to the role of federalism in high-technology markets. He has served on several distinguished online safety task forces, including Harvard University’s Internet Safety Technical Task Force and the federal government’s Online Safety Technology Working Group, and he has testified numerous times on Capitol Hill.

Previously, Thierer was president of the Progress and Freedom Foundation, director of telecommunications studies at the Cato Institute, and a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation. He received his MA in international business management and trade theory from the University of Maryland and his BA in journalism and political philosophy from Indiana University.