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When digital downloads took off in the late Nineties, file-sharing services blossomed, too. The industry went into a tailspin as music sales virtually halved over the next decade. One 2007 study by IPI estimated that illegal downloading was costing the US economy $12.5bn a year.

If the moratorium were "allowed to expire, states would begin to collect taxes on Internet access, or apply other discriminatory taxes that may already be in place but which have been held at bay during the moratorium," said IPI's Bartlett Cleland.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed HB-2453 into law Friday, letting Chicago increase its monthly 911 charges on wireline, wireless and prepaid cellphones.  The measure, which took effect immediately, has come under attack from free-market groups like the Institute for Policy Innovation, which said the increase could produce more than 911 needs and be used for other purposes like bolstering the city's pension fund.

More and more voices are joining the chorus of dissent towards the Restoration of America’s Wire Act (H.R.4301), the Sheldon Adelson-backed federal bill to ban online gambling.

The Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act (HR-3086) and the Internet Tax Freedom Forever Act (S-1431) need to pass Congress before the end of the current congressional session, said an Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) blog post Thursday.

A group of 10 conservative and free market organizations co-authored a letter of opposition to the federal legislation backed by casino owner Sheldon Adelson that would outlaw Internet gaming in the U.S.

Governments at the state, federal and global levels must recognize a decentralized and self-governed Internet is the best way to encourage more innovation and opportunity on the Web.