Donate
  • Freedom
  • Innovation
  • Growth

Bartlett D. Cleland

Research Fellow

Bartlett D. Cleland is a research fellow with the Institute for Policy Innovation.

Cleland represented IPI as a member of the Internet Safety Technical Task Force and contributed to its final report, released in January 2009. The Task Force was created in February 2008 at the request of 49 state attorneys general to identify effective tools and technologies to keep kids safe online. 

He currently serves as private sector co-chair of the American Legislative Exchange Council’s Telecommunications & Information Technology Task Force. Cleland also serves on the Internet Education Foundation Board of Directors, which involves working closely with the Internet Caucus and such projects as GetNetWise, a project to assist parents in understanding the Internet and how to protect children on-line. 

Cleland began his professional career in the human resources field with Lee Hecht Harrison as a consultant for executive outplacement.  He went to Washington, D.C. in 1995 to work for Senator John Ashcroft, serving as the Senator’s technology counsel from 1996 - 1998.  At the same time, he held various management positions, ultimately serving two years as operations director.  From 1998 to 2000, he worked for Americans for Tax Reform as technology and policy counsel, and advised Commissioner Grover G. Norquist on the Advisory Committee on Electronic Commerce.  From 2000 to 2005, he served as the Associate General Counsel and VP, Software, at the Information Technology Association of America.

Bartlett graduated from Millikin University with a B.S. in philosophy and business administration.  He received his Masters of Business Administration, as well as his law degree with a specialization in international and comparative law, from St. Louis University.  He is admitted to the Missouri bar.

March 18, 2011

Why North Carolina Should Restrict Municipal Broadband Schemes

The dismal track record of municipal Wi-Fi and broadband networks is a lesson in why municipalities should stick with their core competencies and not attempt to compete in the private sector. States like North Carolina are well-advised to place restrictions and taxpayer protections on municipalities that nonetheless insist on putting taxpayers at risk on municipal communications ventures.

September 1, 2010

Hanging Up On Liberty:How Prepaid Mobile Laws Restrict Freedom, Impose Onerous Regulations and Fail to Stop Criminal Behavior

An estimated 58 million Americans have embraced the convenience of pre-paid wireless service, but the "Pre-Paid Mobile Device Identification Act," sponsored by Senators Schumer (D-NY) and Cornyn (R-TX) would impose new regulations and costs on consumers of prepaid wireless service, and erode users’ privacy. These new burdens on consumers are not an acceptable tradeoff for what would likely be an ineffective tool against a handful of criminals.

August 12, 2010

Coalition Letter to the FCC Regarding Net Neutrality

This coalition letter was circulated by Americans for Tax Reform and filed with the Federal Communications Commissions in opposition to their persuit of regulations misleadingly called “Net Neutrality” that would permit the government to dictate how Internet service providers manage the data that is transferred on the Internet. To do so, the FCC would apply “Title II” laws to the Internet originally intended for monopoly telephone carriers in the 1930s. The regulation opens the door for Internet taxes, price setting, content monitoring and censorship, and is also guaranteed to stifle broadband expansion and adoption, which would have a devastating impact on jobs and the economy.

June 21, 2010

Comments to the FCC Regarding the Proposed Transfer of Licenses from NBCU to Comcast

The assigning and transferring of licenses made necessary to facilitate the purchase of NBC Universal by Comcast should be permitted to proceed without attaching any special policy conditions or policy requirements. The merger is a logical consequence of the convergence of the media and communications industries, and it should be permitted to succeed or fail based on the response of consumers in the marketplace. Because merger conditions can become precedent, policy should be made through a deliberative policy process involving all participants in the marketplace and not through the exceptional circumstances and vulnerability of a merger review process.

Total Records: 225