Add another name to the list of opponents of the Google Book Search Settlement: Marybeth Peters, U.S. Register of Copyrights. In testimony before the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Thursday, Peters tarred the deal as “fundamentally at odds with the law” and villainized Google, saying the company is making a “mockery” of the copyright protections in the U.S. Constitution.
Read More »
The Federal Communications Commission’s efforts to determine whether exclusive handset deals are promoting or hindering innovation in the wireless market are moving ahead with a focus on rural areas. That’s the word from agency Chairman Julius Genachowski, who says he’s concerned not just with the competitive ramifications of carrier-exclusivity deals but with their tendency to limit customer access to top smartphones.
Read More »
If it weren’t so laughably unconstitutional, the Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act would truly be cause for concern, criminalizing as it does such a broad spectrum of speech protected by the First Amendment. Proposed by Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), the law would essentially make it a felony to hurt someone’s feelings online.
Read More »
A look back at the week during which approximately 40 percent of the posts were about Twitter. Or at least it seemed that way.
BoomTown got the ball rolling by making a visit to Twitter HQ bearing pies. During a video tour of the premises, Biz Stone discussed rock stars and booze, and spilled the secret of the strange green deer.
Read More »
Funny isn’t it? Congress spent most of last year calling for Internet companies to limit user data retention and here it is pushing legislation that would require Internet service providers and the operators of Wi-Fi access points to retain Internet user data for up to two years. Why? To protect children from predators, of course
Read More »
Wall Street’s 777-point selloff on Monday–one of its worst days since 1929–hit many tech stocks harder even than the overall market on Monday. Said Ross Sandler, senior Internet analyst at RBC Capital Markets, “Tech took it on the chin disproportionately.” Indeed, it did. And a couple of other places as well, from the looks of things. A quick overview of the carnage.
Read More »
If there was an Emmy Award for legislation production, NBC Universal Chief Executive Jeff Zucker would surely win it. Last October he called upon Congress to pass a bill that would create a dedicated intellectual-property enforcement bureau and today it’s looking more and more like he’s going to get it.
This week members of the House [...]
Read More »
Think Sino-American relations are lousy now, wait until Beijing gets word that a congressional advisory panel has identified Chinese espionage as the “single greatest risk” to the American technology sector.
In its annual report to Congress, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission accused China of enlisting engineers and scientists to acquire critical U.S. technology “by [...]
Read More »
Sure, Yahoo signed China’s “Public Pledge on Self-Discipline for the Chinese Internet Industry,” a voluntary agreement to monitor and restrict information deemed “harmful” by Beijing, but did it have to take it quite so seriously? Was it really necessary to divulge the identity of a Chinese journalist who was subsequently arrested and sent to prison for a decade?
Read More »
Is government ever a good substitute for parenting? If you’re at a loss for an answer to that question, consider some of the statements coming out of this week’s “Protecting Children on the Internet” hearing in Congress. In testimony given at the hearing, Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chairman Daniel K. Inouye (D., [...]
Read More »
Add to the steadily growing list of threats to national security one more: peer-to-peer networks.
At a hearing yesterday by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Chairman Henry Waxman (D., Calif.) declared P2P networks a “national security threat,” claiming they’d caused federal employees to accidentally share sensitive or classified documents. “We used the most [...]
Read More »
With millions of dollars in virtual currency changing hands each month in simulated worlds like EverQuest and Second Life, there are increasing reports of virtual-world moguls amassing real-world riches and scholars warning that these online worlds could be the “21st century’s equivalent of hiding funds offshore.” So it may be only a matter of time [...]
Read More »
