Keeping politicians' hands off the Net & everything else related to technology
John at the Commons Music Blog has an artist’s perspective on the dark side of digital rights management technology. He highlights three reasons why he doesn’t use DRM to “protect” his content. I thought the first reason was particularly on point: I detest not having control. “But,” say some, “DRM gives you control, not takes [...]
A few years back, Julian Sanchez coined the phrase “reductio creep”: So by now, everyone’s heard about the ludicrous case of the butterball who’s suing the fast food industry because they failed to inform him that shoving lots of cheeseburgers down your gullet will make you a very large and blubbery boy. (He thought “100% [...]
In my latest Brainwash column, I take on the silly movement for “a la carte” cable programming mandates. I focus pretty much exclusively on the economics of the situation. Unfortunately, I fear it won’t be terribly persuasive to a lot of the idea’s supporters, because at root, I think the a la carte issue appeals [...]
Whoever wrote this disappointing article in The Economist doesn’t seem to have done his homework: Distressed BlackBerry users argue that too many of the world’s workers rely on the device for the service to be shut down. But many of their jobs depend on the principle at stake in this case–that the courts should protect [...]
Franklin Foer’s article on Abramoff’s corruption of right-wing intellectuals is must-read background on the Bandow scandal. I think it really highlights the fact that conservatives and libertarians need to do a better job of self-policing. We have a natural tendency not to look too closely at our erstwhile ideological allies. I think a thorough housekeeping [...]
Though I haven’t read Steven Johnson’s book, I know he makes the argument that the complexity of plotlines in modern-day televison is a significant departure from the simplistic shows of the past, and as a result, our brains must work harder to digest today’s shows. In other words, the television of today is “smarter” than [...]
More from our Bizarre Survey Department: Everyone knows what VOIP is by now right? Voice Over Internet Protocol telephony is the hottest thing in the communications world, and tech policy geeks can talk about it–as well as over it–all night. But, according to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive, most Americans have no clue what [...]
In a previous column about “A La Carte as Censorship,” I noted how some regulatory activists were using a la carte regulation as a Trojan Horse to impose content controls on cable TV. In the last couple of days, “family-friendly” tiers have been “voluntarily” offered by the cable industry as a way to head off [...]
Supporters of telecom reform got an unexpected Christmas present yesterday as Sen. Jim DeMint, a Republican from South Carolina, introduced the “Digital Age Communication Act.” If the name sounds familiar, it should–DACA is the product of a year-long effort by the Progress and Freedom Foundation to develop a free-market framework for telecom reform. DeMint’s proposal [...]
Richard Huff, TV columnist for the New York Daily News, has a very entertaining column today entitled “Your Kids, Your Cable, Your Problem.” It’s basically an open letter to the parents of America who are calling for cable regulation or censorship. “Stop looking for outside help from Congress or watchdog groups to clean up, clear [...]
May 16, 2012
The Technology Liberation Front is the tech policy blog dedicated to keeping politicians' hands off the 'net and everything else related to technology.
