As usual, my co-bloggers are falling down on the job when it comes to tooting their own horns. First, James Gattuso has an interesting article over at The American on AT&T’s concessions in the BellSouth merger:
Even those who favor net neutrality should be upset that this rule was imposed through the backdoor of the FCC, after failing to gain acceptance through Congress’s front door. Backdoor policymaking hurts the public, as the checks and balances of the normal policymaking process are short-circuited. More directly, hijacking merger reviews to alter policy hurts firms and their customers–instead of a fair review on the merits, transactions are held hostage to political whims. Will this become a precedent for future FCC reviews? Perhaps not–this case may be unique. But don’t count on it.
And on Cato’s website, here’s an MP3 of Jim Harper discussing his recent paper on data mining and government surveillance. If you haven’t had time to read the paper, here’s a chance to get a 5-minute summary in podcast format.
The Technology Liberation Front is the tech policy blog dedicated to keeping politicians' hands off the 'net and everything else related to technology.