Keeping politicians' hands off the Net & everything else related to technology
The FCC proposed new rules today aimed at combating wireless “bill shock,” a term that describes mobile subscribers getting hit with overage charges they didn’t anticipate. The proposed rules would require wireless providers to create a system for alerting customers when they are about to incur extra usage charges for voice, text, data, or roaming. [...]
I’m in front of a non-TiVo-enabled television this evening, which has permitted me to see ads for a search site called YP.com. It’s a rebranded YellowPages.com, affiliated with AT&T, and it’s organized to be a search engine for the things in your life—dining, travel nightlife—distinguished from Google’s utilitarian-tech web search. Meanwhile Microsoft’s Bing has overtaken [...]
We’d get better and quicker decisions from the FCC if it followed the same regulatory procedures as the FTC.
Federal legislation introduced last week could threaten electronic commerce as it further entrenches middlemen who normally profit from every bottle of alcohol that passes from producers to consumers.
Why many regulatory economists have such a strong visceral reaction against regulating broadband under Title II of the Communications Act.
Here are a few things to look out for when the FCC releases its National Broadband Plan tomorrow.
In US history, imposing public utility regulation on an oligopoly has usually created either cartels or shortages. Why would public utility regulation of broadband be any different?
Until recently, Amazon and its Kindle were the only real e-reader game in town. This allowed them to force on publishers an arguably arbitrary (and low) price of $9.99 for bestsellers. With the introduction of Apple’s iPad, however, publishers now have a viable competitor to which they can defect. The result will likely be higher [...]
Can broadband policymakers learn from more than 100 years of American experience with railroad regulation?
May 23, 2012
The Technology Liberation Front is the tech policy blog dedicated to keeping politicians' hands off the 'net and everything else related to technology.
