George Ou Sets the Record Straight on Bandwidth Usage Caps

by Adam Thierer on August 29, 2009 · Comments

Make sure to read George Ou’s two recent articles over at the Digital Society blog setting the record straight about broadband usage caps: “Putting American Bandwidth Caps into Context” and “We Need to be Reasonable about Broadband Usage Caps.”   George is one sharp cookie. I particularly like the way he takes apart Free Press for their hypocrisy on this issue, something I have commented on here before after George brought it to my attention. See:

… and here’s some older material on the issue…

Comments Posted in: Broadband & Neutrality Regulation

Rigid federal mandates hinder privacy technologies

by Ryan Radia on June 16, 2008 · Comments

Privacy laws threaten e-commerce innovation, as Wayne Crews and I argue in an op-ed in yesterday’s San Jose Mercury News:

Politicians have long used corporations as convenient whipping boys, and the technology industry is no exception. Today, tech companies face political attacks over their online privacy policies. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, for instance, recently demanded that Google provide a detailed explanation of how it stores user search queries.

The federal government, so eager to safeguard privacy, is itself the worst offender, unwilling to abide by the same stringent opt-in standards that regulations would impose on private firms. The post-Sept. 11 push for compulsory national ID cards, warrantless wiretapping and escalating data retention mandates reveal a government inclined toward violating privacy, not protecting it.

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Comments Posted in: Privacy, Security & Government Surveillance