Yesterday the U.S. House of Representatives voted to restrict TSA from conducting what have become known as “virtual strip-searches.”
Congress Clips TSA’s “Virtual Strip Search” Wings
Category Archives: Tech Policy
The Supreme Court’s Cyberlaw Influence — Not Much, Thankfully
Supreme Court nominee Sonya Sotamayor is unlikely to have influence on the Court’s cyberlaw jurisprudence, because there basically is none. The evolution of this rapidly changing medium really does not need the glacial pace at which the SCOTUS decides issues
Challenging DMCA Conventional Wisdom
Most observers believe the Digital Millennium Copyright Act prohibits copying of DVDs, even for backup purposes. Now Real Networks is challenging that conventional wisdom in California.
They Call This “Justice” In Italy
Thank goodness for jury nullification, because under no rational legal system can hosting a Web video be considered a personal crime by corporate officer.
Wasting More Tax Dollars
So exactly why are we paying for the “DTV transition” anyway? Did we pay for folks in the 1960s to switch from B&W to color televisions? No way.
Regulators In the Valley
The reaction in Silicon Valley to folks saying they’re from Washington, DC and are “here to help” may just be slightly more favorable going-forward.
Advice or Ostriches?
The question is not whether the Valley will sit on the sidelines but rather how, when and on what issue(s) it will engage Washington.
Small Isn’t Beautiful Anymore
Wrangling over the proposed Google-Yahoo advertising deal makes one wonder whether scale, a virtue in Silicon Valley, can also be a vice. With apologies to economist E.F. Schumacher, big isn’t bad anymore, it’s good.
Apple & Antitrust
Psystar claims Apple’s restrictions on third-party hardware makers violate U.S. antitrust laws. Woah, that’s absolutely ridiculous.
A Bureaucratic Farce
Friday’s decision by the Federal Communications Commission to cite Comcast for unlawful violation of “network neutrality” principles raises the serious question whether a government agency should be allowed to issue what it expressly terms a set of non-binding “principles” and then make an official finding of illegality when a company fails to follow those principles.