SaddleBrooke Republican Club » Telecom, Internet & Information Policy

SOPA’s Last Gasp: Was the Internet Misinformed?

Julian Sanchez — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:12:32 +0000

By Julian Sanchez

In the wake of an unprecedented online protest, the Stop Online Piracy Act and PROTECT-IP Act—a pair of ill-conceived proposals to combat digital copyright infringement—appear to be dead for now, and politically toxic for the foreseeable future. But in the proud tradition of the former Iraqi Information Minister, many supporters of increased Internet regulation remain [...]

SOPA’s Last Gasp: Was the Internet Misinformed? is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

The Senate’s SOPA Counterattack?: Cybersecurity the Undoing of Privacy

Jim Harper — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:46:23 +0000

By Jim Harper

The Daily Caller reports that Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) is planning another effort at Internet regulation—right on the heels of the SOPA/PIPA debacle. The article seems calculated to insinuate that a follow-on to SOPA/PIPA might slip into cybersecurity legislation the Senate plans to take up. Whether that’s in the works or not, I’ll detail here [...]

The Senate’s SOPA Counterattack?: Cybersecurity the Undoing of Privacy is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

Cardless National ID and the E-Verify Rebellion

Jim Harper — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:40:24 +0000

New Hampshire was the state where the “REAL ID rebellion” got its start. There, in 2006, Rep. Neal Kurk (R-Weare) took to the floor of the New Hampshire House to talk about his principled opposition to the federal national ID law. In stirring words, Kurk urged his colleagues to overturn a committee recommendation that no [...]

Cardless National ID and the E-Verify Rebellion is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

Photo ID Laws Mean Some Won’t Vote

Jim Harper — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:59:04 +0000

By Jim Harper

Because all of us are with ourselves all day every day, we naturally tend to think that our own lives are pretty standard fare. But that’s just not so in a country of 300+ million people ranging over a vast expanse. So I found worthwhile this NPR story on people who don’t have IDs, people [...]

Photo ID Laws Mean Some Won’t Vote is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

Kashmir Hill Has It Right…

Jim Harper — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:06:24 +0000

By Jim Harper

…on the Google privacy policy change. The idea that people should be able to opt out of a company’s privacy policy strikes me as ludicrous. Plus she embeds a valuable discussion among ...

Kashmir Hill Has It Right… is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

Helping the House Advance Data Transparency

Jim Harper — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:42:03 +0000

By Jim Harper

The House of Representatives is poised to make great strides forward in transparency, and our work over the last year aims to help them do that. Here’s how this spreadsheet ...

Helping the House Advance Data Transparency is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

‘Destroy America’ = Suspicion Fail

Jim Harper — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:49:13 +0000

By Jim Harper

News that incautious comments on “tweeter” got British tourists excluded from the United States had Twitter alight yesterday. (Paperwork given to one of the two, on display in this news ...

‘Destroy America’ = Suspicion Fail is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

Sunlight Before Signing, Year Three

Jim Harper — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:43:25 +0000

By Jim Harper

In last night’s State of the Union speech, President Obama called for tax law reforms he says we need. Cato scholars have their doubts about much of what was in the speech, but my interest was piqued by the fact that he said, “Send me these tax reforms, and I will sign them right away.” [...]

Sunlight Before Signing, Year Three is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

SOPA and Skepticism

Aaron Ross Powell — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:29:55 +0000

By Aaron Ross Powell

Over at Libertarianism.org I have a new blog post on the lesson the technology community should have learned from their campaign against SOPA. Imagine you’re an expert in some field of technical knowledge. Your field impacts quite a lot of people but most of them don’t understand the details the way you do. One day, [...]

SOPA and Skepticism is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

SOPA/PIPA: Harbinger or Aberration?

Jim Harper — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:02:26 +0000

By Jim Harper

He’s not unrestrained, but Larry Downes sees the remarkable downfall of legislation to regulate the Internet’s engineering as a harbinger of things to come. Jerry Brito, meanwhile, tells us “Why We Won’t See Many Protests like the SOPA Blackout.” They’re both right—over different time-horizons. The information environment and economics of political organization today are still [...]

SOPA/PIPA: Harbinger or Aberration? is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog