shouting loudly

In a shocker yesterday, Qwest Communications supported proposed federal laws that would force ISPs and others to retain data about customers’ internet traffic.
Under one proposal by Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), ISPs would be required to retain customers’ records for the length of the service contract and at least one year after. Other possible requirements could [...]

With apologies for the delay in sharing the news, I’ve updated my network neutrality paper at SSRN. It was a semi-final draft due with FCLJ.
Here’s the link: Opening Bottlenecks.
It updates a lot of the debate, to say the least. When I sat down to write the journal revisions, the previous draft (completed in April) seemed [...]

Yesterday, the American Consumer Institute inaccurately assailed network neutrality proponents for pretending to represent the voice of consumers while actually representing the voices of very large and powerful companies. The report’s author, who is no neutral observer, uses decontextualized economic data to obscure the political reality on the ground.

This blog is not all about bad news! Judge Anna Diggs Taylor from Detroit is the first judge to rule about the legality of the National Security Agency’s warrantless wiretapping program – it was justified as necessary for battling terrorism but is now found to violate the rights to free speech, privacy as well as [...]

Yesterday, Wired ran an awesome story about the Pirate Bay, probably the most popular BitTorrent tracker in the world right now.
I particularly liked the story’s theme of civil disobedience. Whether you support strong copyright law, believe it should be scrapped, or hold any position in the middle, you have to be impressed by these folks’ [...]

In my last post, I joined a chorus of bloggers who shamed the RIAA for their callousness, pursuing the family of a deceased defendant.
Now, it appears as though the public shaming has worked. The RIAA has since dropped the suit entirely, citing “an abundance of sensitivity.” (You can’t make this stuff up.)
Here’s Cory Doctorow’s recap [...]

Larry Scantlebury was sued by the recording industry for infringement. He died before the case was resolved. Most decent human beings would offer their condolences to the family and call it a day. Emphasis on decent.
These plaintiffs filed to stay the case for 60 days. Here is a quote from their filing:
3. Plaintiffs do not [...]

On Monday, Apple announced the latest and most powerful addition in its line of machines built with Intel chips.
The new Mac Pro has eye-popping specs (though the specs on the G5 quad were still pretty tight). I’d detail it in all its glory, but if you care, you’ve probably already read up on it.
Here’s the [...]

That didn’t take very long.
Over the weekend, AOL released 3 months of search records for thousands of people. Each individual person’s searches were tied to a specific number.
In this morning’s New York Times, we learn the identity of Searcher Number 4417749. Thelma Arnold’s searches left a breadcrumb trail back to her.
There are queries for “landscapers [...]

I’ve just returned from the AEJMC convention in San Francisco. Something exciting (other than my job interviews) happened there, but first let’s talk about AOL.
Over the weekend, AOL decided it was a good idea to release mountains of search results from users who did not consent. User names were replaced by numbers, but this still [...]