Today, the Economic Policy Institute releases my paper on “The Benefits of Robust Wired and Wireless Networks.” From the press release: The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) today released an analysis of the broadband ecosystem, the strategic importance of broadband deployment and the role that the AT&T/T-Mobile merger could play in closing the broadband gaps in [...]
The Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement with Facebook today, requiring a 20-year monitoring of the company to avoid deceptive violations of user privacy in the future. “Facebook is obligated to keep the promises about privacy that it makes to its hundreds of millions of users,” said Jon Leibowitz, Chairman of the FTC. “Facebook’s innovation [...]
There can be an annoying aspect of debates on user privacy and data where every time important data is shared by companies like Google, they claim it was an accident (see Wi-Spy) or even what users wanted. However, you have to wonder about a new analysis of Privacy On Google+ highlighted in MIT’s Technology Review [...]
I recently noted the weak security in Google products and new figures show that the fractured nature of the Android market means most Android product owners don’t even have up-to-date versions of security software: The latest figures from Google’s Android developer web site show that 44.4 per cent of users have the latest version of [...]
The Treasury Department told Google to shut down 85 advertisers who were scamming struggling homeowners with bogus “loan modification” or similar scams. The advertisers were preying on homeowners seeking help through the Home Affordable Modification Program, created as part of the TARP program. In a press release today, the Treasury Department alleged that scammers charged [...]
The Communications Workers of America is in a drawn out contract fight with Verizon and is highlighting the fact that not only is the company trying to ripoff its employees, it’s also ripping off the taxpayers. A report by Citizens for Tax Justice early this month had highlighted top corporate tax avoiders and Verizon was [...]
So Google has finally agreed to allow users to remove their wi-fi location from Google’s database of wi-fi locations created by its Street View snooping vehicles. All you have to do is log into your WiFi access point and change your SSID by adding “_nomap” to it. Now, for those who don’t know how to [...]
It does seem odd that TV stations get fined by the government for language that would barely get you a PG rating at the movies. And five non-profit groups are urging the Supreme Court to end ‘censorship’ of television broadcasts: In a brief with the court, the Cato Institute, the Center for Democracy and Technology, [...]
Clint Boulton over at eWeek’s GoogleWatch has been notably skeptical of claims that Google is not a monopoly needing antitrust action. In the past he’s said there is no legal issues since, ” Google is playing the old game with the new Internet rules.” But Eric Schmidt’s new comment in response to Senator’s question that [...]
Consumer Watch notes that a New York Post article indicates that the Federal Trade Commission’s investigation of Google is focusing on whether the company illegally sought to tie its control of the Android software to force manufacturers to use Google products such as Google Maps and other Google services — the same kind of “tying” [...]
