Where the White House "Big Data" Report Falls Short
BY Jessica McKenzie | Tuesday, May 6 2014
The White House released its report on big data Friday to general approval from civil rights advocates for its acknowledgement of the dangers of discrimination through new ways of manipulating, combining and analyzing personal data. However, a number of concerns remain: that the report was too starry-eyed about big data; that the report gave preference to industry stakeholders rather than citizen consumers; and that its policy recommendations were not forceful enough.
Read MoreMexican Politicians "Cave" to Internet Activists, But Was It A Ruse?
BY Jessica McKenzie | Friday, May 2 2014
President Barack Obama and President Enrique Peña Nieto of Mexico share a toast (Wikipedia)
Last week activists in Mexico drew the world's attention to a bill proposed by President Enrique Peña Nieto that would do away with net neutrality and user privacy measures, among other changes. The protest hashtag #EPNvsInternet (Enrique Peña Nieto vs the Internet) drew nearly a million tweets and became a global trending topic. Hundreds of protesters took to the streets to protest the bill on April 22 in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey. The media reported that Mexico's governing party immediately backed away from the proposed legislation, with promises to change the problematic clauses before the vote, which has been postponed until June. However, activists behind #EPNvsInternet worry that the party will try to pass the bill with little to no changes during the Football World Cup, when the attention of their citizens is elsewhere.
Read MoreFirst POST: Big Data Analytics
BY Micah L. Sifry | Friday, May 2 2014
Analyzing the White House report on "Big Data"; Larry Lessig starts a SuperPAC to end all SuperPACs; why Marc Andreessen is bullish on the news business; and much, much more. Read More
First POST: Messaging
BY Micah L. Sifry | Wednesday, April 30 2014
How Americans are(n't) responding to the dangers of the Heartbleed bug; mobile politicking's unconquered territory; how some of Silicon Valley is embracing the "nerd prom"; and much, much more. Read More
First POST: Unfreezing
BY Micah L. Sifry | Monday, April 28 2014
How to explain the FCC's Internet proposal to your dullest relative; why muni broadband is the next frontier; debating what's powering the rise of the "sharing economy"; and much, much more. Read More
Armenian Legislators: You Can Be As Anonymous on the 'Net As You Like—Until You Can't
BY Jessica McKenzie | Tuesday, April 22 2014
Imagine if you could be unmasked on the Internet at any moment. (Flickr/Fibonacci Blue)
A proposed bill in Armenia would make it illegal for media outlets to include defamatory remarks by anonymous or fake sources, and require sites to remove libelous comments within 12 hours unless they identify the author.
Read MoreFounder Durov On Being Ousted From "Russian Facebook": "Some of What We Managed Is Already Impossible to Undo"
BY Jessica McKenzie | Tuesday, April 22 2014
Screenshot of Durov's VK account
On Monday Pavel Durov, the founder of “Russian Facebook” VKontakte, announced that he was fired—and that he learned of the dismissal from the news media.
Read MoreFirst POST: Tipping Points
BY Micah L. Sifry | Wednesday, April 16 2014
Mike Bloomberg puts some more muscle into his gun control campaigning; Mark Zuckerberg now likes multiple identities; Airbnb wishes it could collect taxes in New York State; and much, much more. Read More
Security Agencies Given Full Access to Telecom Data Even Though "All Lebanese Can Not Be Suspects"
BY Jessica McKenzie | Monday, April 14 2014
In late March, Lebanese government ministers granted security agencies unrestricted access to telecommunications data in spite of some ministers objections that it violates privacy rights. Global Voices reports that the policy violates Lebanon's existing surveillance and privacy law, Law 140, but has gotten little coverage from the country's mainstream media.
Read MoreFirst POST: Bleeding Hearts
BY Micah L. Sifry | Monday, April 14 2014
Did the NSA exploit the Heartbleed bug instead of fixing it?; one in five Americans online has had their private accounts hacked; UltraViolet gets under Dartmouth's skin with online ads; and much, much more. Read More