While Austin, TX was still searching for its serial bomber, various guests on CNN were of course speculating about the assailant’s level of expertise (perhaps even formal training) due to the technical sophistication of some of the explosive devices. Cynically, I thought, “Or he has YouTube.” For years, the internet industry, led by the major platforms, has invoked free speech ...
In late November of 2011, one of the hottest-trending, internet-related topics was the campaign to stop the SOPA/PIPA bills. In early/mid 2017, the noisiest issue was “net neutrality,” as FCC Chairman Pai made good on his promise to reverse the 2015 Open Internet Order. In both cases, the public was served volumes of emotional hyperbole, created by vested interests, used ...
“Recent inventions and business methods call attention to the next step which must be taken for the protection of the person, and for securing to the individual … the right ‘to be let alone.’ Instantaneous photographs and newspaper enterprise have invaded the sacred precincts of private and domestic life; and numerous mechanical devices threaten to make good the prediction that ...
Is the internet broken yet? I suppose if you’re reading this, it isn’t. And if you’re not reading this, you’re looking at something else. On the internet. Yesterday, the House passed the hotly-contested FOSTA, which is now the acronym for the anti-sex-trafficking legislation that combines the earlier bill SESTA with various amendments. Eric Goldman has called the progeny a Frankenstein, ...
“…it was the age of wisdom…” Goldman v. Breitbart et al An opinion handed down last week by a New York district court marks a substantial victory for rights holders, especially photographers and other visual artists. In November, I wrote about this case and opined that a too-broad application of what’s known as the “server test” effectively strips a class ...
“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.”
– Daniel J. Boorstin