In the current political climate, I imagine many artists, authors, and journalists will continue to speak up about a wide range of civil rights. While they’re at it, they should not forget their own rights. For five years now, I’ve written in defense of copyright as a civil liberty—as a property right, a labor right, and a force for strengthening ...
Last week, Karol Markowicz, writing for The New York Post, said that we’re “ruining Facebook (and friendships) with political rants.” Taking the position that Facebook is meant to be an environment for connecting with friends and family in traditionally gregarious ways—sharing kids’ photos and personal news, etc.—Markowicz makes a case that chronic political grandstanding is harming the social atmosphere of ...
It’s very common to encounter broad complaints saying things like, “Copyright law should not stop me from fixing or altering my technology.” Often, this generalization is made by people who don’t necessarily know they’re referring to Title I of the DMCA but who have read somewhere that copyright law prevents reverse engineering, maintenance, jail-breaking, and overall tinkering with products ranging ...
With the inevitability of Donald Trump’s nomination as the GOP candidate for president, I think we can officially declare the “information revolution” a rollicking success, don’t you? When the savants and silicon pioneers of the 80s and 90s predicted that the Information Superhighway would be a great leap forward for democracy, I don’t remember anyone intimating that we would ride ...
If Bernie Sanders became president and was then tough on the growing power of the Internet industry, would the progressives currently singing his praises still support him? With this post, I am neither endorsing nor indicting the candidacy of Senator Sanders himself, but as his campaign is built on a theme of holding Wall Street and corporations accountable, I have ...
