The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News
GLOBAL WARMING
Environmental activists push global warming policies on the local level.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Iain Murray on what everyone should know about global warming.
“Alarm over the prospect of the Earth warming is not warranted by the agreed science or economics of the issue. Global warming is happening and man is responsible for at least some of it. Yet this does not mean that global warming will cause enough damage to the Earth and humanity to require drastic cuts in energy use, a policy that would have damaging consequences of its own.”
DATA SECURITY
The FBI says no personal records were accessed on a recovered stolen laptop containing data on 26 million veterans and troops.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Director of Technology Studies Wayne Crews and Policy Analyst Brooke Oberwetter on how private industry can protect data better than government mandates.
“Government solutions tend to disincentivize honesty and cooperation among industry players in the long term, leading to even greater problems of imperfect information. Intervention can also interfere with prices, meaning a less efficient allocation of resources. In addition to economic inefficiency, regulations can define industry standards down and reduce innovations in the field of cybersecurity, leading to lower levels of security than we have now.”
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
France approves mandated iTunes interoperability standards.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Technology Analyst Peter Suderman on how France’s law impedes digital property rights.
“France’s law would require that Apple release the technical details of the digital-rights management (DRM) scheme it uses on its iTunes music store in the name of interoperability. Currently, songs purchased from iTunes can be played only on computers with iTunes software and Apple’s iPod portable MP3 players—in other words, devices managed by Apple. This allows Apple to constrain the use of the songs to certified software and devices, giving them more control over the listener’s experience. It also puts a damper on illegal copying and distribution, giving the record companies who license Apple to sell the songs some peace of mind. … The French law is the virtual equivalent of requiring Best Buy to release details of its theft-prevention system; it mandates that a private company release proprietary, secret information for the sake of openness.”
Blog feature: For more news and analysis, updated throughout the day, visit CEI Open Market.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
To contact a CEI expert for comment or interviews, please call the CEI communications department at 202-331-2273 or email to [email protected].
To subscribe to this and other email newsletters, visit CEI online.
To be removed from CEI Daily Update, please reply to this message with “REMOVE” in the subject line.