Archives

• By: Alex Harris
• 02/14/2009

Bureaucrash just posted a new round of libertarian lolcats to the networking site, Bureaucrash Social. Many are topical. Many are…

• By: Alex Harris
• 02/13/2009

It’s been a while since I posted here, but I thought OpenMarket readers may want to check out a piece I have up on…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/15/2008

I promised, and I shall deliver. As it's my last day as an intern at CEI, this is my last Philosopher's Corner post,…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/15/2008

Who doesn't love a good half-litre? Over at the self-proclaimed “irreverant blog for food outlaws” Crispy on the Outside (which our own…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/15/2008

The Federal Election Commission has held that bloggers are covered by the same rules as journalists, permitting them to write about candidates without their…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/15/2008

The British government has not been known for its high level of respect for privacy. But this truly surprised me. Vnunet reports: The…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/15/2008

On Tuesday, I reported on overblown concerns that the rate of increase in broadband subscribers is not the same as it used to be,…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/15/2008

It’s Friday again, and also my last day as an intern at CEI. So, I’m posting another Toothpastefordinner comic. Any…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/14/2008

Another update on Congress's continuing investigation into online targeted advertising. Google responded by stating that the company does not engage in Deep Packet…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/14/2008

A lawsuit filed for defamation against Wikipedia has just been dismissed by a federal judge. The ruling holds that Wikipedia is not liable…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/14/2008

Ars reports on a strange move by British ISP Virgin Media. Facing pressure from the government to cut down on P2P downloading (I guess…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/13/2008

My colleague Courtney Long and I have been posting about a series of contradictory decisions regarding whether eBay should be held…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/12/2008

Following on the heels of Dardenne Prairie, Missouri, the state of California is considering passing a law harshly punishing “cyberbullies” with expulsion, up to…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/12/2008

CNET and the Consumer Electronics Association have just released a new index of consumer confidence in the technology sector. Consumer confidence in…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/12/2008

Last week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee began an unnecessary investigation into behavioral advertising practices. As I reported yesterday, Yahoo responded by…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/12/2008

It's that time again. Time for another (and perhaps the last!) Philosopher's Corner, the recurring feature where I explore questions of justice that pose…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/12/2008

CNET reports on the increasing number of states that are taxing internet downloads. This comes just months after the controversy surrounding New…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/12/2008

Back in June, I reported on a bandwidth scare – a report suggesting that the US is lagging in broadband deployment. In the…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/12/2008

Last month, I wrote a post entitled “Congressmen Oppose Boneheaded National Wireless Plan.” The post detailed how Republican Congressmen who were initially in favor…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/11/2008

I reported last week on the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s superfluous investigation into behavioral advertising. It looks like Yahoo is a little scared…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/11/2008

It’s not just their looser drug and prostitution laws. The Dutch are also ahead of the US in some free speech areas. Last month, I…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/11/2008

The California Supreme Court just upheld an 1872 law banning non-compete clauses – agreements that after a manager leaves a company, she won’t…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/11/2008

The 9th Circuit is hearing a Wiretap Act case that could have broad implications for online privacy. The MPAA hired a hacker who intercepted…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/11/2008

We’ve previously reported on government-coerced censorship of websites in France, New York, and California. Now Italy is doing it too. This…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/11/2008

Last month, I reported that the Electronic Frontier Foundation and American Civil Liberties Union had submitted a Freedom of Information Act request…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/11/2008

Doug Bandow's post on the weak economy hurting the environmental movement got me thinking. Specifically, it got me thinking about Stuff White People…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/08/2008

Yesterday, I reported on the conclusion of the XM-Sirius merger and what it says about the fate of the potential Dish-DirecTV merger. Now, there…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/07/2008

The always hilarious online comic Toothpastefordinner does a send-off of tax policy.

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/07/2008

Several weeks ago, I reported on Bell Canada’s attempt to resolve congestion issues on its network by throttling heavy P2P users. Some doubted…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/07/2008

Apparently, positive portrayals of marital sex are just not super-interesting to TV viewers. So finds a study by the Parents Television Council. The PTC…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/07/2008

It looks like Dish Network and DirecTV are once again considering a merger. The companies must believe the deal would be greatly mutually-beneficial, if…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/06/2008

For the first time ever, the Committee on Presidential Debates has partnered with a website. MySpace, the social networking site that has come under…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/05/2008

Yesterday, I posted on a new technology, called Selectable Output Control, that will allow customers to get movies on their TVs only a…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/05/2008

A group of artists called the Center for Creative Voices in Media has filed an amicus brief in the case now before the Supreme…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/05/2008

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals just handed a victory to Cablevision, a provider of remote DVRs. Unlike regular DVRs, which store your recordings…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/04/2008

It's time for another Philosopher's Corner, an exploration of libertarian issues from a perspective of justice, not consequences. Libertarian political philosophers agree about…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/04/2008

Bad news today for lovers of liberty and lovers of video games. Thailand has just banned Grand Theft Auto IV, following an incident…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/04/2008

A new use for TV cables has got some consumer groups up in arms. Yes, you read that right: a new use for…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/04/2008

A while back, the FTC proposed voluntary rules governing behavioral advertising. The Commission sought comments on its rules, and many organizations…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/01/2008

I just reported on a big case of an administrative agency and Congress opposing each other in their regulatory decisions. Now, there’s another. Though…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/01/2008

The U.S. Securities and Exchanges Commission finally rewrote their rules governing how businesses must disclose information to the public to allow businesses to post…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/01/2008

I reported last month on a remarkable Ninth Circuit ruling holding that border police can search citizens’ laptops without cause. Now, the Department of…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/01/2008

Anyone waking up at noon today and looking into net neutrality issues would have found two ironically juxtaposed headlines facing them. First, the big…

• By: Alex Harris
• 08/01/2008

CNET's Marguerite Reardon reports: A judge in California has ruled that Sprint Nextel's early termination fees are illegal and said the wireless operator…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/31/2008

Last month, Google slightly improved the relevancy of the ads it displays when you search for something. In addition to taking your last…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/31/2008

I reported here earlier on public safety agencies holding up spectrum owed to Sprint-Nextel. I also reported on repeated demands for even…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/30/2008

In addition to massive federal probes of the deal, the nonexclusive Google-Yahoo ad pact is facing scrutiny from states as well. The California…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/29/2008

Rather than trying to fight individual violators of copyright, the MPAA is creating a website with links to legitimate movie sources, like local movie…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/29/2008

Ars has a good discussion of the US Patent and Trademark Office’s recent switch in policy towards software patents. Before, the USPTO would issue…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/29/2008

Last year, AT&T submitted to the FCC a petition for forbearance from some old reporting requirements that were designed back in the days of…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/29/2008

I reported last Thursday that the FCC was set to approve the long-ignored XM-Sirius merger. Yesterday, it finally came through… but hampered by…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/29/2008

A year and 90 days ago, Qwest gave the FCC a request for forbearance from complying with some outdated price controls. The FCC had a…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/25/2008

On Tuesday, a federal appeals court struck down the latest version of the Child Online Protection Act, an internet censorship bill. AmLaw Daily…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/24/2008

Courtney and I have been working for weeks on creating libertarian versions of the popular hilariously-captioned kitty pictures known as “lolcats.” Bureaucrash…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/24/2008

We have previously discussed how government often mandates online privacy violations through data retention mandates and tracking requirements. Now, Congress has tucked…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/24/2008

CNET News reports: A group of researchers from the University of Colorado and University of Washington could face both civil and criminal penalties for…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/24/2008

An interesting little tidbit: A small town in Minnesota is trying to borrow $25 million in bonds to install a fiber-optic network. But now…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/22/2008

My colleague Ryan Radia has an excellent post at TLF about Comcast’s decision to resist New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s attempts to…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/22/2008

Ars reports that the movie industry has gathered together a task force to create standards for making 3D movies available in the home. Now…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/22/2008

Cord Blomquist has an interesting post at TLF about the Google-Viacom lawsuit. He points out that forcing YouTube to take down infringing…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/22/2008

TiVo, the popular DVR company, is partnering with Amazon.com to allow TV viewers to buy products while watching their recorded TV shows. This is…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/22/2008

Last week, I introduced a new feature called the Philosopher's Corner, where I will examine libertarian issues from the point of view of justice,…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/21/2008

Ars reports on a novel use of in-car GPS technology: getting you out of undeserved speeding tickets. Apparently, a teenager was erroneously ticketed…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/21/2008

A Dutch court ruled today that a group of researchers who figured out how to break into RFID tags used in smartcards around the…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/21/2008

Two down, one to go. Two commissioners are now on board with approving the XM-Sirius merger, which has already been held up for…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/21/2008

Ars reports that Intel is lobbying the FCC to require all cable boxes to contain ethernet ports. Ostensibly to support device openness, Intel’s…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/17/2008

Australia’s government is requiring the country’s websites to include ratings of age-appropriateness similar to those used for movies and games. Further, websites deemed only…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/17/2008

Google revealed a little more today about how the company’s mysterious search algorithm works. In order to keep improving search – and making sure…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/16/2008

You might remember the controversial Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, which in 1998 retroactively extended copyrights that were set to expire (to life…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/16/2008

A lawyer is suing Google because his ads didn’t generate any business for him. The attorney, Hal Levitte, placed ads with Google and paid…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/16/2008

MSNBC has an interesting piece on New York's new food-labelling law. New York is the first city in the country to require restaurants to put…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/16/2008

Congress is at it again, and once again the victim is NebuAd. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce is sending threatening letters to…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/16/2008

Cable companies are fighting the impending FCC ruling against Comcast for violating net neutrality principles. They seek the freedom to try out different…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/16/2008

As I've mentioned in previous posts, my academic background is in political philosophy and I tend to approach policy issues from a rights-based perspective.

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/16/2008

The Library of Congress is having problems with digital preservation, due to copyright laws. Though the Librarian of Congress gets to carve out exceptions…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/15/2008

Today, a network administrator for the city of San Francisco was arrested for “taking control of the city’s computer network and locking administrators out,”…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/15/2008

The talk surrounding global warming has mostly been about regulation: carbon taxes, cap-and-trade schemes, or - worse - outright mandates. But technology can offer solutions…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/15/2008

Pretty much everyone has gotten into the Google-Yahoo thicket. First, it was the companies themselves, by intentionally leaving time for regulators to kill the…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/15/2008

There's an interesting discussion on the Technology Liberation Front, a popular blog for those interested in liberating technology from the hands of government, about…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/15/2008

Viacom has just agreed to let Google anonymize the data it will be handing over to Viacom as part of the copyright infringement lawsuit…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/14/2008

On Friday, the FCC rejected complaints from public interest groups whining that some Chicago and Milwaukee stations did not give a lot of coverage…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/14/2008

The NFL Network (NFLN) has been quite aggressive in its demands for cable providers to include it in their lineups. Back in 2006, Adam Thierer…

• By: Alex Harris
• 07/14/2008

According to tech news site ArsTechnica, Companies looking for a competitive edge over their rivals have in recent years been making use of a…