The Open Market Blog

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/23/2008

The Google-Yahoo ad deal has come under a lot of scrutiny recently. As I reported earlier, in the wake of Microsoft’s failure to acquire…

• By: Christine Hall
• 06/23/2008

Ever wonder when online advertising will become more useful than annoying? Or, more useful than irrelevant? Imagine my surprise to discover an ad targeted to…

• By: Hans Bader
• 06/23/2008

A big tax increase is likely during the next administration, with self-employed people in many areas facing marginal tax rates of “60% or higher”…

• By: Eli Lehrer
• 06/23/2008

Wired, reports that a credit card company has come under fire and FTC investigation for “behavioral scoring”: reducing credit limits for people who use…

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/23/2008

We reported earlier on the New York Attorney General’s successful attempt to coerce ISPs into censoring their content. Later that day,…

• By: Hans Bader
• 06/23/2008

In today’s Wall Street Journal, CEI’s John Berlau explains how the mortgage bailout bill contains ominous provisions that would create a vast fingerprint database.  The bill also contains…

• By: Hans Bader
• 06/22/2008

Congress’s mortgage bailout bill perversely rewards the irresponsible federal agencies and politically-connected companies that caused the mortgage crisis, as the Wall Street Journal explains in an…

• By: Doug Bandow
• 06/22/2008

Travel used to be great.  It was regulated and high-priced, so most people didn’t travel that much.  With regulated prices, airlines competed based on service. …

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/20/2008

Teenagers in the UK are using Google Earth to find backyard swimming pools, then using Facebook to organize flashmobs at said pools. The…

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/20/2008

“He’s reliable. He’s considerate. He’s like your exact opposite.” “So he’s Bizarro Jerry.” “Bizarro Jerry?” “Yeah, like Bizarro Superman, Superman’s exact…

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/20/2008

Verizon announced a new, zippy broadband plan for all markets through its FiOS fiber optic service. Customers will be able to download at 50mbps…

• By: Hans Bader
• 06/20/2008

The House has overwhelmingly passed, by a vote of 293-to-129, a FISA reform bill that would kill multibillion dollar lawsuits brought by the ACLU and…

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/20/2008

Ars predicts that a new war over net neutrality has begun in Canada. The ISP Bell Canada was discovered to have reduced the speed…

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/20/2008

The FCC just granted Sprint Nextel permission to stay in the 800MHz band the company had been using to provide service to 16 million…

• By: Hans Bader
• 06/20/2008

Congressional leaders have apparently struck a deal that “would strengthen the ability of intelligence officials to eavesdrop on foreign targets.”  Such eavesdropping to fight terrorism has…

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/19/2008

CNET reveals that AT&T will be paying Apple $325 to $425 (depending on where the phone was purchased) per iPhone sold – much more…

• By: Hans Bader
• 06/19/2008

Congress has banned drilling for oil in much of America, even barren, desolate Arctic land, cutting our domestic oil supply.  The ban harms the environment…

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/19/2008

YouTube has just launched a new area, called the Screening Room, for independent shorts. According to Ars, the Screening Room “will feature…

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 06/19/2008

What to do when busybody neighbors try to tell you what you can and cannot do on your own property — and seek local government’s…

• By: Hans Bader
• 06/19/2008

A Richmond businessman lost 86 pounds eating only at McDonald’s.  Former CEI adjunct scholar Soso Whaley lost 18 pounds over the course of 60 days…

• By: Hans Bader
• 06/19/2008

The Supreme Court ruled today that federal labor law bars a state from curbing the rights of employers to speak out about union organizing by…

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/19/2008

Today, Ars takes a look at the recent political battle over “white spaces” – those gaps in the electromagnetic spectrum between television channels. Drew…

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/18/2008

Ars reports that Sweden just passed a bill that will allow “Sweden’s National Defense Radio Establishment to monitor citizens’ phone calls, text messages, e-mails,…

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/18/2008

CNET News reports that AT&T and Verizon are – shockingly – calling for the FCC to fine Comcast for its alleged violations of net…

• By: Ryan Young
• 06/18/2008

Now that the primaries are over, Sen. Barack Obama has come out in favor of NAFTA.  He told Fortune in an interview that “Sometimes…

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/18/2008

California has sent cease-and-desist letters to companies that provide direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing. California is worried that the results of the test aren’t very…

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/18/2008

An upstart WiMax company, Worldmax, is threatening to displace established telelcom companies by building Europe’s first mobile WiMax network. With impressive speeds and incredible…

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/18/2008

A group of locals, imbued with civil pride, have agreed to take over Philadelphia’s failing municipal wireless internet access. Earthlink was initially going…

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/18/2008

Back in 2005, the FCC gave providers of voice-over-internet service a mandate to, within a very short time frame, link all of their customers…

• By: Alex Harris
• 06/18/2008

Ars has a good piece today on the FCC’s lack of clarity about its own minority broadcasting rules. Apparently, to avoid mandating discrimination based…