“Internet access is not a human right,” wrote Vinton Cerf in an OpEd in the New York Times on Thursday. Cerf is a prominent computer scientist who worked on the DARPA project that gave rise to the Internet, and is revered as the “Father of the Internet.” (more)
The technology industry is upset over a bill that would muck up the whole Internet just to keep people from illegally downloading copyrighted stuff like movies. But the “Stop Online Piracy Act” (SOPA) is not the only dumb idea politicians have had about technology. (more)
Texas Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, the ranking member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, told The Daily Caller that the Federal Communications Commission’s “net neutrality” rules demonstrate a “fundamental disregard of the Constitution.” Hutchison said the rules are an attempt by the Obama administration to regulate the “one economic engine in America that is thriving.” (more)
In Self-Reliance, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” (more)
Verizon announced Tuesday that its newest smartphone — the Samsung Galaxy Nexus — will not carry the Google Wallet app, but “net neutrality” interest groups with deep ties to Sprint cried foul, even while Google’s own business deals with Sprint precluded it from being featured in the new Verizon smartphone. (more)
Ten years after the attacks of September 11, 2001, a new amendment to a House bill to provide police officers and firemen with the electromagnetic spectrum frequencies needed to improve their communications networks could possibly sink the whole bill in the Senate. The communications bill is designed to prevent the problems during September 11, when first responders died because police and fire departments could not communicate with each other. (RELATED: Spectrum: What it is, and why it matters) (more)
Rumors of a Facebook phone for U.S. consumers — codenamed “Buffy“ – has the tech blogosphere wondering whether it would like the new device, but pro-net neutrality groups remain silent on whether such devices violate the very principles of preserving an “open Internet” which they fought to uphold, pursued through the Federal Communications Commission’s “Open Internet” rules. (more)
Days after the FCC’s so-called “net neutrality” regulations took effect, Black Friday shoppers pepper-sprayed human obstacles in order to fill out their Christmas lists, which for at least some probably included this year’s tablets and smartphones. A Facebook smartphone, since at this point it is only a rumor, was not on among those items. (more)
The Federal Communications Commission’s “Open Internet” rules — also known as net neutrality — took effect Sunday, after a year-long battle in Congress. Some market-based technology experts, however, have expressed doubt that the rules will be upheld when the case comes before the federal appellate court in 2012. (more)
The House Judiciary Committee met Wednesday to hear witnesses discuss the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) — a highly anticipated and controversial piece of copyright enforcement legislation that has inspired a public relations war between Hollywood and Silicon Valley. (more)
Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison had a message for Democratic Sen. Al Franken during Wednesday’s Senate floor debate to overturn the Federal Communication Commission’s Internet regulation: “We didn’t have net neutrality in 2005.” (more)
Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) President Grover Norquist sent a letter to senators on Tuesday, informing them that their vote on net neutrality may be considered in ATR’s yearly congressional scorecards, which rate congressmen based on their votes. The Senate floor debate to overturn the Federal Communication Commission’s Internet regulation took place on Wednesday in preparation for a vote expected Thursday. (more)
The White House delivered a widely expected statement Tuesday, saying that it will veto any legislation to overturn the Federal Communications Commission’s “Open Internet” regulations. (more)
Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry sent a letter Friday to colleagues in the Senate rallying support against the Republican-sponsored Resolution of Disapproval to overturn the FCC’s net neutrality regulations. (more)
Texas Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison said Tuesday that a Senate vote to overturn the FCC’s net neutrality rules might come as early as next week. The vote would happen just days ahead of November 20, when the rules are scheduled to take effect. (more)
President Barack Obama announced Monday evening his Federal Communications Commissioner nominations: Ajit Varadaraj Pai and Jessica Rosenworcel. The candidates — a Republican and a Democrat, respectively — bring to the positions years of telecommunications and Capitol Hill experience. (more)
Frank La Rue, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression who made summer headlines when he proclaimed Internet access as a basic human right, conducted his research and delivered his conclusions with the support of organizations funded by liberal financier George Soros, The Daily Caller has learned. (more)
Even as I type, President Barack Obama is rolling along on his Canadian bus-fueled (he couldn’t go Government Motors?) “Re-Elect Me” Tour. (more)
They were shot down in court. Their plan failed in Congress. Polls have shown strong opposition from the American public. But all this didn’t stop the Federal Communications Commission from moving forward with new “net neutrality” Internet regulations. (more)
CityVille and The Sims Social gaming looks to have improved ten-fold. (more)
