IDG News reports that the European Parliament has negotiated a telecom bill that “now contains a new Internet freedom provision that states that access to the Internet is a human right of every E.U. citizen, and that if authorities take away that right people must have the opportunity to defend themselves.” If indeed the bill [...]
Read more >>

Remember, remember the Fifth of November, The Gunpowder Treason and Plot Privacy Dashboard, so hot, I know of no reason Why the Gunpowder Treason Privacy Dashboard Should ever be forgot. Sorry, I couldn’t resist, this being Guy Fawkes day (a major traditional holiday for Britons and, more recently, geeky American libertarians such as myself, who dress up as V for [...]
Read more >>

Emerson once said that we should do the thing we fear, and then death of fear is certain. Similarly, parents that fear their child’s use of technology can use technology themselves to monitor, filter and block their children’s Internet use. I’m a member of the NTIA Online Safety and Technology Working Group (OSTWG) along with TLF’s [...]
Read more >>

I have ranted once or twice before about the regulatory requirement that Google—a search engine—post a link to a privacy notice on its home page. Not all computers all places may see it, but Google appears to be experimenting with a bit of javascript that leaves the page blank but for the Google image and the [...]
Read more >>

My colleague Jerry Brito and I are attending the annual meeting of the State Policy Network in Asheville, NC.  In the process, we’ve heard a lot of things said about open-source software that we don’t agree with, and some things that are just plain wrong. The reasons for this are obvious.  There are a lot of [...]
Read more >>

What to do about the influences of media and advertising on children? Generally, the saying goes that where you stand depends on where you sit–but that was not apparent at today’s event on children and media. There were 4 seats (plus moderator) at the panel on “Media, Kids, and the First Amendment” that was co-hosted by [...]
Read more >>

Here’s an entertaining and timely video from the Sunlight Foundation. Readthebill.org is where you can learn more about H. Res. 554. Have a transparent Hallowe’en everybody!
Read more >>

PFF summer fellow Eric Beach and I have been working on what we hope is a comprehensive taxonomy of all the threats to online security and privacy. In our continuing Privacy Solutions Series, we have discussed and will continue to discuss specific threats in more detail and offer tools and methods you can use to [...]
Read more >>

OnGuardOnline.gov is a project of a dozen federal agencies and several private child safety organizations who have collaborated to create a website which “provides practical tips from the federal government and the technology industry to help you be on guard against Internet fraud, secure your computer, and protect your personal information.”  The Federal [...]
Read more >>

The Parents Television Council (PTC) released a new report today entitled Women in Peril: A Look at TV’s Disturbing New Storyline Trend. The report argues that “by depicting violence against women with increasing frequency, or as a trivial, even humorous matter, the broadcast networks may ultimately be contributing to a desensitized atmosphere in which [...]
Read more >>