legislation
New Study Shows Patent Laws Spur Patents; Report's Authors Pretend This Means Innovation
www.techdirt.com
Slashdot points us to an article about a new research report, commissioned by a biotech trade group that argues the evidence shows that patents spur innovation, rather than hinder it. However, as some quickly noticed, the report has severe methodological flaws, starting with the fact that it seems to use...
The Circuit: Cybersecurity, LightSquared, Nortel
www.washingtonpost.com
Cybersecurity bill: The Senate unveiled new comprehensive cybersecurity legislation Tuesday that would require the Department of Homeland Security to determine which infrastructure systems should be required to meet a set of security standards, grant owners and operators of these systems the right to appeal that designation and consolidate cybersecurity...
Google's self-driving cars will return to roots, tour California
www.engadget.com
Thanks to a new law passed in California, Google's driverless cars might soon be stuck in its traffic with all the other hapless commuters. Although they won't hit the highway yet, like they can in Nevada, the bipartisan bill will allow bureaucrats to craft safety and performance standards --...
House Republicans vote to limit FCC authority
news.cnet.com
Republicans in the House of Representatives earlier this week passed legislation that would restrict the FCC in imposing merger conditions as well as limiting other measures. [Read more]...
Smackdown: UFC plans to drag individual ‘streaming pirates’ to court for copyright violation
thenextweb.com
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is preparing itself for a new fight in its ongoing battle against Internet piracy. The organisation’s supremo Dana White has been vocal in his stance on Internet piracy, but his organisation is taking its efforts to the next level with plans to sue individual Internet...
Obama urges Senate to pass Cybersecurity Act, citing 'growing' cyber attack dangers to US
www.theverge.com
After issuing a directive to focus on the mobile revolution in May, President Barack Obama has turned his sights to US telecommunications recently — to ensure the internet keeps running in the event of a natural disaster or national security emergency. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed this week,...
Will Voluntary Cyber Threat Sharing Plan Cast Doubt Over CISPA?
www.pcworld.com
Administration may expand DIB CS/IA program to companies, but experts say some legislation is still necessary....
New Interest in Hacking as Threat to Security
bits.blogs.nytimes.com
An increase in reported attacks on computer systems that control critical infrastructure, factories and databases has prompted a new interest in cybersecurity on Capitol Hill, reports Michael S. Schmidt in Wednesday's New York Times. Lawmakers are being prodded by the Obama administration to advance legislation that could require new standards...
Reddit members drafting 'Free Internet Act', but will it be taken seriously?
www.techspot.com
Members of the Internet community Reddit are in the process of drafting what is tentatively being called the Free Internet Act (or the Internet Freedom Act). The primary goal of FIA is to create a legitimate piece of legislation designed to counteract what SOPA and PIPA wish to do...
Let Congress Know That It's Time To Pass Startup Act 2.0
www.techdirt.com
For years now, we've been pointing out the ridiculous situation that the US has with denying visas to entrepreneurs. Over and over again, research has shown how skilled immigrants starting companies in the US help create new jobs. So we were excited earlier this year when plans for a Startup...
Autonomous car legislation passes California senate
www.electronista.com
California Senate Bill 1298 unanimously passed the California State Senate today outlining performance and safety requirements for autonomous, or driverless, vehicles on the California roads system. California Highway Patrol would have the responsibility to evaluate the operation of unmanned vehicles. Google, a sponsor of the bill, has tested driverless cars...
Andrew Keen Weighs In On Privacy: “The Internet Hasn’t Learned How To Forget”
techcrunch.com
TechCrunch contributor Andrew Keen took to the Disrupt stage with our own Alexia Tsotsis earlier this morning to do two things — promote his new book Digital Vertigo, and tackle the problem of sharing too much. According to Keen, the more of our lives we broadcast, the more transparent we...
Anti-piracy laws around the world
www.bbc.co.uk
Comparing different approaches to anti-piracy legislation...
FCC evaluating 'reverse auction' for unused TV bandwidth
www.electronista.com
In February, Congress passed legislation allowing the FCC to re-allocate wireless spectrum by acquiring it from television broadcasters. The three-phase plan to re-acquire bandwidth has entered the rule-making process on Friday. The reverse auction process will allow the FCC to rearrange the remaining broadcasters to make larger blocks of spectrum...
Leaked slides show the RIAA might hit snags identifying copyright infringement, doesn't really care about SOPA
www.theverge.com
The RIAA is still pushing hard for anti-piracy policies, but it may be looking more towards private agreements than legislation. TorrentFreak has published leaked slides from a presentation given by Deputy General Counsel Vicky Sheckler to members of the IFPI, a global recording industry advocacy group. Dated April 26th,...
Leaked slides show the RIAA might hit snags identifying copyright infringement, doesn't really care about SOPA
Why Do We Need Academic Journals In The First Place?
paidcontent.org
It may not get as much attention as the disruption that is occurring in newspapers, e-books or other parts of the mainstream media industry, but there is a revolution of sorts going on in the academic publishing business. It has recently exploded into public view with the boycott of Elsevier...
Let Congress Know That It's Time To Pass Startup Act 2.0
www.techdirt.com
For years now, we've been pointing out the ridiculous situation that the US has with denying visas to entrepreneurs. Over and over again, research has shown how skilled immigrants starting companies in the US help create new jobs. So we were excited earlier this year when plans for a Startup...
Rep. Anna Eshoo promises FCC bill if net neutrality rules overturned #thecircuit
www.washingtonpost.com
Net neutrality: Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) said Tuesday that she would introduce legislation affirming the Federal Communications Commission's jurisdiction to "ensure a free and open Internet."According to remarks prepared for a speech, Eshoo said she would introduce such a bill if the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District...
Reddit Writes A Law: First Draft Of The Free Internet Act Emerges
www.techdirt.com
As we noted last month, the community at Reddit responded to the whole SOPA mess by deciding that they should collaborate to write their own piece of legislation that protects internet freedoms. The first draft of the Free Internet Act is now available as an open Google doc, where there...
Can The Government Really Walk The Line Of Regulating The Internet Without Screwing It Up?
techdirt.com
Recently, when I wrote about new moves by the federal government to gain more regulatory control over the internet, I mentioned our discussion from a couple months ago of a presentation by Lawrence Strickling, the head of the National Telecommunications and Information Agency (a division of the Department of Commerce),...
RIAA Still Doesn't Get It: Hopes SOPA Opposition Was A 'One-Time Experience'
www.techdirt.com
In a previous post, I looked at the first part of Andrew Keen's interview with RIAA CEO Cary Sherman. In the second half of the interview, Sherman fields some audience questions collected on Twitter, and his answers further expose the serious problems with his understanding of what's happening in music,...
Anonymous hacks into tech and telecom sites
news.cnet.com
Two trade association sites that boast members such as Apple, Microsoft, IBM, AT&T, and Verizon come under attack by hackers for supporting cybersecurity legislation. [Read more]...
As USTR Insists ACTA Doesn't Need Congressional Approval, Wyden Asks State Dept. For A Second Opinion
www.techdirt.com
Back in October, we noted that Senator Ron Wyden had sent the Obama administration a letter pointing out that it appeared unconstitutional for the President to sign ACTA without getting Congressional approval. The USTR had been insisting that because ACTA does not require any change to US law, it doesn't...
As USTR Insists ACTA Doesn't Need Congressional Approval, Wyden Asks State Dept. For A Second Opinion
Supporters of Online Sales Tax Say It's Good for Consumers
www.pcworld.com
Legislation that would allow U.S. states to collect sales tax from online sellers is good for consumers, because it would help them pay the taxes they already......
What happens when social surveillance goes mainstream?
gigaom.com
The 18th-century philosopher Jeremy Bentham came up with an idea for a futuristic prison he called the “Panopticon,” a building with mirrors that would allow everyone to see what their neighbors were doing. Thanks to the growth of social tools like Twitter and Facebook and Foursquare, we now have...
Netflix Facebook Sharing Bill Clears Senate, Waiting For Obama's OK
allthingsd.com
Want to tell your Facebook pals what you’re watching on Netflix? Netflix wants to help you do that. And it’s now very close to doing that for American users: The U.S. Senate has passed a bill that would give the video service the go-ahead to facilitate “frictionless sharing” of users’...
A Responsible Citizen Not Only Shares Culture, But Destroys The Copyright Industries
torrentfreak.com
“Honest.” This word was used by the copyright industry, to try to get citizens to do their bidding. Honest. Could you believe that today? This industry dared take that word in their mouths? For some time, it may actually have worked. Not for us who worked with technology and knew...
UK internet monitoring bill set to be rewritten after privacy complaints
www.theverge.com
The British government has said it will rewrite a proposed law that would have required ISPs to store user information like browsing history and email details for up to a year, the BBC reports. The Draft Communications Data Bill was introduced by UK Home Secretary Theresa May, who has...
Low-Tech Burglars to Get Lighter Sentences in Louisiana
www.schneier.com
This is the kind of law that annoys me: A Senate bill to toughen penalties for crimes committed with the aid of Internet-generated "virtual maps," including acts of terrorism, won quick approval Monday in the House. [...] Adley's bill defines a "virtual street-level map" as one that is available on...
MPAA chief: SOPA and Protect IP back from the grave?
news.cnet.com
The Motion Picture Association of America hasn't exactly given up on the Stop Online Piracy Act or similar legislation, despite January's widespread protests. [Read more]...
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