freedom of information
See the following -
EU, Facing Opposition, Suspends Ratification of Copyright Treaty, Refers to Court of Justice
The European Commission, facing opposition in city streets, on the Internet and in the halls of parliament, has suspended efforts to ratify a new international anti-counterfeiting agreement, and instead will refer it to Europe’s highest court to see whether it violates any fundamental EU rights.
- Login to post comments
FDA Staffers Sue Agency Over Surveillance of Personal E-Mail
The Food and Drug Administration secretly monitored the personal e-mail of a group of its own scientists and doctors after they warned Congress that the agency was approving medical devices that they believed posed unacceptable risks to patients, government documents show.
- Login to post comments
Finding the Balance Between Internet Freedom & Intellectual Property in the SOPA/PIPA Debate
Here at Black Duck, our business operates at this balance point, at least where free and open source software (FOSS) is concerned – and we think the FOSS community and ecosystem represent a compelling model for the US Congress to study regarding how to strike this balance.
- Login to post comments
Five Reasons the Internet's Still Protesting SOPA and PIPA
Over the weekend, it seemed like the anti-SOPA forces had won. The House temporarily shelved the Stop Online Piracy Act. The Senate sponsors of the Protect IP Act agreed to review the most controversial provisions. So why’s the Internet still so mad? Here are five reasons...
- Login to post comments
Groups Ask Congress to Postpone new Anti-Piracy Efforts
Opponents of the House's Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act in the Senate want Congress to hit pause on efforts to forge new anti-piracy legislation. In a letter sent to Capitol Hill on Monday, about 70 advocacy groups, Internet companies, and venture capitalists urged Congress to stop pushing new legislation until all concerns have been addressed.
- Login to post comments
House, Senate Postpone Piracy Bills Under Pressure
Capping a dramatic week of protests and legislative maneuvering, leaders in the Senate and the House announced on Friday that they are backing off efforts to pass a pair of controversial bills to crack down on foreign websites that use pirated content. Read More »
- Login to post comments
How PIPA and SOPA Violate White House Principles Supporting Free Speech and Innovation
Over the weekend, the Obama administration issued a potentially game-changing statement on the blacklist bills, saying it would oppose PIPA and SOPA as written, and drew an important line in the sand by emphasizing that it “will not support” any bill “that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet." Read More »
- Login to post comments
Is Broadband a Necessity or a Nice to Have?
Last month, I attended the 5th Annual Leadership North Carolina Forum. The day was filled with amazing information and thought-provoking ideas for the future. However, one session I attended kept me thinking. Read More »
- Login to post comments
ISCB Response to Research Works Act HR-3699
On February 14, 2012, the following letter was personalized to each of the 39 members of the US House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee and successfully sent via fax to their congressional offices.
- Login to post comments
Many of Largest U.S. Corporations Paid More for Lobbying Than for Federal Income Taxes
The federal government is responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars being spent each year by the largest American corporations. But it’s not tax dollars they’re spending. Rather, this sum represents the amount big business is allocating on lobbying lawmakers and federal officials, in part so the companies wind up paying considerably less on income taxes than they do on influencing public policy.
- Login to post comments
OSI Announces New Initiatives and Seeks Your Input
OSI is changing, and you can help! I spoke at FOSDEM in Brussels on Saturday on behalf of the Open Source Initiative (OSI), where I serve as a director. My noon keynote covered a little of the rationale behind OSI and a quick synopsis of its last decade from my own perspective and then announcements on OSI's behalf about the work we’re doing to make OSI strong and relevant for a new decade.
- Login to post comments
Serious Organised Crime Agency Takes Down Music Site
Here's a pretty interesting development: As part of a criminal investigation the UK Government has shut down the popular blog RnBXclusive which posted news, commentary and links to music. Authorities have arrested the owners of the site for allegedly defrauding the music industry. Read More »
- Login to post comments
SOPA and PIPA Are Bad Industrial Policy
The solution to piracy must be a market solution, not a government intervention, especially not one as ill-targeted as SOPA and PIPA. We already have laws that prohibit unauthorized resale of copyrighted material, and forward-looking content providers are developing products, business models, pricing, and channels that can and will eventually drive pirates out of business by making content readily available at a price consumers want to pay, and that ends up growing the market.
- Login to post comments
SOPA Blackouts: Free Speech or 'Abuse of Power'?
The unprecedented wave of "blackouts" and other forms of protest that swept the web on Wednesday was designed to call attention to legislation that critics contend will stifle free speech. But the dramatic move sparked debate over whether the protest itself was appropriate for websites that are often themselves arbiters of free speech online. Read More »
- Login to post comments
SOPA Stopped: So Back to ACTA
So the Tweedledum and Tweedledee of copyright maximalist legislation, SOPA and PIPA, have been halted in their passage through the US legislative process. Of course, they're not dead, but are sure to return, zombie-like, either as modified versions of the current texts or new ones that turn out to be exactly the same as the old ones at their heart. However, the unprecedented action by the Net world to get the message across that these bills were not fit for purpose does mean that our attention can swivel back to somewhere else where bad things are happening: ACTA.
- Login to post comments