“Major technology companies and civil liberties groups have joined Facebook in a closed courtroom battle over secret government access to social media records,” reports The Washington Post’s Ann Marimow.
LaunchNet neutrality is under attack by Trump’s FCC chair — join NPI and John Oliver in defending it
Action item: Visit GoFCCYourself.com. Click “Express” and demand the FCC to “keep strong net neutrality rules backed by Title II.”
LaunchWhy one Republican voted to kill privacy rules: “Nobody has to use the Internet”
Today in Republican idiocy, we present a ridiculous statement by Jim Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin, who is sadly lacking any sense.
LaunchMontana, other states working on legislation to protect broadband internet privacy
“States have started writing their own legislation to protect broadband privacy after Congress voted to repeal regulations that would have required internet providers to obtain their customers’ consent before collecting their personal information,” reports Matt Volz for The Associated Press.
LaunchTrump Is President. Now Encrypt Your Email.
Encrypting your communication isn’t a matter of hiding criminal activity; it’s a matter of ensuring innocuous activity can’t be deemed suspicious by a zealous prosecutor
LaunchWhy “unlimited” data plans are coming back
Looking at this past week, one thing is clear: competition is good for consumers — at least on the surface level. When forced to operate
LaunchDemocrats promise to fight threats to kill net neutrality
“Six Democrats in the Senate say the Trump administration will have a major fight on its hands if Republicans try to dismantle net neutrality protections,” CNET reports.
LaunchInside the strange, paranoid world of Julian Assange
Assange is a gifted public speaker, with a talent for playing the media, struggling with an inability to scale up and professionalise his operation, to
LaunchSenators King, Heinrich urge President Obama to strengthen cybersecurity networks
In a letter published after the massive and unprecedented cyberattack on Dyn, Maine’s Angus King and New Mexico’s Martin Heinrich called on President Obama to adopt government-wide policies to help detect vulnerabilities and communicate them to the private sector.
LaunchNew 564 area code coming to western Washington; 10 digit dialing will be required
It’s official: Washington State will soon be getting a new area code (number 564). The Utilities and Transportation Commission has signed off on a plan to make the new area code available to the western half of the state, “including the 360, 206, 253, and 425 area codes as numbers in those areas become exhausted,” the agency said in a press release.
LaunchFCC Chairman Tom Wheeler must be doing a decent job, because telco executives aren’t happy with him
The chairman is the rare former lobbyist who is using his industry expertise to aggressively promote the broader public interest…. Neither the cable nor wireless
LaunchGerman automakers who once laughed off Elon Musk are now starting to worry
“Some in Germany are now, rather belatedly, seeing Tesla as a long-term threat to the pride and joy of the country’s economy: the car industry that employs 750,000 workers and indirectly accounts for 1 in 8 jobs,” The Los Angeles Times reports.
LaunchFBI backs down in fight with Apple, says it will test whether it can break in to shooter’s iPhone without company’s help
In a court filing, the Department of Justice asked a judge to hold off on its request to compel Apple to cooperate in breaking into an iPhone used by Syed Riziwan Farook, one of the perpetrators in the San Bernardino mass shootings. The DOJ said an “outside party” had shown the FBI a way off possibly breaking into Farook’s iPhone without needing any help from Apple.
LaunchApple general counsel Bruce Sewell slams Department of Justice for “false accusations and innuendo”
We add security features to protect our customers from hackers and criminals. And the FBI should be supporting us in this because it keeps everyone
LaunchHere’s how electric cars will cause the next oil crisis
“A shift is under way that will lead to widespread adoption of electric vehicles in the next decade,” writes Bloomberg’s Tom Randall.
LaunchApple’s shareholders offer support for stance against FBI
Bloomberg reports that Apple shareholders are supportive of CEO Tim Cook’s decision to fight a court order granted at the behest of the FBI, which the FBI sought to compel Apple’s help to break into an iPhone used by one of the perpetrators of the San Bernardino shootings.
LaunchComcast outages anger thousands across the country
Media and telecommunications giant Comcast is having another bad day, with service outages being recorded across the country. Angry customers are complaining on social media, using their cellular data to shame the company for its shoddy service.
LaunchThe resolution of the Bitcoin experiment
Bitcoin developer Mike Hearn explains in detail why the ecosystem that has developed around the experimental virtual currency is falling apart.
LaunchJournalist: I moved to GNU/Linux and it’s even better than I expected
Saying goodbye to Apple and Microsoft has never been easier, or so satisfying, writes Dan Gillmor.
LaunchThe clock is ticking on a time bomb that could blow up a free Internet: the TPP
The clock is ticking on a time bomb that could blow up a free Internet: the TPP “The agreement poses a grave threat to our
LaunchEdward Snowden says Hillary Clinton’s bogus statements show a “lack of political courage”
Edward Snowden says Hillary Clinton’s bogus statements show a “lack of political courage” “Hillary Clinton twice this week has insisted, contrary to the facts, that
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