Government & Regulation Most Recent Posts

What top elected leaders don't understand about the H-1B visa.

AT&T has been knowingly defrauding the U.S. taxpayer by helping Nigerian 419 fraudsters. So says an ex-AT&T (NYSE:T) whistleblower, Constance Lyttle. The Justice Department says it's cost $16 million. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers would like your help to liberate some money from a Prince's bank account.

The FAA is reviewing the rules that ban the use of personal electronic devices in planes on and near to the ground. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers look forward to an extra few minutes of Angry Birds. Not to mention: A topical Dilbert (from almost 15 years ago)...

The Justice Department is proud of its FOIA record, but the Obama administration has invoked the Espionage Act six times to silence whistle-blowers. Despite President Obama promising to run the 'most transparent administration in history,' the DOJ won an award for the 'Worst Open Government Performance in 2011.'

Yesterday's opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal by FCC commissioner Robert M. McDowell furiously criticized the United Nations for trying to seize control of the Internet. His inflammatory language pointed the finger at imagined enemies of a free and open Internet. But this looks like a transparent attempt to stop the international community from its rightful control over a critical international resource, as we'll see in The Long View...
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A group of six academic researchers have concluded that real-world RSA encryption keys are riskier than Diffie-Hellman-based ones. It seems that some of the random numbers used to generate them weren't, errm, random. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers wonder if the sky is falling.

Apple's announcement that it's asking for an outside audit of how workers are treated at Chinese factories that produce its products is a potentialy good first step towards possibly reforming labor practices. The truth is, though, the only way those factories will treat their workers properly is if you're willing to pay more for products from Apple and many other electronics makers.

U.S. and European regulators have permitted Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) to buy Motorola Mobility (NYSE:MMI). It looks like la GOOG is almost ready to consumate its love for the smartphone-and-set-top-box-maker. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers weight the pros and cons of the deal. Not to mention: Animals doing people things...

It's patent-troll time once again, folks. A one-person* company that adds zero economic value is suing a huge laundry list of companies who use the Web. The company claims it invented a common Web page feature, so it should be entitled to licensing fees. What sort of crazy is this? Explanations in today's The Long View...
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When you buy a MP3 from iTunes, do you own it? What if you could resell some of the ton of digital music you don't listen to, but that is taking up hard drive space? You can buy and legally resell "used" MP3s on eMarketplace ReDigi, the brainchild of former MIT programmers. Like the RIAA which refuses to change a broken business model, Capitol Records had a copyright infringement cow and objected in court. However a judge handed the first round victory to ReDigi, not Capitol. It's looking good for music lovers.

Barnes & Noble received a piece of good news today when a staff attorney at the U.S. trade agency recommended that a judge rule against Microsoft's patent infringement case against the NOOK e-reader and tablet. The trial starts today in Washington.

Microsoft has launched an all-out public assault on Google's recent privacy changes, but Google is fighting back, claiming that Microsoft and other critics are spreading untruths about the new policy. It's a fight that's good for users.

Apple has failed in its bid to have Samsung's latest tablet banned in Germany. So Europeans can still buy the Galaxy Tab 10.1N. A Munich court ruled that a key Apple patent was probably invalid, due to prior art. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers count their Euros and run to the stores.

Think the Newt Gingrich-Mitt Romney war of words is nasty? Then wait until you see Microsoft's big-money ad campaign slamming Google over Google's recent changes in its privacy rules.

The Facebook IPO will be official later today, we're told. The rumor-mill sets the price per share at around $45, assuming the $100 billion valuation being bandied about. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers wonder if it'll be (NYSE:FB) or (NASDAQ:FB). Not to mention: 20 Rejected Monopoly Chance Cards...