A new law proposed would empower cops to seize drivers’ phones so long as “reasonable grounds” existed to suggest a driver may have been distracted.
Politics & Law
Google: We’re No NSA Stooge and We’ll Prove It If the Feds Let Us
Google has asked the U.S. Department of Justice for permission to publish the number of national-security information requests it receives from the government.
Google’s Larry Page Denies Cooperation with PRISM
In a blog post titled “What the…?,” Google co-founder Larry Page addresses allegations that the government has direct access to Google’s servers, saying, “We had not heard of a program called PRISM until yesterday.”
What the …? [Official Google Blog]
PRISM Poll: Do You Care About the Government Mining Internet Data?
Simple yes or no answers here, but feel free to elaborate in the comments section.
PRISM by the Numbers: A Guide to the Government’s Secret Internet Data-Mining Program
To make all this shadowy surveillance easier to digest, here are the relevant points about the massive data collection.
Call for Kill Switch to Deactivate Stolen Phones
San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón is asking major smartphone manufacturers Apple and Google to combat the growing problem with a beautifully simple suggestion: Give all phones a remote-activated kill switch.
Taxing E-Tail: How the Senate Plans to Tax Online Shopping
Americans are supposed to pay state taxes on goods purchased online. Only 1.6% of taxpayers do. A new Senate bill could help states change that, and collect billions of dollars in new revenue.
“We have a strange immigration policy for a nation of immigrants. And it’s a policy unfit for today’s world.”
— Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, announcing an immigration reform group in a Washington Post op-ed.
Should We Ban Handheld Smartphone Maps While Driving? California Court Thinks So
It’s weird out there and getting weirder: A California court just ruled that screwing around with your phone’s map app while driving ought to be as illegal as texting or using the device without a handsfree solution.
The Double Standard in the Room: ReDigi and the (Now Illegal) Resale of MP3s
So much for your right to resell MP3 music files: a U.S. District court just decided that the resale of MP3 files — where those files are transferred by copying — officially violates the Copyright Act.
Hallowed Be Thy Name: Ron Paul Tries to Retrieve RonPaul.com
Former Texas Rep. Ron Paul is waging a fight to wrest his namesake Web address from the current owners. It’s harder than it sounds…
Obama Administration: Mobile Phone Unlocking Should Be Legal
The Obama administration will push to reverse a new prohibition on mobile phone unlocking after an online White House petition protesting the ban drew more than 100,000 signatures.