Politics and Law

Departing FCC chairman leaves behind mixed record

While departing Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski has talked a lot about pushing for high-speed broadband to more Americans and has championed the cause for getting more wireless spectrum on the market, critics say his record on these issues is spotty at best.

Genachowski today announced he would be stepping down from his post as FCC chairman. He has been chairman of the agency for four years. In a speech to colleagues announcing his resignation, he pointed out the FCC's many accomplishments including the drafting of the National Broadband Plan and its focus on promoting both traditional and … Read more

Anti-drone revolt prompts push for new federal, state laws

An unusual bipartisan revolt has erupted against law enforcement plans to fly more drones equipped with high-tech gear that can be used to conduct surveillance of Americans.

A combination of concerns about privacy, air traffic safety, facial recognition, cell phone tracking -- and even the possibility that in the future drones could be armed -- have suddenly placed police on the defensive.

A public outcry in Seattle last month prompted the mayor to ground the police department's nascent drone program. Oregon held a hearing this week on curbing drones, following one in Idaho last week. And on Tuesday, Rep. … Read more

FCC Chairman announces resignation

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said Friday that he is stepping down from his post as head of the agency.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday about the chairman's plans. Genachowski was nominated by President Obama to the chairmanship in March of 2009. In a speech to to his colleagues at the FCC, Genachowski pointed out accomplishments of the FCC over the past four years.

This included advancements in wireless, broadband and reforming outdated policies to reflect more modern needs.

"Over the past four years, we've focused the FCC on broadband, wired and wireless, working to … Read more

Shakeup at FCC: Chairman Genachowski to step down

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski will announce his intention to step down tomorrow, according to The Wall Street Journal which cited an "FCC official."

Earlier this week, the announcement that Republican FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell was leaving gave Genachowski, a Democrat, more political leeway to leave his post. As The Washington Post noted, even with Genachowski gone the Democrats would retain a 2-1 voting advantage. If he had left before McDowell, the votes at the FCC would be 2-2.

In recent weeks, rumors have circulated regarding Genachowski's plans, with the White House interviewing several candidates. The … Read more

Police: Why we reacted to Facebook pic of boy with rifle

We tend to react with feelings first and thoughts a little later.

Many in the last 24 hours have reacted with feeling (and the occasional thoughtfulness) to the visit paid by police to the New Jersey home of Shawn Moore.

Should you have been hospitalized after accidentally impaling yourself on a deer antler at your local gun club recently, here's the back story: Moore posted a picture to Facebook of his 11-year-old son, Josh, clutching (very properly) a .22-caliber rifle that looked like a little more than a .22-caliber rifle.

It was his birthday present.

As is ever more … Read more

Microsoft opens up on law enforcement requests

Microsoft said today it received 75,378 law enforcement requests worldwide last year for customer information, but disclosed "content" in only 2 percent of those cases.

Those are just a couple of the details laid out in Microsoft's "2012 Law Enforcement Requests Report," the first-ever such disclosure from the software giant.

The report covers all of Microsoft's major online services including Hotmail, Outlook.com, SkyDrive, Xbox Live, Microsoft Account, and Office 365. It separately discloses similar data from Skype.

In releasing the information about law enforcement requests, Microsoft follows the lead of online heavyweights … Read more

Internet tax proposal up for a vote in Senate this week

Internet tax supporters are hoping that a vote in the U.S. Senate as early as today will finally give them enough political leverage to require Americans to pay sales taxes when shopping online.

Sens. Mike Enzi (R-Wy.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) are expected to offer an amendment to a Democratic budget resolution this week that, by allowing states to "collect taxes on remote sales," is intended to usher in the first national Internet sales tax.

"We're working overtime in pushing this, talking to our members, activating our grassroots," says Stephen Schatz, a spokesman for … Read more

Congressman endorses data retention law, then backs away

A historic lobbying effort today to update U.S. privacy laws for the 21st century seemed to be in danger of derailment by a law enforcement-backed proposal to require Internet companies and e-mail providers to keep records of what their users are doing online.

Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, the chairman of a key House of Representatives subcommittee, said this morning that it was time to resuscitate the idea of the government mandating data retention. Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican, had drafted a mandatory logging proposal seven years ago that included prison terms for company executives who failed to comply. A law … Read more

MIT to release redacted documents in Aaron Swartz case

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology will release a trove of documents related to the prosecution of Aaron Swartz, the Internet activist who committed suicide in January at the age of 26 as he awaited trial on hacking charges.

Critics had faulted MIT's compliance with federal prosecutors planning the case against Swartz, but university President Rafael Reif said in a Tuesday announcement that MIT was "not afraid to reexamine our own actions" and that he was ordering the release in "the spirit of openness, balanced with responsibility."

The documents will be redacted to protect privacy and … Read more