By: Neil Stevens (Diary)  |  June 14th at 01:30 AM  | 

When Jim DeMint and Steve Scalise first started talking about reforming the regulated relationship between broadcasters and cable companies, oh the fits that were thrown. Even a certain conservative group jumped out in front complaining. But look: these regulations are worth big bucks to the side they favor, and the negotiation deadlocks they produce don’t help the public, they only force everyone to deal with | Read More »

By: Neil Stevens (Diary)  |  June 9th at 03:00 AM  | 

You want more proof that every single private industry privacy debate in DC is completely wrong headed? MSIE 10′s do not track default is unpopular. People don’t care. They value cheap/free stuff and convenience over privacy protection. Other countries are looking to tax American businesses online. Does Barack Obama have the guts to fight for us? Or will he bow once again?

By: Neil Stevens (Diary)  |  April 28th at 01:30 AM  | 

So, the Internet died this week or something. CISPA was amended much, as I gather mostly tightening up some alleged privacy concerns. Then it passed the House. I don’t know if it’ll become law, but it’s a good idea. The comparisons with SOPA are deceptive. Speaker Boehner cut to the heart of the matter, pointing out that President Obama’s CISPA veto threat was rooted in | Read More »

By: Neil Stevens (Diary)  |  February 7th at 02:00 AM  | 

Yes, we beat SOPA, but the problem of foreign infringers is still around. And we’re not just talking about online copyright infringement, either. Copies of clothing, purses, gadgets, you name it: foreign free riders are a problem. It’s an important tradeoff to find, so an open process for the Darrell Issa OPEN Act is a good one. A slow, consensus-based approach is also smart, so | Read More »

By: Neil Stevens (Diary)  |  January 19th at 12:00 AM  | 

So, Erick Erickson decided to make a big push against SOPA today, again bringing out the primary threat card. I also had a post on SOPA and PROTECT IP today. We were heard. On the House side, Speaker John Boehner echoed Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and said the committee needs to find consensus before the bill can get a vote. And again, conservatives like Darrell | Read More »

By: Neil Stevens (Diary)  |  March 1st at 03:30 AM  | 

Hello! There’s no one clear theme of things to discuss tonight. It’s a diverse list of topics, so let’s just muddle on through and see what’s going on. We’ve got some good news from what the Republicans in Washington are going. On the Senate side, the side we haven’t heard nearly as much about thanks to the Obama-Reid majority there, conservative Republicans are taking key | Read More »

By: Neil Stevens (Diary)  |  September 29th at 04:36 PM  | 

Update: Waxman is now using Republican opposition to this bill to claim the FCC should now implement the worst case of Internet regulation. Republicans need to get behind a reasonable compromise and we need to commit to outlawing Title II reclassification. The FCC going on its own would do incalculable damage to the industry going forward. Action is needed sooner, not later. If you take | Read More »

By: Neil Stevens (Diary)  |  February 14th at 04:05 PM  | 

If there ever were a time that we needed effective Republican leadership, it would be in this Porkulus bill effort. Even the “pared down” seven hundred billion dollars ($700,000,000,000) is a ridiculous amount of money, and will pave the way for a try at a tax hike, so it’s been essential that we Republicans step back and force the Democrats alone to own that bill. | Read More »