On November 4, 2013, a study released by Reason Foundation found that government-owned broadband networks (GONs) do not provide the value that cities and towns hope to achieve. According to the study, which focused primarily on the Lafayette Utility Service (LUS) in Lafayette, Louisiana, plans for broadband GONs are developed using the same budgeting model […]
Computer Glitches or Poor Program Management
According to a July 17, 2013 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) had obligated $303.4 million (77 percent of its total obligations for Obamacare) to establish the healthcare data hub, provide information technology support for federal employees working on the healthcare exchange, the Healthcare.gov website, and a healthcare […]
Court Begins Hearing on Net Neutrality
The notion of equality on the Internet may sound reasonable, but net neutrality, as defined by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), is instead an attack on private-sector business models. Proponents of net neutrality want the online world to be forced “open” at the expense of successful Internet providers, but fail to recognize the many tradeoffs to “openness,” such as increased spam, fewer privacy controls, slower service, and, perhaps most importantly, decreased incentives for investment and innovation.
Make Vanishing Rights Reappear
The government cannot come into your home and rifle through your personal belongings without a warrant or a subpoena authorizing such a search. However, unless the outdate Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), which was enacted in 1986, is amended, files stored online with cloud computing vendors, email service providers and others may be subject to […]
Navigating Healthcare Privacy
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded $67 million in grants to more than 100 organizations to assist individuals needing help navigating the confusing process of signing up for Obamacare. On August 14, 2013, the attorney generals of 13 states sent a letter to HHS Secretary Sebelius, raising apprehension about what they […]
The Brave New World of Intellectual Piracy
By any standard, the Pirates of the Caribbean have nothing on the antics of the pirates of India. An April 2013 Indian Supreme Court decision has handed over the keys to the castle, and declared open season on pirating intellectual property (IP). The booty in that case was for a drug to treat cancer that was developed by Novartis, a Swiss drug manufacturer. The decision opens the door for future denials of drug patents and IP infringement for other industries.
Software Mess At IRS
On August 29, 2013, The Washington Post published an article about Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Chief Information Officer (CIO) Terence Milholland and his desire to make the agency’s information technology (IT) program “world-class.” The article cited the uphill battle Milholland faces in merging disparate IT systems, retraining programmers in newer technologies, and dealing with entrenched […]
Private Sector Solution to Digital Literacy
As students return to school this fall, they are finding that their teachers are using technology tools, such as online curriculums and textbooks, and assigning online homework more frequently. Today, virtually all schools and libraries are connected to the Internet. However, once the school day has ended, students may find a different picture when they […]
Summer Retransmission Dispute Heats Up
In the midst of the summer doldrums, a broadcaster and a multi-channel video programming distributor (MVPD) are battling over retransmission fees with consumers suffering the consequences. The parties this time are CBS and Time Warner Cable (TWC), with millions of viewers across the country losing access to shows such as “NCIS,” “The Big Bang Theory,” and “Under the Dome.”
Time for FCC Overhaul
On Thursday, July 11, 2013, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a hearing on two draft bills, the FCC Process Reform Act and the FCC Consolidated Reporting Act, which was introduced on July 26, 2013 as H.R. 2844. On July 25, 2013, the Subcommittee voted to advance the bills to the full Committee by a unanimous voice vote. Similar bills were passed on a bi-partisan basis by the House in the last Congress, but failed to make headway in the Senate.