March 2019

Democrats want to ‘save the Internet.’ They’ll need Republicans’ help.

Democrats in Congress say they want to “save the Internet” with a net neutrality law. But they will need Republicans’ help to do it. The bills introduced in the House and Senate this week, unfortunately, are unlikely to inspire any cooperation. The bills introduced this week miss the mark. They bring back Title II. Democratic bills would make permanent limitations on rate-setting and other regulatory practices that have alarmed providers, but the classification is still toxic — and outdated.

John Oliver Rips FCC And HBO Parent AT&T Amid Lengthy Rant About Robocalls

John Oliver took a swipe at HBO's new parent company AT&T during a segment on March 10''s "Last Week Tonight", which saw him decry the increasing amount of robocalls being made in the US and the Federal Communications Commission's unwillingness or inability to do anything about them. "Everybody is annoyed by robocalls; hatred of them might be the only thing everyone in America agrees on now," he said.He cited statistics that said the number of calls increased by 57 percent last year to nearly 50 billion in total. He also showed a news clip noting that robocalls are the No.

The fine print that could undermine new Internet privacy legislation

Right now, Congress is considering a new federal privacy law, but nearly all of the proposals on the table have ignored the crucial issue of forced-arbitration clauses in consumer contracts. Companies use these clauses to prevent customers from suing them, often leaving no practical options for consumers whose rights have been violated.  Arbitration clauses are especially harmful when it comes to the Internet, because almost everything we do online involves a contract.