New America

[Commentary] What if Google posted your search history online? All of it, I mean—even the stuff you looked at years ago (or perhaps yesterday) in Incognito Mode. If that question doesn’t send a shiver down your spine, my guess is you’re probably not a Millennial. And to those Millennials who think that Incognito Mode truly protects your data by fully anonymizing your online browsing, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but—that isn’t really the case.

In a blink of an evolutionary eye, radio and television then give way to smartphones—all of the world’s threats in your hand, all the time. “The smartphone, especially, more than pretty much any other technology that existed before, is constant,” says Barry Glassner, a professor of sociology. “For many people, at least, notifications come and updates come pretty much nonstop. It’s a very far cry from picking up the daily paper,” let alone the town square. 

New America's Open Technology Institute became one of the first parties to challenge the Federal Communications Commission’s harmful order repealing the net neutrality rules by filing a protective petition for review in the DC Circuit. OTI filed the protective petition in an abundance of caution to ensure that, if a lottery is held determining the proper venue for the case at this stage, the DC Circuit is included in the selection process. 

The following statement can be attributed to Sarah Morris, Director of Open Internet Policy at the Open Technology Institute:

On Jan 11, the House of Representatives will likely vote on a stand-alone measure to reauthorize and expand Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which is set to expire on January 19, 2018. The bill to be voted on is a modified version of the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017 (H.R. 4478; now S. 139), which was reported out of the House Intelligence Committee on a party line vote, with at least four members voting “no” because of privacy concerns. The Open Technology Institute and a coalition of dozens of leading privacy groups strongly oppose the bill.

The Federal Communications Commission has taken a series of worrying actions since former FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai ascended to the role of chairman in January 2017. On Feb 3, the FCC abruptly rescinded the glowing E-rate report that had just been released two and a half weeks prior.

Reflections from a variety of representatives from startups, small businesses, and established companies that began as startups who say they have open internet protections to thank for their prior and continued success. 

A Q&A with Sarah Morris, director of Open Internet Policy and senior policy counsel at the Open Technology Institute.