The Government Doesn't Need A Warrant Anymore

A recent revision to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) now nullifies the protections built-into the original bill by granting twenty-two government agencies access to user data without a search warrant. See the source link below for the full article.

Source: The Verge

Congresswoman Asks Reddit Community to Help Write Tech Bill

Recent outrage over attempts at denying United States citizens basic privacy and freedom of speech rights on the Internet through "SOPA" have driven many people in positions of power to see the Internet for what it truly is: a hive mind of information and ideas. Reddit's response to SOPA inspired California Representative Zoe Lofgren to turn to them to aid in drafting a bill designed to help prevent bogus copyright takedown requests. Click the source link below for the full article.

Source: The Verge

Do Not Track: Controversial, But Should it Be?

Mozilla's Firefox and Google Chrome include a feature called "Do Not Track"--a feature left on by default in Microsoft's most recent update to Internet Explorer, Internet Explorer 10 (The browser included by default on Windows 8 which today launched a preview for users of Windows 7.)

Do Not Track is a feature which "opts out" of cross-site tracking. Advertisers are angry at Microsoft for having the feature enabled by default, and consumers are surprised that Microsoft, once the largest of the tech giants, is being so pro-consumer in its behaviour.

More Reading: ZDNet, The Verge, Wikipedia

US Copyright Office: It's Illegal to 'Jailbreak' Your Tablet

Consumer technology rights have long been at the forefront of discussion in the world of technology. The idea is simple: we bought it, we own it: we can do what we want with it. Unfortunately, at a recent review of exemptions to its Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), the United States Copyright Office has concluded that consumers do not have the right to 'jailbreak' tablets or consoles (a necessary part of heavily customising such devices), though mobile phones (which often run the same operating systems as their larger tablet brethren) are perfectly okay. See the article below from The Verge, and watch SourceFed's video included with this article.

Article: The Verge