It’s not news that there are patents out there that never should have been granted. Whether it’s the “invention” of entertaining a cat with a laser pointer, combining two well-known car features in a manner that offers no unexpected new outcome, or selling CDs of a live...

What the FISA Debate is Not AboutMarty Lederman asks why reverting to the old FISA rules is supposedly such a problem for the intelligence community.

ISP Plan to Block Child Porn -- Will There Be Chilling Effects?The New York Attorney General says 3 major ISPs have agreed to...

Congressional Republicans have new legislation they're pushing as a "compromise" on telecom immunity. One of their central talking points has been that the bill would allow a court to review whether the telcos acted legally when they cooperated with the NSA's warrantless wiretapping program. For instance, this morning's New York...

Thanks to Senators Dodd and Feingold for sending a great letter today to House and Senate leadership decrying the telco immunity "compromise" being offered by Republican negotiators:
As we understand it, the [Republican] proposal would authorize secret proceedings in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance to evaluate the...

Mere hours after a McCain spokesperson adopted the Bush Administration's flawed legal argument that courts have "recognized the President’s constitutional authority to conduct warrant-less surveillance" and that the "courts’ findings supported the Bush Administration’s efforts in the wake of September 11, 2001," Senator John McCain said that:
“It’s...

Obama Should Lead on FISAA CBS News Blogger has some advice for the presumptive nominee: Get to work protecting civil liberties!

FTC Investigates Big BrotherThe practice of compiling profiles on Internet users for purposes of targeted advertising is coming under scrutiny.

Will Flame Wars Be Made Illegal?A...

Senator John McCain's presidential campaign has strong connections to the high-powered lobbyists employed by AT&T and other telecommunications companies to escape from responsibility for violations of federal law, with paid lobbyists occupying prominant positions in the upper echelons.
Last fall Newsweek reported on the telecom's "secretive lobbying...