The free market of Internet access, driven by constantly improving technology and heightening competition, is a driver of job creation and economic growth. Even Julius Genachowski, Obama’s FCC Chairman, has to admit that. This is just one reason we fight FCC power grabs.
So when the government starts talking about new regulations in emerging fields such as “cloud computing”, just say no.
And when Steve Chabot makes silly comments about wireless competition without daring to take an actual stand on the issue of the day, just sigh and ignore him. It’s a simple question, Steve. Government action, or free market. Pick a side or hush.
So you may have heard that Google is whining pathetically that Apple and Microsoft are big meany poopyheads using patents in a way that’s so totally unfair to Google and stuff. They should be made to share, and so Google is threatening to tell nanny Government, apparently. Does my tone sound a bit condescending to Google’s recent complaints? If so, it’s because I agree with Brian Hall who very harshly executes a perfect takedown of Google.
And it gets better. Microsoft has exposed Google’s complaints as misleading, possibly to the point of being dishonest. Said Microsoft’s Brad Smith on Twitter:
BradSmi: Google says we bought Novell patents to keep them from Google. Really? We asked them to bid jointly with us. They said no.
So yes, Google is whining, but the whining has no merit. There are complaints about the patent system in America. I’ve made many of them and I have serious problems with the first-to-file regime enforced by the America Invents Act, but the idea that patents are all out to get Google is absurd.
I talk a lot about House Republicans for two reasons. First, they have the majority, and so they are able to drive the House agenda. But second, they’re also a lot more open about what they’re doing, and get out there and tell me and everyone else how they’re fighting for limited government, innovation, growth, and prosperity. But John Cornyn and Mike Lee have gotten loud with a strong letter against big government, when it comes to the AT&T/T-Mobile deal. Good on them. This merger will not affect competition at the low end of service, thanks to the diversity of low-cost regional and small carriers. At the high end, it will increase competition by enabling AT&T to compete with Verizon and Sprint in the 4G market.
I don’t talk much about trademarks, but if Bethesda can legally own the word “scrolls” against all comers such as Minecraft’s developer, then the trademark system’s a bit out of hand.
Facial recognition is a fast developing technology, and Facebook’s use of it just got banned in Germany. We shall see just if or how Facebook responds to this. They clearly want to keep using the technology, and hope as few people as possible opt out. It’s a global Internet, after all.
When ICANN announced it’d be selling new top level domains (to go along side .com, .us, .museum (?!), and the rest), I called it a cash grab, and a questionable decision. It turns out there’s an upside though. Some are worried that big companies will lose control of their names, opening the door for easier creation of parody and criticism sites. When the Internet is egalitarian, it does well.