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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently voted to move forward on a rule-making process that could lead to new government regulations for the Internet. That is what the FCC and some activist groups want, although they claim to be supporting only "neutrality." Even key players seem confused. ...

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski stirred up the Net neutrality pot last week with his speech at the Brookings Institution where he pledged to create new rules for governing the Internet. While the chairman's comments were delivered eloquently, they were problematic for a number of reasons ...

President Obama's inability to fill even half of his major political appointments is in the news this week, but the appointments he's already made are causing some in Silicon Valley to question whether they supported the right candidate. The president chose non-Silicon-Valley candidates for the nation's two major technology posts ...

For those interested in longevity, July was a good news month. Recently published research in the journal Science shows that caloric restriction helps monkeys live longer and healthier, while a parallel study demonstrated the possibility that a drug could mimic this process. ...

This month, the Federal Communications Commission begins drafting a national broadband plan as part of the 2009 stimulus package. This is not the first government attempt at broadband ubiquity, so the FCC can learn from past failures ...

America's winemakers have won a victory for online wine sales in Kansas, but the legislative battle demonstrates the challenges that e-commerce, a key force for economic recovery, still faces from outdated thinking and entrenched political institutions. ...

Voters are still reeling from tax day in a tough recession, and taking to the streets in protest, but state governments and their allies aren't listening. In fact, they are gearing up to squeeze more money out of the nation's workers. Their target is online shopping, and if the pro-tax coalition gets its way, embattled Americans will soon be shouldering higher tax burdens...

Earth Day is fast approaching, yet despite the awareness this day brings, most people are powering their computers with electricity from coal-burning power plants, delivered by "dumb" networks. Change is long overdue, and it's not a difficult matter. ...

This week, a federal judge blocked a prosecutor from filing child pornography charges against three teenage girls in northeastern Pennsylvania over risque cell phone pictures they took of themselves. This respite from the bizarre "sexting" scandal allows time for a national dialogue on an issue that goes deeper than simple changes in technology ...

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer ceased print publication this week to focus solely on the Web, a transition that frightened some in the publishing business, coming so shortly after the Rocky Mountain News shut down. However, as many in the tech industry are aware, this is simply a form of "creative destruction" that should boost both choice and economic activity in the longer term. ...

The Obama administration is ushering in a new era of big government, higher taxes and more spending, to an extent that even supporters are worried. The tech-savvy president should consider recent suggestions from the technology and science sector, such as the idea that not all problems can be solved by simply throwing money at them. ...

In an effort to tackle New York's nearly US$15 billion budget deficit, Governor David Paterson has proposed taxing downloads of software, music and other content, including pornography. ...

The news of octuplets born recently near Los Angeles shocked many people, especially since the mother, Nadya Suleman, apparently already had six children and is reported to be jobless and living with her parents. Such rare stories certainly sell newspapers, but they can also lead to knee-jerk calls for overly restrictive regulation, which threaten freedom and innovation...

When Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States this week, he promised that his administration would "restore science to its rightful place." Whether reality will fit the rhetoric remains to be seen, and there are reasons to be both optimistic and a little wary ...

Just days after microblogging company Twitter was hacked, a group of entrepreneurs and policy activists gathered at Facebook's Palo Alto headquarters to discuss "Privacy 2009: The Year Ahead." The discussion, cohosted by Tech Policy Central, demonstrated that the privacy debate is starting to mature ...

This week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee released a report accusing Kevin Martin, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), of being deceptive and opaque in his management of the agency's affairs. That a politician would pull such moves is no surprise, but the report should send a strong signal to the incoming Obama administration...

Last week, a select group of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs traveled to Tokyo to learn about Japan's tech sector and new opportunities. What they found was a country in transition, a few surprises, and a group of Japanese entrepreneurs itching to plunge headfirst into the international marketplace. ...

It's been called the "rapture of the nerds," but such derision didn't stop an estimated 500 enthusiasts from showing up to the Singularity Institute's conference in San Jose, Calif., last weekend to discuss the possibility of artificial intelligence overtaking that of humans ...

Chipmaker Intel said this week that despite its record US$10.2 billion in revenue for the third quarter, the company is worried that the global economic crisis will affect future performance. Despite such a general malaise across the industry, however, there is some very good news on the tech front ...

The financial crisis currently consuming the U.S. has led tech industry leaders, such as Microsoft's Steve Ballmer, to speak out in favor of quick Congressional action. Tech stocks, as well as general stocks, have plummeted, and there is confusion over why this crisis is happening and spreading so fast. One explanation that makes a lot of sense draws on network and information theory...