Data portability is friendly to consumers, but it has very little to do with encouraging competition, at least relative to interoperability.
Privacy Fundamentalism
The current privacy debate is making things worse by not considering trade-offs, the inherent nature of digital, or the far bigger problems that come with digitizing the offline world.
HBO Max and Friends; British Airways, Marriott Hit with GDPR Fines; Zoom’s Vulnerability
HBO Max is AT&T’s new streaming service, and it is paying a lot for Friends. Then, the best part of GDPR has its intended effect, while Zoom shows that security still isn’t a priority
Chris Hughes Versus Facebook, Breaking Down Hughes Article, The Privacy Paradox
Breaking down the Chris Hughes article about breaking up Facebook: it’s better than you think. Plus, the fundamental paradox when it comes to arguments about regulating Facebook.
A Framework for Regulating Content on the Internet
Regulators need to stop blindly regulating “the Internet” and instead understand that every part of the Internet stack is different, and only one part is suffering from market failure.
Mark Zuckerberg’s Proposal, The Copyright Directive and Sunk Costs, You Say You Want Some Regulation
Recent regulation highlights why Mark Zuckerberg’s call for regulation was so self-serving. The place where regulators should actually start is advertising.
Where Warren’s Wrong
Senator Warren’s proposal about how to regulate tech is wrong about history, the source of tech giant’s power, and the fundamental nature of technology itself. That doesn’t mean there aren’t real problems — and potential solutions — though.
Distinguishing Regulation, Is the Internet Different?, Reasons for Skepticism
Follow-up on The State of Technology in 2018: the different types of regulation, whether or not the Internet is different, and why consumer tech companies may be weaker than they seem.
Text Messaging in the United States; Google Earnings; Google, Facebook, and GDPR
An anecdote about permanence and file systems, an explanation of how the U.S. text messaging market is unique, then an overview of Google’s earnings and why GDPR might be having an effect.
Facebook and Virtual Reality Follow-up, Tim Cook’s Speech on Privacy, What About China?
More on Facebook, virtual and augmented reality, and it’s long-term strategic play. Then, Tim Cook gave a remarkable speech on privacy; how much does Apple’s stance matter?