CITP Blog is hosted by Princeton University’s Center for Information Technology Policy, a research center that studies digital technologies in public life. Here you’ll find comment and analysis from the digital frontier, written by the Center’s faculty, students, and friends.
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In recent debates about copyright and technology, pro-regulation people have started using an interesting rhetorical tactic. Rather than trying to rebut challenges to the workability of their proposed solutions, they…
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Fritz's Hit List #27
Today on Fritz’s Hit List: talking dog collars. These devices allow you to record a brief audio clip on your dog’s collar, so that your dog can be returned to…
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Schoen vs. Stallman on "Trusted Computing"
Seth Schoen raises two interesting issues in his response to Richard Stallman’s essay on “trusted computing.” (To see Seth’s posting, click here and scroll down to the “Trusted computing” heading.)…
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Fritz's Hit List #26
Today on Fritz’s Hit List: the ceremonial bugle. This device, which is inserted into the horn of a military bugle and plays “Taps,” was developed by the U.S. military for…
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Costs of a GPL Ban: An Example
Many people have criticized the recent proposal from some congressmen to ban the use of the GNU Public License (GPL) on federally funded software projects. There’s one disadvantage of this…
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Fritz's Hit List #25
Today on Fritz’s Hit List: digital church bells. These systems play church bell noises from digital recordings, so they qualify for regulation as “digital media devices” under the Hollings CBDTPA.…
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Fritz's Hit List #24
Today on Fritz’s Hit List: traffic speed cameras. These cameras snap a picture automatically when they detect a car exceeding the speed limit, so that the police can enforce speed…
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Slate: Nigerian Scam Emails Explained
Brendan Koerner at Slate explains why we’re all getting so many Nigerian scam emails. Most of them really do come from Nigeria, though the rest of their story is of…
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Compulsory Licensing: Responses
I have gotten several interesting responses to my posting on compulsory licensing of music. Ernest Miller at LawMeme offers a tongue-in-cheek response. (At least I think it’s tongue-in-cheek.) He says…
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Edison's World
Lately I’ve been reading a biography of Thomas Edison, one of history’s great tinkerers. (I recommend the book: Edison by Matthew Josephson.) I’m amazed at how little the basic nature…