Section 230 Immunity and the Roommates.com Case
By Larry Downes on May 31, 2008 at 10:54 am
I write in href="http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/Avoiding-Web-Rocks-and-Shoals/">this month’s CIO Insight about the 9th Circuit’s en banc decision in the Roommates.com case. This important decision tested the limits of immunity for information service providers (in this case, the operator of a website that allows users to post roommate-matching ads) under Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Act. Read more about Section 230 Immunity and the Roommates.com Case
The Writer's Strike and the Battle for Virtual Value
By Larry Downes on March 8, 2008 at 7:33 am
I have a short article in CIO Insight this month about the href="http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/A-Virtual-Battle-for-Value/">real meaning of the Writer's Guild of America strike.
The three-month strike was remarkable in that the sole issue, one the industry was willing to spend over $2 billion fighting, was when and how revenues from new and future digital channels would be allocated. What's remarkable about that is that so far there are no such revenues. Read more about The Writer's Strike and the Battle for Virtual Value
(Over) Simplifying the Complex
By Larry Downes on December 26, 2007 at 8:37 am
A few weeks ago, I published an op-ed opposing pending Net Neutrality legislation. The editorial appeared simultaneously on both href="http://www.news.com/Save-Internet-freedom-from-regulation/2010-1028_3-62...">CNet and href="http://news.zdnet.com/2010-9588_22-6222385.html">ZDNet.
Of course there are many in the technology community who disagree with me and who believe that legislation is needed to ensure the free-flow of content regardless of its nature, source, or use. I didn’t really expect to change any minds so much as cast a shadow of a doubt for those who have already made up their minds. Read more about (Over) Simplifying the Complex
Microsoft's EU Antitrust Case: A Clearly Bad Precedent
By Larry Downes on October 23, 2007 at 9:51 pm
This week, Microsoft dropped its appeal in the European version of the antitrust action against the company that has been proceeding for about ten years. The European Commissioner for Competition Policy Neelie Kroes notes that there are now "clear precedents" for enforcement of anti-competitive remedies levied against Redmond.
There are precedents all right. Very bad precedents, as we will see over the coming years as similar actions are brought (I predict) against other technology companies. Read more about Microsoft's EU Antitrust Case: A Clearly Bad Precedent
The Madness of Software Copyrights
By Larry Downes on September 26, 2007 at 10:08 am
My column in the current issue of CIO Insight, href="http://www.cioinsight.com/article2/0,1540,2182447,00.asp">“Battle Over Linux: When a Win May Not be a Win” , drew a lot of froth from Linux-happy bloggers who don't like to hear anything that isn't completely positive about their operating system of choice.
My crime was pointing out that partial summary judgment by a district court (in this case, in a lawsuit by SCO over the ownership of UNIX copyrights) is not the definitive victory the mainstream press made it out to be. Read more about The Madness of Software Copyrights