The Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School is a leader in the study of the law and policy around the Internet and other emerging technologies.
By Bruce B. Cahan on July 29, 2012 at 3:23 am
Appreciating the freedom to think as part of the CIS Community Read more about Looking back 5 Years, and designing forward
By Bruce B. Cahan on June 10, 2012 at 12:00 am
By Bruce B. Cahan on May 2, 2012 at 2:49 am
Lately, I have been puzzled by the proliferation of bank-mobile operator partnerships in the developed and emerging countries. The mobile carriers provide the remittance or payments instructions, and the banks move the money, conduct the foreign exchange (e.g., into/out of U.S. Dollars) and deliver the cash or credit to the intended recipient.
Are the banks really necessary in this money transfer process? No, they are not, and have not been for years - try over a hundred years! Read more about When Mobile Telecommunications Routes Become Banks
By Bruce B. Cahan on April 30, 2012 at 12:19 pm
By Bruce B. Cahan on February 22, 2011 at 5:58 pm
Capturing the Moment
Last week, the wizards of Silicon Valley met for dinner at John Doerr’s house in Woodside, two days after the Administration proposed its 2012 fiscal budget, showing increases in spending for the Department of Defense (0.71% more than $549 billion requested last year) and State Department (3.25% more than $49.3 billion last year). Read more about Guessing Why the President was a Dinner Guest in Woodside
By Bruce B. Cahan on January 30, 2011 at 12:13 am
The outbreak of civil unrest in Egypt this week has unfolded with rapid momentum. As in Tunisia, access to video, Twitter and other feeds at first appeared to help the Egyptian citizenry stand up for their democratic and human rights, including the right to be safe in their homes and businesses, and to come to consensus on being so.
The United States policy towards Egypt has valued its weight as ally in Middle East negotiations and stability. Read more about What should the U.S. learn from Egypt's use of the "Internet Kill Switch?"
By Bruce B. Cahan on August 31, 2010 at 10:27 am
Privacy is something we lose actively, not passively. Listen to the verbs of our digital lives: Read more about Banking on Our Privacy
By Bruce B. Cahan on August 29, 2010 at 11:05 am
The financial literacy of America has improved markedly, nearly to college level, as a result of the global recession that started in 2007. What about state-owned banks, is the time ripe to explore that part of economic history?
Americans, now economists, can fill a green chalkboard from left to right, with the familiar logic of our situation: Read more about State-Owned Banks as a Way to Rebuild the Housing and Real Estate Markets
By Bruce B. Cahan on May 9, 2010 at 11:54 am
Two weeks ago, the Future of Money and Technology Summit held in San Francisco offered a glimpse of powerful ways that technology can reshape the banking and financial user experience. Read more about A New Wall Street Initiative
By Bruce B. Cahan on October 10, 2008 at 11:11 pm
Each day the stock markets trend lower, seeking floors, comfort. A sense of how bad it could get leads to further erosions of global equity values and banks unwilling to lend. Already Silicon Valley VC funds are sounding the alarm to portfolio companies: tighten up on spending, pare plans, boost revenue-production. Read more about Transparency, Money and the 2008 Collapse of Credit & Stock Markets
By Bruce B. Cahan on September 8, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Last week, eBay's social conscience companion, World of Good, announced an amazingly simple act of goodness: They would encourage products, producers and sellers to display in a coherent way the ethical dimensions of the marketplace.
Despite fits and starts, the metrics to connect "ethical" with "conscious" consumerism have begun to move forward as a distinct market place. Read more about eBay's World of Good Platform Begins Harmonizing Ethical Product Ratings
By Bruce B. Cahan on January 16, 2008 at 8:25 am
This morning I read the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Lopez Torres, holding that New York State's obviously manipulated state judicial nominating conventions are constitutional under the First Amendment. Read more about Lopez Torres v. Board of Elections: U.S. Supreme Court Decides Party Boss Dominated Judicial Nominating Conventions are OK?
By Bruce B. Cahan on December 5, 2007 at 11:32 am
The power of simple graphics on the Web is hard to beat.
Annie Leonard's The Story of Stuff lays out what's at stake for consumers if they choose wisely, poorly or let others choose for them.
Produced by Free Range Studios , the Story of Stuff is a genre of documentary expression for environmentalists and industrial scientists to mainstream their knowledge as digital content for mass adoption and conversations. Read more about The Story of Stuff: The Power of Simple Web Graphics
By Bruce B. Cahan on October 10, 2007 at 7:45 pm
I've been reading through a study of Google's patents prepared by Stephen Arnold entitled Google Version 2.0: The Predator.
Mr. Arnold displays a forensic expert's scalpel in teasing out the possible market purposes and alignments amongst and across various Google patents, where they might lead and how Google may be positioning itself. I'm particularly intrigued by his thoughts on Google's ad, mobile and payment efforts. Read more about Reading IP Patents Like Tea Leaves
By Bruce B. Cahan on October 4, 2007 at 10:49 pm
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of Board of Elections v. Lopez Torres. The case's trial and appellate opinions chronicle a series of obstacles placed in the path of candidates seeking New York state judgeships without their political party boss’ endorsement. Read more about Digitally Transparent Elections? The Sorry State of Nominating Judges in New York
