Last year there was a highly reported public debate between the FBI and Apple regarding the encryption used to protect an iPhone belonging to the San Bernardino terrorist shooter. The FBI wanted Apple to unlock the phone, but Apple argued that doing so was not only difficult, but it would […]
Bitcoin has been back in the news. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) handed a blow to the cryptocurrency when it denied an application by the Winklevoss twins (of Social Network fame) to create an exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on Bitcoin called the Bats BZX Exchange. An ETF is […]
People familiar with Creative Commons have been worried recently about a litigation in the United States regarding the non-commercial element in the licences, which had the potential to negatively affect the integrity of the licensing environment by narrowly defining non-commercial use. The case is between Great Minds, a non-profit organisation […]
“THE CRUSADE IS COMING! RACE WAR WHITES AGAINST MUSLIMS” This message was not shouted during a UKIP meeting, a Le Pen rally, or an English Defence League demonstration. I did not read it in Breitbart News, or Infowars. I did not read it in an alt-right group or blog. I […]
EFF has publicised a report by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) which details a new policy by US border police in which agents ask Muslim Americans returning home for travels abroad for social media handles, but also going as far as asking for access to mobile phones through handles, […]
[SPOILERS] After languishing for more than a year in my “to read” pile, I finally got around to reading The Circle by David Eggers. This is an important, yet flawed book, and while I loved many of the concepts and loathed the dystopian present that it describes, I believe that […]
Back in 2006, Time magazine awarded its person of the year to us. The Internet. Time writer Lev Grossman (of The Magicians fame) wrote the following: “[2006 is] a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before. It’s about the cosmic compendium of knowledge Wikipedia and the […]
I have a rather complicated relationship with democracy. As a Costa Rican, it was ingrained in me from an early age that the only viable way of government is pluralist democracy, and that the balance of power could only be decided at the ballot box. My parents were fairly political, […]
Can you re-sell software that you have purchased legitimately? Most people would say that it is definitely possible, you bought it after all, but things get a bit complicated when you explain the legal specifics of the question. When you buy software you are purchasing a licence, a limited permission […]
This year’s Gikii took place in London hosted by the always marvellous Andrea Matwyshyn. As usual, there were more cat slides than a cat video convention, and as always some amazing presentations and thought-provoking interventions. And some good-natured heckling of course. Some of the papers are now online, you’ll just […]