March 2015
Don’t act like that: TSA defends screening program amid lawsuits, won’t release documents
By Yaël Ossowski | Watchdog.org The Transportation Security Administration is defending its controversial “behavior detection program” against a torrent of criticism by civil libertarians and a fresh lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union. “The Behavior Detection and Analysis (BDA) program is designed to detect individuals who exhibit anomalous behaviors indicating they fear discovery and…
The Difference between Expats and Immigrants? It’s Passports, Not Race
Immigration Restrictions Create Distinctions, Not Skin Color Yaël Ossowski | March 26, 2015 | PanAm Post Is classifying white westerners as “expats” and others as “immigrants” when they live outside their home countries racist? That’s the question put forward by Mawuna Remarque Koutonin on the Guardian website last week: “Why are white people expats when…
Can the FCC be trusted with its net neutrality regulations?
By Yaël Ossowski / March 24, 2015 / Watchdog.org Much of the debate on the net neutrality regulations — now a reality — hinged on the FCC’s role in enforcing the rules. But after all the lobbying, all the pressure, and all the attention, is there a chance for abuse? For many activists who care…
The tech media still doesn’t understand the FCC’s net neutrality regulations
By Yaël Ossowski / March 19, 2015 / Watchdog.org Since the Federal Communications Commission released its net neutrality regulations last week, there have been some strange interpretations about what these rules mean for Internet consumers. For instance, an article by Newsweek says the regulations will prohibit Internet service providers from limiting traffic based upon “commercial…
White House’s new data scientist is ready to give you homework
By Yaël Ossowski / March 19, 2015 / Watchdog.org In his first month on the job, the nation’s chief data scientist DJ Patil has been busy assigning Americans some homework. As part of his effort to celebrate Pi Day (3.14.15), Patil conjured up a geometry question for Americans to solve. “Imagine you have a rope…
FCC net neutrality regulations include one really scary sentence
By Yaël Ossowski / March 13, 2015 / Watchdog.org At long last, the FCC has released its 400-page tome of net neutrality regulations. One sentence alone reveals in a nutshell what’s to come. It’s to be found in the massive document released by the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday, nearly two weeks after three of…
No one in government knows knows how to use email — except Hillary Clinton
By Yaël Ossowski / March 10, 2015 / Watchdog.org Yet again, Americans can rest reassured their government officials don’t really know how to use email. Or technology for that matter. Save for Hillary Clinton, of course. This has been made more clear after revelations that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used her private email…
House of Cards: Feds aim to overrule states, ban online gambling
By Yaël Ossowski / March 5, 2015 / Watchdog.org Taking risks and reaping huge rewards may be a fixture of American politics, but a bill being pushed through committee may completely outlaw the chance for Americans to do the same from their home computer or smartphone on Internet gambling websites. At least that’s the idea…
British comedian John Oliver cheers FCC’s net neutrality regulation
By Yaël Ossowski / March 3, 2015 / Watchdog.org After pushing Americans to contact the FCC and lobby to make the Internet a public utility under Title II, British comedian John Oliver used part of his HBO show Monday to celebrate the regulation and his effort to implement it. “Yes! Cable and telephone companies will…