Recently, a Pennsylvanian couple sued Google for publishing photos of their home on Google Maps. This lawsuit highlights the argument made by privacy advocates that technologies like Google Street View are invasive and inappropriate. In this WebMemo, ITIF Senior Analyst Daniel Castro argues that not only are these privacy fears unfounded, but if we were to accept the position of these privacy advocates, we would have to ban a whole host of modern technologies.
Publications
April 22, 2008
Without a more robust, targeted, and explicit federal innovation policy, U.S. competitiveness will continue to slip and economic growth will lag.
April 11, 2008
It’s time for a debate that focuses on the most important digital economy issues: how to get fast broadband networks to all Americans; how to use IT to transform our health care system, transportation system, education system, and government.
April 11, 2008
The United States is one of the few nations not allowing its citizens to submit their census forms online.
March 11, 2008
ITIF President Robert Atkinson’s presentation to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence outlines the intelligence implications of our increasingly digital economy and society.
February 14, 2008
Comments to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration state that the U.S. government should continue its historic role in providing oversight to the Internet's domain name and addressing system.
February 13, 2008
ISPs should have the right to reasonably manage their networks to ensure a fair and efficient distribution of bandwidth among their subscribers.
February 1, 2008
ITIF analyzes the decision made by the Census Bureau to eliminate the Internet response option and concludes that allowing respondents to submit their survey online would have saved taxpayers' money.
January 30, 2008
In a recent Huffington Post blog posting, Rob Atkinson argues that, instead of embracing growth policies to raise productivity in all the sectors of its economy, China, like many developing nations, has erected neo-mercantilist policies designed to favor a few select export sectors. Not only are these trade practices unfair, but they are not the best way to raise living standards – in China and elsewhere. It’s time to develop a new global consensus that domestic productivity growth should be the key focus of economic policy in every nation.
January 18, 2008
An article in "CommLaw Conspectus" outlines the economic rationale for a national broadband strategy, showing why the market alone will not generate the societally optimal level of broadband in the foreseeable future.