Communications of the ACM
Innovation Is Overrated: A Provocation
Digital innovation is not working in the interest of the whole of society. It is time to radically rethink its purpose without…
From ACM Opinion
Edward Snowden, Whistle-Blower
Seven months ago, the world began to learn the vast scope of the National Security Agency's reach into the lives of hundreds of millions of people in the United...
From ACM Opinion
Viewing Where the Internet Goes
Will 2014 be the year that the Internet is reined in?
From ACM Opinion
Google nveils Tools to Access Web From Repressive Countries
Google Ideas, the New York City–based "think/do tank" run by the Internet search giant, is launching several new technologies designed to highlight hacker attacks...
From ACM Opinion
The Information-Gathering Paradox
Consumer trust is a vital currency for every big Internet company, which helps to explain why the giants of Silicon Valley have gone to great lengths in recent...
From ACM Opinion
N.s.a. Director Gives Firm and Broad Defense of Surveillance Efforts
The director of the National Security Agency, Gen. Keith B. Alexander, said in an interview that to prevent terrorist attacks he saw no effective alternative to...
From ACM Opinion
The Argument For Making the Misuse of Your Personal Data a Felony
Craig Mundie is Microsoft's senior advisor to the CEO, spending his time on big-picture stuff such as (according to his bio) "key strategic projects within the...
From ACM Opinion
A Day in the Life of My Iphone
Each morning at 7 a.m., I am awakened by the sound of a spaceship next to my bed.
From ACM Opinion
Snowden, Through the Eyes of a Spy Novelist
For a spy novelist like me, the Edward J. Snowden story has everything. A man driven by ego and idealism—can anyone ever distinguish the two?—leaves his job and...
From ACM Opinion
Blowing a Whistle
I'm glad I live in a country with people who are vigilant in defending civil liberties.
From ACM Opinion
Fixing the Digital Economy
Two big trends in the world appear to contradict each other.
From ACM Opinion
At Google Conference, Cameras Even in the Bathroom
The future came crashing down on me this week at the Google I/O developer conference while I stood at a bathroom urinal.
From ACM Opinion
Googling You
The settlement last week between a group of state attorneys general and Google over the company’s improper data collection from home wireless networks shows the...
From ACM Opinion
After Adding Online Privacy Protections, F.t.c. Chief Resigns
Jon Leibowitz, the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, said on Thursday that he would resign effective mid-February.
From ACM Opinion
I Am Not Big Brother
I've grown accustomed to reading inaccurate accounts of my day job. I'm in political data.
From ACM Opinion
Inside the Secret World of the Data Crunchers Who Helped Obama Win
In late spring, the backroom number crunchers who powered Barack Obama's campaign to victory noticed that George Clooney had an almost gravitational tug on West...
From ACM Opinion
Google's Little Nemo Tribute: Maybe The Best Google Doodle Ever
Winsor McCay (1869–1934) was one of the first important creators of both comic strips and animation, and a pretty fair political cartoonist to boot.
From ACM Opinion
What Makes Google's Maps So Good
Wow. Nothing makes you appreciate something like losing it.
From ACM News
How Depressives Surf the Web
In what way do you spend your time online? Do you check your email compulsively? Watch lots of videos? Switch frequently among multiple Internet applications—from...
From ACM Opinion