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
It's Time to Rewrite the Internet to Give US Better Privacy, and Security
Almost 15 years ago, as I was just finishing a book about the relationship between the Net (we called it "cyberspace" then) and civil liberties, a few ideas seemed...
From ACM Opinion
Balancing Security and Liberty in the Age of Big Data
A very large Internet company once had the noble impulse to share some of its data with the research community.
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
Let's Rescue Metadata From the Spy Agencies
Once the civil libertarians have had their say, let's hope the really interesting questions start being asked.
From ACM Opinion
What Would Happen If All Satellites Stopped Working?
We may not always realise it, but we depend on space technology orbiting the Earth.
From ACM Opinion
Why Americans Don't Fear the Nsa
Cybersnooping was always scheduled to be an important topic during President Obama’s meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
From ACM Opinion
How to Protect Yourself from the Online Axis of Evil
North Korea and Iran are viewed as threats to the world because of their potential to field weapons of mass destruction, but they are far more likely to focus their...
From ACM Opinion
Dave Farber, Internet's "grandfather," Seeks to Cut Through Fog of Cyberwar
Over the last few years, the rhetoric if not the actuality of cyberwarfare has been escalating.
From ACM Opinion
Who's Watching You? Not Just the Nsa.
While you were tweeting an Instagram of your home-cooked tikka masala last night, we learned that the National Security Agency (NSA) has been collecting data on...
From ACM Opinion
As Facebook Grows p, Grand Ambitions Get Reality Check
Facebook, which once seemed poised to take over the Internet, is showing its limitations: a host of newer services are gaining ground among trend-setting youth;...
From ACM Opinion
Google+ Isn't a Social Network; It's The Matrix
Pretty much everyone (myself included) has been reading Google+ wrongly.
From ACM Opinion
Senator Rand Paul Talks Tech, Civil Liberties, and Keeping the Government Out of Your Email
Rand Paul is having some problems with the jerks back at the office. So today he's bypassing them on a road trip through Silicon Valley.
From ACM Opinion
The Fbi's New Wiretapping Plan Is Great News For Criminals
The FBI wants a new law that will make it easier to wiretap the Internet.
From ACM Opinion
The Banality of 'don’t Be Evil'
"The New Digital Age" is a startlingly clear and provocative blueprint for technocratic imperialism, from two of its leading witch doctors, Eric Schmidt and Jared...
From ACM Opinion
Why the Html5 Standard Fight Matters
Today, EFF announced that it was making a formal objection to including consideration of digital rights management (DRM) in the First Public Working Draft from...
From ACM Opinion
Search Me: Online Reputation Management
A few weeks ago, I Googled a pub to find out where it was.
From ACM Opinion
Flame One Year Later
It's been a year since the first reports of the Flame malware surfaced, and looking back at the 12 months since then, it seems more and more each day that the discovery...
From ACM Opinion
Government Plan to Build 'back Doors' For Online Surveillance Could Create Dangerous Vulnerabilities
Recently, the FBI has been attacking the "going dark" problem—that is, its inability to read all electronic communications—from both legal and technological angles...
From ACM Opinion