• "Agencies," Communications Daily, March 25, 2009
  "The U.S. shouldn't pursue a functional separation regulatory model for wireline access networks, said Barbara Esbin of the Progress & Freedom Foundation in a report released Tuesday."
  "Doing that in the U.S. 'would require a sudden and extreme policy reversal that would render the telecommunications sector wholly unattractive to investors,' Esbin said. Instead, policymakers should concentrate on getting broadband to unserved areas, 'removing remaining disincentives to investment' and making more wireless spectrum available, she said."
• "Group Mounts Defence of Patent System," IP Review Online, March 17, 2009
  "Writing on behalf of the Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF), IP litigation expert Sidney A Rosenzweig has rebuffed efforts by Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz to portray the patent system as unfair and monopolistic."
  "He argues: ‘Stiglitz is mostly focused on international development and whether adoption of US-style patent protection is appropriate for developing countries. To deter the spread of US-style patent-protection policies, Stiglitz relies on two tactics: first, he denigrates the US patent system, and second, he suggests alternatives in light of [the] supposed failings. [But] Stiglitz’s critiques of the US patent system are often anecdotal and misrepresentative.’
  "Rosenzweig stops short of rejecting all of Stiglitz’s basic ideas, admitting that ‘some of Stiglitz’s alternatives to the patent system – such as prize funds [for medical breakthroughs] – are welcome complements to current incentives’. However, he is troubled by his opponent’s stance on compulsory licences, which he says is ‘based on false premises and ignores obvious effects on drug development’."
• "Are Google's Behavior-Based Ads a New Privacy Concern?," eWeek, March 16, 2009
  "Berin Szoka, a fellow at The Progress & Freedom Foundation and director of the Center for Internet Freedom, suggests that Google’s piling-on by some privacy advocates could be somewhat unwarranted, and that the company gives 'consumers more granular control over their own privacy preferences by developing better tools.'
  "'Because these services [and their competitors] are all free, Google has to compete in what economists call "non-price terms"—such as privacy,' Szoka wrote in a research report distributed on March 11. 'So, Google has a lot to lose by alienating its users and a lot to gain by being seen as a leader in privacy protection.'"
• "Google to Target Ads Based on Web Surfing Habits," San Francisco Chronicle, March 11, 2009
  "[Berin Szoka, Fellow with] The Progress & Freedom Foundation, a Washington-based think tank, applauded Google for creating a 'gold standard' that puts the company's stamp on behavioral targeting ads and provides clear explanations on how to avoid them. The group brushed off the criticism of Google's expansion into behavioral targeting as 'paroxysms of privacy hysteria.'"
• "Michigan Attorney General Tells Craigslist to Shape Up," Washington Internet Daily, March 2, 2009
  "Adam Thierer of the Progress and Freedom Foundation also said the letter didn't raise alarm bells of overreaching on the attorney general's part. 'It can't hurt for Craigslist to provide some links to law enforcement officials or designate who to turn to when problems develop,' he said. That seems like it would be an industry best practice, he said."

Previous Months:

July
June
May
April
March
February
January

Previous Years:

2008
2007
2006
2005
2004