books

Making Sense of Modern Pornography

Katrina Forrester The New Yorker
Disagreement on the left reigns over pornography. Is it in essence the objectification of capitalist commodity relations applied to "the other" with possibly disastrous social consequences, or is its celebration of eroticism potentially subversive of an entire repressive culture? The book under review examines the modern porn industry where the Internet has made it ubiquitous, and access on many sites even free. So if this isn't our fathers' old titillations, what is it?

Hacker-Proof Code Confirmed

Kevin Hartnett Quanta Magazine
Computer scientists can prove certain programs to be error-free with the same certainty that mathematicians prove theorems. The advances are being used to secure everything from unmanned drones to the internet. However, they're not claiming they are going to prove an entire system is correct, 100 percent reliable in every bit, down to the circuit level. "That’s ridiculous to make those claims."

books

Culture After Google

Emilie Bickerton New Left Review
Anatomy of a cultural product with the potential to ameliorate social inequities but threatened by digital corporate conglomeration and hijacking by the security state. Book covers the implications for cultural democracy in various sectors-music, film, news, advertising-how battles over copyright, piracy and privacy laws have evolved, counterpoints to invasive data-mining and a "People's Platform" supporting the politics of a fightback.

Net Neutrality Wins: The FCC will propose strong Title II regulation

T.C. Sottek The Verge
'The Internet must be fast, fair, and open.' The biggest revelation from the proposal is the decision to lump wireless networks in with wired broadband, something the FCC has avoided doing for years thanks to enormous pressure from Verizon and AT&T.

As Hollywood Funds a SOPA Revival Through State Officials, Google (And The Internet) Respond

Parker Higgins Electronic Frontier Foundation
A coordinated campaign by the Motion Picture Association of America follows a trend of lobbyists funneling money and gifts to state attorneys general, who are subject to fewer restrictions and disclosure requirements than elected officials at the national level. Google is the target today, but the real target is the open Internet, which depends on free and uncensored platforms to survive.
Subscribe to Internet