Tag Archives: Internet
Recommended Books from 2011 Readings
In what follows, I offer a list of the ‘best’ books that I read through 2011. Some are thought-provoking, others were important in how I understood various facets of the policy process, and still others offer interesting tidbits of information that have until now been hidden in shadow. For each book I’ll identify it’s main aim and a few points about what made the book compelling enough to get onto my list. Texts are not arranged in any particular ranking order, and all should be available through your preferred online book seller. Continue reading
Online Voting and Hostile Deployment Environments
Elections Canada cannot secure an online electoral process, and that process is too important to risk to the Internet. Paper voting is annoying. It’s not necessarily as convenient as using a smartphone to move your money around. It takes time. It’s also one of the very few political expectations/hopes that are put on Canadians every few years. It is not too much to mail in a vote, go to a polling station, or (quite reasonably) abstain from voting for political, personal, or other reasons. It is too much to expect that we would endanger the entire electoral process just to attract those who are already unwilling to take a half-hour of their time every few years to cast a ballot. Continue reading
Weebly, Analytics, and Privacy Violations (Updated II)
Google demands that a very low baseline be met as a condition of using Analytics to surveil web visitors: they should be obliged to ensure that the baseline is met and, where it isn’t, apply consequences for violating Google’s terms of service. If the company can take a hard line on pseudonyms on their social networking service, why can’t they take a similar line concerning the use of the company’s older Analytics product? Continue reading
Letter to Stephen Harper on Lawful Access Legislation
Working from the most recent lawful access bills, which died when the last election was called, advocates and academics have come together to draft a letter of concerns to the Prime Ministers Office (PMO). Continue reading
