Techno-Politics

A little more than 246 years ago, our forefathers used the best technology available to inspire colonial proto-Americans to revolt against King George. At that time, the "best" technology available was the printing press and the "best" social network required the use of "word of mouth" in Public Houses. Grog was the lubricant that facilitated this communication and the rest, as they say, is history. Continue Reading →

The U.S. Treasury is wasting no time trying to get control of crypto transactions and the world of decentralized finance (DeFi). Its new report, The American Families Plan Tax Compliance Agenda, shows just how serious the IRS is about the threat to its bottom line. Continue Reading →

On August 6, 2020, the president of the United States signed two virtually identical executive orders banning the use of both TikTok and WeChat. TikTok will survive due to a partnership deal with Oracle that, at this writing, the president has approved. But, unless a federal judge issues a stay, by the time you read this WeChat will be officially banned. Continue Reading →

The latest information about both the TikTok and WeChat bans. Continue Reading →

Twitter’s CEO, Jack Dorsey, announced that Twitter will no longer accept paid political advertising. He tweeted his reasons, “This isn’t about free expression. This is about paying for reach. And paying to increase the reach of political speech has significant ramifications that today’s democratic infrastructure may not be prepared to handle. It’s worth stepping back in order to address.” Continue Reading →

Facebook is being pilloried for its unwillingness to remove a paid advertisement by President Trump’s reelection campaign after Facebook was notified by the Biden campaign that the ad contained false statements about Joe Biden and his son. On the surface, this seems simple, and Facebook’s decision not to remove the ad seems wrong. But there is much more to the story. Shelly Palmer talks with Kerry Drew and Bianca Peters on Fox 5 New York's Good Day. Original Airdate: October 15, 2019 Continue Reading →

On October 1, the Republican-led Federal Communications Commission (FCC) prevailed in the Washington DC circuit court of appeals and crushed the hopes of those arguing to reinstate net neutrality on a federal level. The responses from the FCC commissioners are split along party lines, so I will not bother to relitigate the case here. But Continue Reading →

Techlash has been brewing for years. No one should be surprised that “Break up big tech!” is a major talking point for many 2020 presidential hopefuls. But how, exactly, would this be accomplished? And, what would the world look like in the aftermath? Continue Reading →

First of all, thank you. My friends and I are humbled, awed and deeply grateful for the support the business community has put into ensuring that tragedies like the one that happened at our school never happen again. Despite the grief and trauma and confusion we feel, we are inspired daily by the courage from leaders like you. We are on the right side of history and together we can lead the way. Continue Reading →

The impact of BREXIT is so vast that we may never fully understand its effect. I discuss some thoughts about the near-term impact BREXIT will have on the tech sector and make a few educated guesses at the outcome. With Kerry Drew and Juliet Huddy on Fox 5. Original Airdate: June 28, 2016 Continue Reading →