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A new bill could ban facial recognition in federally-funded housing
Now that facial recognition is more common, so are the laws aiming to limit its scope. San Francisco, Oakland, Calif. and Somerville, Mass. have all passed laws prohibiting city use of facial recognition. Now, a group of Congresswomen hope to pass the first federal legislation to limit the technology. According to CNET, the No Biometric Barriers to Housing Act is expected to be introduced this week.
Congressman receives death threat over net neutrality
The FCC is set to vote on its plan to remove net neutrality protections on December 14th and as that day gets closer, things are getting heated. A 28-year-old Syracuse man is now facing federal charges for a call he allegedly made to Representative John Katko wherein he threatened the congressman and his family's lives. A voicemail was left on Katko's office phone that said, "Listen Mr. Katko, if you support net neutrality, I will support you. But if you don't support net neutrality, I will find you and your family and I will kill... you ... all. Do you understand? I will literally find all... of ... you and your progeny and just wipe you from the face of the earth." The caller also went on to say that net neutrality was more important that US defense, free speech and healthcare and that it is "literally the basis of the new society."
Facebook is trying to make clicktivism worth something
One of the problems with clicking Angry Face on a story about some kleptocrat earning a fast buck for themselves is that it has no real consequences. It's an issue that Facebook is looking to challenge by instantly providing the details of your local political representative. You can then append their contact details to your public post, enabling yourself (and others) to make your feelings known in a more meaningful way.
SOPA: Who's in and who's out?
By now we're sure you're aware that SOPA is more than just a tomato-based noodle soup. The Stop Online Piracy Act's been stirring controversy with its intentions, and it'll most likely continue in this path until we hear a final decision. Go Daddy wasn't shy -- before retracting -- about its support for the bill, and things have changed drastically since we first heard some of the "top dogs" express their feelings. But who else is behind it, who's got your back, and who's had a change of heart? The answers await you after the break.
iPad appears in US House of Representatives
Politico picked up the story of a Democratic congressman rocking out an iPad while at the podium in the U.S. House of Representatives. The stylish iPad wielder was Henry Cuellar of the Texas 28th, who's described himself as a "techie." According to Politico's interview with Cuellar, the congressman uses his iPad first thing in the morning to check the papers while enjoying his cup of coffee. He uses his tablet again in the evening to check his email and see if there are any important news stories. In terms of professional apps, Cuellar uses Congress in Your Pocket to keep tabs on his fellow politicians. He has another app that works like a teleprompter (unspecified, but likely to be ProPrompter) allowing his aides to send him important talking points. The app he doesn't have? Angry Birds. Apparently, Cuellar likes to keep his iPad productive and distraction-free. That's not all. Cuellar confirmed that he's "seen a couple of other members that have their iPads." Maybe he's starting a Beltway trend.
EVE's 3rd Council of Stellar Management elections underway
The Council of Stellar Management (CSM) in EVE Online is perhaps the best implementation of governance in the virtual space achieved thus far among the numerous MMOs and virtual worlds, although this concept in the industry is rare. The basic idea behind the CSM is that as the horizons of EVE Online and its subscriber numbers expand, there are many different playstyles to be found in the game. The CSM acts as the voice of the playerbase, advising CCP Games on how best to change or develop the game to suit player interests in a far more direct way than the requisite 'nerf this' or 'boost that' threads on the official forums. The Council of Stellar Management delegates aren't selected by CCP but are elected by the players themselves, which is the subject of the latest dev blog from CCP Xhagen (aka Pétur Jóhannes Óskarsson).EVE Online's 3rd Council of Stellar Management elections are underway. CCP Xhagen's dev blog enumerates some of the CSM's main achievements to date, hopefully providing more incentive for players to vote. (Voter turnout has been lower than hoped, with only 8.6% of the playerbase getting involved, as of the 2nd election.) Massively has covered this idea of player governance in the past through interviews with CCP developers involved with this initiative, but Xhagen's dev blog and its links to EVElopedia provides greater detail into how the CSM operates. The polls close on May 26th, so if you're an EVE Online player, remember to make your vote count.
US house Reps approve net neutrality bill, reveal semblance of sanity
We aren't out of the woods yet, but a U.S. House of Representatives panel has approved the net neutrality bill, a controversial proposal that would prohibit broadband providers from restricting access and impairing the speed of their competitors' content. Many feel this bill is crucial for market competitiveness and preserving the democratic nature of the internet. But instead of inciting a debate here at TUAW about a bill that is already setting media outlets everywhere ablaze, I'll just point you to a few resources to learn more about the issues, such as the Network neutrality Wikipedia entry, a Wired article and Macworld's report of the recent bill approval.
