Too Poor to Afford the Internet; New York Times, 8/12/16

Anthony W. Marx, New York Times; Too Poor to Afford the Internet:

"I know there are technological hurdles to providing universal broadband. But the commitment I’m asking for isn’t particularly novel. Early in the last century, the nation’s leaders decided, at no small cost, to bring clean water, then electricity, then phone service to all parts of our country. And from this foundation we built the wealthiest, most productive economy in the world.

When New York City was founded by the Dutch, it had two great strengths: a population of varied backgrounds and ideas, and access to information, through its vibrant shipping industry. This is what made us a global city. Today’s technology revolution promises to provide more information, more widely than ever. Yet we have left almost two million New Yorkers in the digital dark.

We can fix this. We can realize our city’s full potential in the digital age. And the kids in the Bronx can get their math homework done."

Senator Al Franken demands Pokémon Go release privacy information; Guardian, 7/12/16

Mazin Sidahmed, Guardian; Senator Al Franken demands Pokémon Go release privacy information:

"The insanely popular Pokémon Go is collecting users’ data and sharing it with anonymous third parties, Senator Al Franken of Minnesota said in a letter to the company’s CEO on Tuesday.

The lawmaker wrote a letter to Niantic Inc’s John Hanke on Tuesday with a list of demands for further information regarding the app’s privacy settings.

“I am concerned about the extent to which Niantic may be unnecessarily collecting, using, and sharing a wide range of users’ personal information without their appropriate consent,” he wrote.

Franken, who sits on the Senate subcommittee on privacy, technology, and the law, accused the company of collecting users’ information and potentially sharing it with third-party service providers. He highlighted that most users are children and the app’s default setting is to automatically collect data, with users having to specifically “opt-out”."