Market forces govern almost all commodities subject to shortage. Exceptions to this rule include public utilities (although this is slowly changing with the application of deregulated electric grids). This change developed as a response to shortage and inefficiencies of monopolized service providers. In the Southwest United States, a similar shortage and inefficient use governs water …

September 28th, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) for a “Grid Resiliency Pricing Rule.” This rule directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to attribute greater value to “baseload” resources like coal and nuclear by allowing them to recover full cost of plant service. These resources are touted to …

In the quest for data on anti-administration activists, the Department of Justice requested the “names of an estimated 6,000 people who ‘liked’ a Facebook page about an Inauguration Day protest.” The DOJ has since dropped that specific request, but at a hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Borchert revealed a persisting interest in “likes” of another …

In a brief filed on October 13, 2017, the Department of Justice contends that users who have been blocked by President Trump on Twitter have no valid claim against the president. The brief was filed in response to a lawsuit brought by seven different Twitter users, as well as Columbia University’s Knight First Amendment Institute, …

In recent months, some websites have commandeered users’ computer processors to “mine” cryptocurrency. This new form of computer user abuse is called “Cryptojacking.” Cryptojacking is possible because of new “mining” technology that allows websites to run JavaScripts that use an individual’s computer processing power to mine cryptocurrency without the individual’s knowledge or permission. This allows …

Airbnb has been subject to increasing regulations from municipalities across the country, with various requirements being imposed. For example, many of these cities are necessitating that the owners of the units that are being listed obtain a rental license, limiting how many properties can be listed by one owner, requiring that the listing is the …

U.S. intelligence operatives residing in Cuba have been reporting “sonic-like” attacks, affecting at least 21 American operatives so far. Despite attacks beginning roughly a year ago, the story initially failed to pick up significant momentum. Now, almost a year after first reports, continued attacks have prompted significant action from the United States. Despite the hazy …

Last week, news broke that hackers working for the Russian government acquired American intelligence programs by exploiting weaknesses in Kaspersky Lab, a software security program used by several agencies in the United States government. According to the Wall Street Journal, the hackers successfully acquired “details of how the U.S. penetrates foreign computer networks and defends …

The Netherlands is often described as having an indifferent stance to drugs, LGBT rights, privacy and, well, pretty much all social issues, so when the Dutch government suggests something presents an issue worthy of regulation and enforcement, it should raise eyebrows. Recently, the Dutch body responsible for the regulation of privacy protections, the Data Protection …

For decades now, humans have been convicted and punished on the basis of fingerprint evidence. Society has come to accept the fact that police will take fingerprint impressions of those they arrest. Citizens largely realize the government will analyze those fingerprint impressions by comparing them to unidentified fingerprints left at crime scenes. These unidentified fingerprints, …