The Heartland Institute

Oregon lawmakers have unanimously approved a measure requiring state agencies to post information about Oregon’s economic development tax incentives on the state’s transparency Web site. House Bill 2825, sponsored by State Reps. Phil Barnhart (D-Eugene) and Kim Thatcher (R-Keizer), requires disclosure of the names of companies receiving ...

Washington State lawmakers are about to prove the adage that there is no such thing as a temporary tax. They are on the verge of reauthorizing several taxes scheduled to expire next year. Rep. Tina Orwall (D-Des Moines) introduced HB 1997 to remove the expiration date on several temporary taxes imposed by the Legislature in ...

Recent actions by the Federal Communications Commission display a fundamental misunderstanding of the benefits of vertical integration in the telecommunications industry, according to market analysts observing the FCC s handling of the proposed merger between Comcast and NBC Universal. While tentatively granting his consent for the ...

The retransmission battle between Fox TV and New York-area multichannel video programming deliverer (MVPD) Cablevision has provided a boon for new startup ivi TV. The Internet broadcaster increased subscriptions during a nearly month-long programming blackout last October by more than 320 percent. The benefits provided ivi TV by ...

In the wake of the 3-2 vote by the Federal Communications Commission to impose network neutrality regulations on the Internet this past December, the new Republican majority in the House of Representatives may change the terms of the debate significantly. Members of the incoming congressional leadership expressed displeasure with ...

Ongoing revelations about Google's privacy practices are raising more questions about whether the company illegally collected information without consent and whether its close relationship to the United States’ government is garnering the company special consideration. In May 2007, Google Street View was launched, and camera-equipped ...

Cyberterrorism, hackers, identity theft, and computer viruses threaten to disrupt the world s digital networks. Digital attacks can have severe effects on national wealth. In order to improve cyber-security nationwide, leading insurers and federal homeland security officials have agreed to work together to improve cyber-security within ...

Demonstrating how government control over the Internet gateway enables increased censorship, a new law in Syria could seriously curtail online media use in the Mideast nation. The law allows police access to editorial offices in order to arrest journalists and seize their computers. Arrested journalists will then be tried in ...

The financial benefits of tiered-pricing plans for residential and business customers may exceed unlimited plans by as much as 25 percent annually, according to a study by the Technology Policy Institute, Washington, DC. “Residential and Business Broadband Prices, Part 1: An Empirical Analysis of Metering and Other Price Determinants ...

Although representing only 13 percent of all mobile phone users, smartphone owners account for two-thirds of worldwide cellular traffic, according to research by Informa Telecoms & Media (ITM), a telecommunications strategy and consulting company headquarter in the United Kingdom. In North America, smartphones account for 86 percent ...

The Federal Communications Commission unanimous approval of white spaces for wireless networking access has raised concerns signals carried on the spectrum could be sniffed by hackers. Even with current, less powerful wi-fi signals, there have been several news reports of hackers picking up hot spot wireless signals. Even though ...

Wi-fi users in Minneapolis, Minnesota received some bill shock last summer when they got invoices for the city s ostensibly free municipal service. US Internet (USI), the provider of the Minneapolis Internet and hosting services, required users to verify their identities with a credit card. The company claims the invoices were ...

Research showing mobile phone applications reveal a startling amount about their users is raising concerns among privacy advocates and Web security professionals. By downloading and using the apps, mobile phone users unwittingly disclose to companies behind the applications information about themselves they would not normally reveal ...

Higher government spending on dependence-creating programs, and an ever-shrinking number of taxpayers, are imperiling the nation s fiscal position, say William Beach and Patrick Tyrell of the Heritage Foundation. In " The 2010 Index of Dependence on Government," Beach and Tyrell point out the United States is nearing the point where ...

One of the most pressing policy issues of our time is taxes. With the United States and several state and local governments teetering on the edge of financial disaster, policymakers are clamoring for ways to raise even more revenue. But as the Supreme Court stated in the 1874 case Citizens’ Savings and Loan Assn v. City ...

As the economy continues to struggle with unemployment near double digits, allowing the Federal Communications Commission to impose network neutrality regulations could cause the loss of another 300,000 jobs, according to a report from the Washington, DC-based Phoenix Center. It’s not just any jobs that would be affected, the ...

In response to requests from federal law enforcement and national security officials, members of Congress are drafting a bill to grant enhanced wiretapping capabilities enabling them to intercept communications of encrypted e-mail transmitters such as BlackBerry, social networking Web sites such as Facebook, and software that allows ...

Public concern over potential health effects and property values resulted in a six-month moratorium on the construction of telecommunications towers in Blaine, Minnesota. The Blaine City Council meeting agenda in October included a motion to grant a conditional use permit to construct a 100-foot Monopole tower, but emotional comments ...

Donna Brazile, appearing in the October 2010 issue of Oprah Winfrey s O magazine, says she supports reinstituting the Fairness Doctrine, the controversial Federal Communications Commission policy rescinded in 1987. In her monthly column for the magazine, the former campaign manager of Al Gore s 2000 presidential campaign lightheartedly ...

Two recent rulings by the Seventh Circuit Court have cleared up some confusion regarding the federal Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act. The court dismissed a suit brought against Houston, Texas anesthesiologist Dr. Eric Chan by an Illinois-based company with a similar Web address, notding Chan s site specifically gave a ...