US Collecting Data on Millions of Drivers

US Collecting Data on Millions of Drivers

Good morning, All,

Our next Breakfast with an Investor is tomorrow, Wednesday, February 18th,and our guest investor is Alicia Syrett, Founder and CEO of Pantegrion Capital, an angel investment firm that focuses on seed and early stage investments, and a member of several angel networks, including Golden Seeds and NY Angels. She’s a very active investor and startup advisor – and she’s currently looking for NYC-based early stage investments. For the record, because we keep the group small, every investor who has spoken at one of our breakfasts so far has made him or herself available to attendees afterwards, meaning private consultation. RSVP here and hope to see you there!

For some time, we’ve been accused of showing an undue/unnecessarily strong focus on the subject of Internet freedom. FCC Commissioner: Obama Taking Unprecedented Direct Control Over Internet Changes: ‘FCC commissioner Ajit Pai said President Barack Obama is about to succeed in his attempt to take “alarmingly unprecedented direct involvement” into the FCC’s plan to regulate the internet, which he explained will mean “billions of dollars in new taxes,” slower broadband speeds and “less competition.”

Discussing the plan that the FCC has refused to let the public see, Pai said, “Unfortunately it looks like the cake has been baked. President Obama gave his direction to the FCC in back in early November and lo and behold, the FCC majority has put together President Obama’s plan for Internet regulation. And it looks to be posed pass it on a 3-to-2 vote.”

When asked if the president’s move was an “alarmingly unprecedented direct involvement,” into FCC, Pai agreed, explaining the FCC has been an independent agency since 1934, he said, “When you have a politician shortly after the midterm election deciding to direct the agency to do  x, y, z  and telling us he wants us to use a particular legal theory to do it you’re in uncharted territory, at least in my experience. I think compromising the independence of the agency is bad enough, but especially when it involves the government control the Internet. That is just a dangerous road for us to travel on.’

We raised the alarm way back when SOPA and PIPA (previous attempts to control the internet) were so-called defeated, that the battle was far from over. It’s important to pay attention to the signposts: we were all aware that the government was spying on citizens, and when it came to light, the government upped the game and widened its surveillance. You can’t leave home without it, either:
US Collecting Data on Millions of Drivers.

Here’s a must see: WATCH: Sen. Ted Cruz Tells the FCC, ‘Don’t Mess With The Internet’. This is not about politics. This is about what’s going on. The initial plan is 332 pages. No one is entitled to see what’s in there – until it’s passed and too late, and that includes Congress. Or there’s this: The Internet: 5 People to Decide Its Future.

We’ve mentioned the short-sightedness of our tech ‘leaders’, and lo and behold: Internet groups in tricky position over US net neutrality.

These sorts of directives, meaning control of the internet and increased surveillance,  are always top down and head’s up, in case you missed the forest through the trees: the problem with lying is that you are never able to trust anyone – you have to assume that everyone else is lying as well. The problem with having something to hide is that you have to assume that everyone else has something to hide as well. You can do the math from here. There’s no issue that’s more important in tech right now than this. and the consequences will potentially be devastating and felt globally. This is a battle for the future. Eyes open and ears to the ground, all, as we attempt, as always, to go onward and forward.

Comments are closed.