I chose a Google Pixel over an iPhone to escape Apple's walled garden, reduce vendor lock-in, and regain control--despite Google's own privacy trade-offs.

It is a time for choosing. TechFreedom stands for the Constitution.

Plus the TikTok ban, government jawboning, and more…

It is a time for choosing. TechFreedom stands for the Constitution.

WASHINGTON D.C. —­­ October 21 will mark the 20th anniversary of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, which governs the collection and use of information from, or about, children age 13 or under. While Congress has not revisited COPPA, the Federal Trade Commission significantly expanded the scope of the COPPA rule in 2013. Last October, the FTC issued an “Enforcement Policy Statement Regarding the Applicability of the COPPA Rule to the Collection and Use of Voice Recording.” What real-world effect have these changes had on the market for children’s content online? Furthermore, a complaint recently filed with the FTC raises significant questions about COPPA enforcement given the shift from stand-alone websites to third-party platforms for accessing content. How should the FTC determine what portion of a site is “directed to” children, or when a site is directed to children rather than families? How does COPPA’s knowledge standard work? Do platform operators have affirmative duties to identify child-directed content? What do these legal questions mean for creators of content and services for kids? Finally, Europe’s new General Data Protection Regulation would go beyond COPPA in regulating children’s information. Most notably, GDPR expands the age range covered to include children 13-16 — something Congress considered in 1998 but decided not to do because of First Amendment and practical concerns. How might the European approach to children’s privacy intersect with COPPA? Might Congress revisit the statute — and should it? Join TechFreedom at 9:15 AM on July 26, for a panel discussion of these critical questions. Breakfast will be served at 8:30 AM. Panelists will include: Jim Dunstan, General Counsel, TechFreedom (moderator) Maneesha Mithal, Associate Director, Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection Phyllis Marcus, Partner, Hunton Williams, and former Chief of Staff, Division of Advertising Practices, FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection Sara Kloek, Director of Education Policy, Software & Information Industry (SIIA) Berin Szóka, President, TechFreedom

Berin Szóka is President and Santana Boulton is a Legal Fellow at TechFreedom.Marsham Street (The Home Office), Westminster, London by Terry Farrell and Partners WikimediaIn January, the United Kingdom government issued an order to require Apple to break end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for users of its cloud storage services. To comply with the “technical capability notices (TCNs),” Apple must create a backdoor into encrypted cloud storage on its users’ devices—to all of them, not just specific accounts. These secret TCNs represent a massive overreach: they compel Apple to expose private data without transparency or accountability. Such demands have no precedent in

Responding to frustrations with app store monopolies. Exploring vendor lock-in, the challenge of avoiding Big Tech (Google/Apple), and finding peace.

Plus obscenity, spectrum sharing, net neutrality, and more…