4 posts and columns on lawmaker

Are "Sext" Messages a Teenage Felony or Folly?

in News on August 25, 2010 at 5:00 am PT

State lawmakers around the U.S. are struggling to decide if teenage “sexting”—the practice of sending nude or sexually suggestive photos by cellphone—is a serious crime, or juvenile folly run amok. About 20 states have enacted or proposed measures that deal with teenage sexters.

Is Verizon’s New Early-Termination Fee Anti-Consumer?

in News on November 6, 2009 at 11:06 am PT

Beginning Nov. 15, Verizon subscribers looking to get out of their smart-phone contracts early will pay $350 for the privilege. That early-termination fee is double the current one, but Verizon insists it’s justified because of the higher prices of today’s phones. An interesting move for a carrier that just last year agreed to pay $21 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by California consumers over the very early-termination fees it is now increasing.
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The Day After

in News on September 30, 2008 at 11:00 am PT

Told You Those Lobbyists Would Come in Handy, Sergey …

in News on September 30, 2008 at 10:27 am PT

“I’ve never seen a tech company ramp up faster than they have in the last year or two,” tech lobbyist Ralph Hellmann said of Google last year. “They’re using all the tools in the lobbying tool kit.” And with some success, it would seem. With the Justice Department reviewing the company’s proposed online advertising partnership with Yahoo and its critics growing increasingly vocal, Google has managed to win the support of some California lawmakers.