In the first of a two-part interview, activist and author Cory Doctorow explains how copyright law has failed to keep up with the realities of the modern digital world, potentially exposing consumers and researchers to crushing lawsuits and generally stifling innovation. Unlike physical books and LP records, every song or movie you stream, every eBook you read, every app you download is accompanied by long, arcane licensing agreements that we never read. Cory explains why this makes no sense and why we must update this body of law to protect consumers and unleash new products.

In the news, I’ll tell you about some password bugs in macOS, new security measures coming in Android’s Oreo release, and update you on the Equifax debacle. My Tip of the Week will help you avoid some nasty wireless vulnerabilities affecting literally billions of device (including laptops and smartphones).

Listen to Part 2: Do We Own Any Media We Buy Anymore?

Cory Doctorow is a science fiction author, activist, journalist and blogger — the co-editor of Boing Boing (boingboing.net) and the author of WALKAWAY, a novel for adults, a YA graphic novel called IN REAL LIFE, the nonfiction business book INFORMATION DOESN’T WANT TO BE FREE, and young adult novels like HOMELAND, PIRATE CINEMA and LITTLE BROTHER and novels for adults like RAPTURE OF THE NERDS and MAKERS. He works for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, is a MIT Media Lab Research Affiliate, is a Visiting Professor of Computer Science at Open University and co-founded the UK Open Rights Group. Born in Toronto, Canada, he now lives in Los Angeles.

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Website: www.craphound.com

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