Government & Policy
22 April 2013
Most Australians prefer Labor's faster yet pricier NBN plan to Opposition's policy Daily Telegraph [AU]
A majority of Australians prefer Labor's faster and more expensive National Broadband Network to the Coalition's cheaper and slower alternative.
21 April 2013
Google and antitrust: A settlement between the search firm and the European Union takes shape The Economist
Within a few days the future of Google has come into slightly sharper focus. In one respect, almost literally so: on April 15th the search giant said that it was about to start sending Google Glass -- a computer resembling spectacles, with a display before the user's eyes -- to developers eager to create applications for it. The firm has also published Glass's technical specifications and the rules for developers. Among other things, Glass apps must be free of advertising. Nor may data from them be used for advertisements.
20 April 2013
Report Calls for German Internet Commissioner Der Spiegel
A special Internet and Digital Society Commission convened by parliament has released several hundred recommendations for addressing data protection and other Internet-related issues in Germany. Chief among them: establishing a permanent Internet commissioner.
UK snoopers' laws could be used to 'oppress us', says David Cameron technology adviser Daily Telegraph [UK]
The Coalition's new internet surveillance laws are "disastrous" and could be "used to oppress us", one of David Cameron's technology advisers has said.
Cispa bill on cyber security passed by the US House BBC News
The US House of Representatives has passed the controversial Cyber Information Sharing and Protection Act.
19 April 2013
US CISPA plan to let feds receive confidential data wins big House vote CNET
The odds of a Democrat-controlled Senate approving legislation opposed by President Obama are slim, but today's vote could increase pressure for some sort of legislation this year.
18 April 2013
CISPA critics bolstered by Obama veto threat Washington Post
While opposition to the controversial cybersecurity bill CISPA has not been on the same level as last year's grassroots groundswell against the anti-piracy bill SOPA, opponents of the bill got a boost late Tuesday when the Obama administration said the president would veto the bill -- officially known as the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act -- in its current form.
17 April 2013
White House Threatens CISPA Veto, Says Revised Cybersecurity Bill Doesn't Adequately Protect Privacy, Civil Liberties Huffington Post
The White House on Tuesday threatened to veto a controversial cybersecurity bill out of concern that it fails to protect the privacy of Internet users.
U.S. antitrust regulators vow to pounce if Google strays Reuters
U.S. antitrust regulators said on Tuesday they would pounce on Google Inc. if they learned that the company, which dominates Internet search, violated the law after reaching an antitrust settlement in January.
15 April 2013
Europeans Reach Deal With Google on Searches New York Times
Google has for the first time agreed to legally binding changes to its search results after an antitrust investigation by European regulators into whether it abuses its dominance of online search.
12 April 2013
Google offers concessions to European Commission The Guardian
After nearly a year of negotiation, Google has submitted a package of concessions to the European Commission to head off an antitrust investigation that has ground on for two and a half years.
11 April 2013
Turnbull's Australian NBN plan inadequate: futurists The Age
Just two decades ago a dial-up internet connection would have taken more than a lifetime to download a single movie, while today's broadband connections can pull down several HD movie streams simultaneously.
10 April 2013
Google favours 'in-house' search results Financial Times
Google faces having to offer users in Europe more choice of other specialised search engines after Brussels investigators found its results were favouring its in-house services to the detriment of consumers.
World's Tech Companies Look to Brussels to Resolve Antitrust Complaints New York Times
When the European competition commissioner needs to communicate with the chairman of Google, he doesn't have to send an emissary or even pick up the phone.
Australian Coalition's NBN will need ongoing, costly upgrading, experts warn The Age
The Coalition's planned broadband infrastructure will "freeze" broadband speeds, and need ongoing and expensive upgrading to resemble the system that Labor is already building, IT experts have warned.
A lemon, experts declare on Australia's opposition broadband plan The Age
The Coalition has pledged to deliver cheaper and faster broadband sooner than Labor, saving nearly $10 billion from current government projections but leaving telco experts divided over which major political party's national broadband policy is the best for Australia's short and long-term future.
09 April 2013
In Europe, New Protest Over Google New York Times
European antitrust regulators have received a formal complaint about Google's Android operating system for mobile devices, even as they move to the final stages of their inquiry into the company's search practices.
Australian Coalition broadband plan to be slower but surer, says Malcolm Turnbull The Australian
Opposition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull has conceded his broadband plan will offer slower speeds than Labor's, but says unlike the government's his is capable of being built.
04 April 2013
Stop snooping, European regulators tell Google The Independent
That Google likes to keep things simple is apparent from its spartan home page: a logo, a text box for search queries, two buttons to process queries, and an unobtrusive strip of links to the internet behemoth's email, maps and other services along the top. Links along the bottom connect you to the company, and up in the top right-hand corner there's a button to sign in to your Google account.
03 April 2013
European data watchdogs target Google over privacy BBC News
Six European data protection agencies are contemplating legal action over Google's privacy policy.
30 March 2013
China intensifies attacks on Apple Financial Times
The Chinese government has intensified a co-ordinated public campaign against Apple, slamming the technology group as "dishonest", "greedy" and "incomparably arrogant" and threatening regulatory action if the US company does not improve its after-sales service policies.
Portugal media demands Google pays for news Reuters
Portuguese media companies, struggling through the worst recession since the 1970s, are pressing Google to pay for content on its news search engine, echoing similar demands elsewhere in Europe.
29 March 2013
Copyright wars are damaging the health of the internet The Guardian
Those pushing for 'solutions' to piracy risk eroding the net's integrity and freedom from surveillance, censorship and control
27 March 2013
EU intent on delivering 30Mbps broadband to everyone by 2020 Ars Technica
Under the European Union's Digital Agenda for Europe, all member states are to offer a minimum level of 30Mbps broadband to everybody by 2020. (Some countries, like Denmark and Finland, are already nearly there.) But last month, over $9 billion designated to accelerate this broadband deployment was slashed from the EU budget as part of massive budget cuts. The cuts have raised doubt about whether the soon-to-be-28-member-nation group will make the 30Mbps goal. But Neelie Kroes, the EU's Commissioner for the Digital Agenda, is still intent on getting to that ambitious target.
25 March 2013
Visualizing Google's Transparency Report, Part 1 (2&3): What Countries Are Asking Google For User Data? Electronic Frontier Foundation
EFF is excited to announce this, a visual collaboration with SHARE Defense, a new international advocacy group created by the Balkan Share Foundation this year with the goal of engaging in public policy debates concerning digital rights and promoting positive values of openness, decentralization, and free access. Blending the expertise of lawyers, policy analysts, activists, artists, and technologists, SHARE Defense's mission is to stop the oppression, censorship, and surveillance of future generations. The activities of SHARE Defense are supported by cooperation and friendship with a wide network of various institutions, individuals and organizations. As a watchdog organization SHARE Defense will critically monitor the activities of governments in Serbia and Balkan regions and provide policy support to any social, technological, and regulatory change which could affect our digital rights.
