ICT for Development: Thoughts Towards a History and its Future Role

ICT4D: Thoughts Towards a History of ICT4D - and its Future Role | Oxford Internet Institute - Webcasts: "The presentation will use the history and development of ICT4D - and its relationships with both development policy and the ICT sector - as a framework to critique ICT4D approaches and consider the relevance of ICTs and ICT4D to the post-2015 development agenda.

It will draw, inter alia, on recent work for the World Bank, to assess ICTs in post-conflict reconstruction; for the International Institute for Sustainable Development, to address the relationship between ICTs and sustainability; and for UNCTAD and the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development, to consider the implications of emerging ICT trends for developmental outcomes." 'via Blog this'

YouTube in talks with Ankara to lift the ban: report

YouTube in talks with Ankara to lift the ban: report - RIGHTS: "The parliament had passed Feb. 6 a much-debated Internet bill, amid concerns raised by the European Union as well as local NGOs and opposition parties. “The regulation that has been approved by the General Assembly is giving unseen authorities to the TİB,” the Turkish Journalists Association criticized the Law Nr. 5651, which TİB based its decision on in today's YouTube blocking.

Even before the fresh leaks, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had given the signal that the Twitter ban could be extended to YouTube and Facebook. The ban on Twitter was halted by an administrative court ruling on March 26 and TİB has to unblock Twitter in 30 days, according to Turkish laws." 'via Blog this'

Web-blocking and copyright protection: the European court sets the limits

Web-blocking and copyright protection: the European court sets the limits « radiobruxelleslibera: "Court of Justice of the European Union has finally determined the limits under which national courts can require ISPs (Internet access providers) to block access to websites in order to prevent or impede copyright infringements. The decision of the Court (Judgment in Case C‑314/12 UPC Telekabel Wien GmbH v Constantin Film Verleih GmbH and Wega Filmproduktionsgesellschaft mbHis of February 27, 2014) is not surprising, because the relevant European directives allow implicitly such kind of national interventions in order to repress piracy. However, today’s decision is very important because for the first time the European court has set forth some mandatory principles that national courts must comply with when ordering ISPs to block access to websites for copyright protection purposes." 'via Blog this'

Why the U.S. Government Isn't Really Relinquishing its Power over Internet Governance

Michael Geist - Why the U.S. Government Isn't Really Relinquishing its Power over Internet Governance: "
Not only is the U.S. able to assert jurisdiction over ICANN, but it has also asserted jurisdiction over all dot-com, dot-net, and dot-org domain names. In 2012, a U.S. court ordered the seizure of a dot-com domain that was registered in Canada with no U.S. connection other than the location of the domain name registry. This effectively means the U.S. retains jurisdiction over half of all domain name registrations worldwide regardless of where they are registered or who manages the system.



The U.S. might transition away from the current model (though the initial 2015 date seems ambitious), but much of its jurisdictional power will remain largely unchanged. The latest announcement has the potential to fulfill a promise made nearly two decades ago, but skeptics can be forgiven for suspecting that power over Internet governance will remain firmly rooted in the U.S. no matter how the issue is resolved." 'via Blog this'

Q&A with cybersecurity and privacy expert Ian Brown theguardian.com

Q&A with cybersecurity and privacy expert Ian Brown | Comment is free | theguardian.com: "How far can societies shape the development of computing and communications technologies, so that they serve the public good as well as private interests? How can technologists translate values such as privacy into hardware designs, software code and system architectures? Should - and can - governments intervene effectively to ensure this happens? And who decides what those values should be?

These were some of the questions discussed this week at the Oxford London lecture, in association with the Guardian. Dr Ian Brown"

See comments below the article for several excellent security analyses by Ian: 'via Blog this'

Net Neutrality: Dangerous Loopholes Remain After Key Vote by Lead EU Parliament Committee

Net Neutrality: Dangerous Loopholes Remain After Key Vote by Lead EU Parliament Committee | La Quadrature du Net: "The “Industry” (ITRE) committee has just adopted its report on the Telecom Regulation and Net Neutrality. Despite improvements – especially in comparison with Neelie Kroes' proposal –, the committee and its rapporteur, Pilar del Castillo Vera, bowed to the pressure of the telecom lobby, and major loopholes remain in the text. If the Internet as we know it is to be protected from the rent-seeking behaviour of big corporations who dominate the digital economy, these loopholes must be closed during the European Parliament vote in plenary session on 3 April." 'via Blog this'

Google, Viacom settle landmark 2007 YouTube lawsuit

Google, Viacom settle landmark YouTube lawsuit | Reuters: "Tuesday's settlement was announced 11 months after U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton in Manhattan rejected Viacom's damages claims over YouTube's alleged posting of clips from "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," "South Park," "SpongeBob SquarePants" and other programs that viewers had uploaded.

Stanton concluded that YouTube didn't have to constantly scour its website for infringing videos, so long as it removed such videos after receiving demands from copyright owners.

Viacom had been appealing that decision to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York, and oral argument had been scheduled for March 24." 'via Blog this'

John Henry Clippinger: Facebook Is Betting Against its Users

John Henry Clippinger: Facebook Is Betting Against its Users: The basics of Facebook:

"It is the business model, stupid. The more we know about you and the less you, our customer/client, knows about us, the more money we make. We "short" our customer because we are betting that they aren't savvy enough to protect their own interests; the client, the user, is not so much a customer, as a "mark." Goldman says they have "sophisticated" customers who know the risks. Yeah, state pension fund employees and fund manages that get paid a fraction of their salaries with a fraction of their analytic resources, data, and street smarts.

The same asymmetry of information exists in the social media space. According to a Pew poll, 23% of Facebook users don't even know about privacy settings -- period." 'via Blog this'

Telegeography Submarine Cable Map 2014

Submarine Cable Map 2014: "Submarine Cable Map 2014" 'via Blog this'

NTIA Announces Intent to Transition Key Internet Domain Name Functions

NTIA Announces Intent to Transition Key Internet Domain Name Functions | NTIA: "NTIA currently contracts with ICANN to carry out the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions and has a Cooperative Agreement with Verisign under which it performs related root zone management functions.  Transitioning NTIA out of its role marks the final phase of the privatization of the DNS as outlined by the U.S. Government in 1997."

Note none of this is scheduled to happen before 2015 so the IANA contract continues until then. 'via Blog this'

First Porn, Now Extremism: The UK Looks to Expand Web Censorship

First Porn, Now Extremism: The UK Looks to Expand Web Censorship | Motherboard: "The UK is broadening its arsenal of online tools to censor pretty much anything it doesn’t like beyond the now broadly deployed, controversial, frequently-mocked ISP filters. The latest step isn’t targeted against porn—the usual quarry in the British government’s digital firing line—but extremism. And this time they’re not working with internet providers, but with Google.

The Financial Times reports that the tech giant has given UK security officials special permission to flag videos on YouTube. The “super flagger” status allows authorities to select content for the company to screen immediately. They don’t have to pick out videos one-by-one, either, but can flag whole swathes of material in one go." 'via Blog this'

Enemies of the Internet 2014: entities at the heart of censorship and surveillance

Enemies of the Internet 2014: entities at the heart of censorship and surveillance | Enemies of the Internet: "The mass surveillance methods employed in these three countries, many of them exposed by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, are all the more intolerable because they will be used and indeed are already being used by authoritarians countries such as Iran, China, Turkmenistan, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to justify their own violations of freedom of information. How will so-called democratic countries will able to press for the protection of journalists if they adopt the very practices they are criticizing authoritarian regimes for?" 'via Blog this'

Shaping the digital environment – ensuring our rights on the Internet

Shaping the digital environment – ensuring our rights on the Internet: "Austria will organise within the framework of the Austrian chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe a Conference entitled “Shaping the Digital Environment – Ensuring our Rights on the Internet”.

The Conference will take place on 13 and 14 March 2014.

It will build upon a multi-stakeholder approach, and discuss challenges and best practices in the light of recent developments in the field of Internet governance. Participants will take stock of the progress made on the Council of Europe's Internet Governance Strategy, thereby also identifying possible ways forward beyond 2015. They will address inter alia:

1. privacy and self-determination on the internet
2. public interest content on the Internet
3. business and human rights – industry responses to user rights

The Conference will be held at the level of representatives and experts from governments, international organisations, industry and civil society. It will be opened with a High-Level Panel. The Conference will be webcast.." 'via Blog this'

EU Data Retention Directive: Fighting Back against mass surveillance

EU Law Analysis: The EU’s Data Retention Directive: Fighting Back against mass surveillance in the EU’s Court of Justice: "Advocate-General’s opinion from last December on the validity of the EU’s data retention Directive (Directive 2006/24; Cases C-291/12 Digital Rights and C-594/12 Seitlinger). These cases, referred from the Irish and Austrian courts, present the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) with its best chance yet to deliver an iconic judgment relating to the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights. The Test-Achats judgment (Case C-236/09) of 2011, concerning the invalidity of EU rules permitting insurance discrimination between men and women, just didn’t amount to such a judgment." 'via Blog this'