internet
The Internet, that great leveler when it comes to open access to information, is under threat. Its increasing nationalization, the deployment of increasingly restrictive terms of use, traffic throttling, and the outright censorship of websites at the level of national firewalls all contribute to the choking off of this valuable resource. The pretexts being employed are the threat of piracy and, more recently, ‘cyberwar’ – but the true quarry is political power as the state-media complex lobbies behind the scenes to stuff the genie back in its bottle, transform the web into the World Wide Wiretap and reestablish themselves as the online gatekeepers of cultural messaging, news and information.
Smoking Guns — Suggested Reading
Iceland Unanimously Approves ‘Wikileaks Bill’ To Establish Free Speech Press Haven
Internet ‘kill switch’ proposed for US President
Tories unveil tougher copyright bill, requires ISPs to keep user info
Cyberwar Hype Intended to Destroy the Open Internet
Death Of The Internet: Censorship Bills In UK, Australia, U.S. Aim To Block “Undesirable” Websites
Murdoch CEO Labels Bloggers “Political Extremists”
Archive (Most recent headlines first)
2010
US Seeks to Set Standards for Online ID Verification | ACTA Leak: EU pushes for criminalizing non-commercial usages | Cybersecurity: Booz Allen Hamilton Cashing Out After Scaring Gov’t Into Lucrative Contracts | Obama Can Shut Down Internet For 4 Months Under New Emergency Powers | Australian Government to Force Use of State Firewall Package, Block ‘Unauthorized’ Programs | Heritage Minister tars those opposing copyright bill C32 as ‘radical extremists’ | Experts Draft Document Critical Of ACTA: Signatures Wanted | Google facing multiple international probes over Street View GPS wardriving campaign | US Senator: China Can Shut Down The Internet, Why Can’t We? | Iceland Unanimously Approves ‘Wikileaks Bill’ To Establish Free Speech Press Haven | Pro-copyright bill group busted as recording industry astroturf campaign | Internet ‘kill switch’ proposed for US President | U.S. seeks international organization in battle against cyber terror | Homeland Security’s Cyber Bill Would Codify Executive Emergency Powers | Pentagon hunts WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in bid to gag website | Rural Internet providers angered by federal support of bigger rivals | Maybe it’s time to muzzle the trolls: Globe tech writer advocates online moderation | US Federal Trade Commission considers taxing online speech | Lieberman Bill Gives Feds ‘Emergency’ Powers to Secure Civilian Nets | Tories unveil tougher copyright bill, requires ISPs to keep user info | Copyright Act changes to be revealed today | India Gearing Up To Fight ACTA; Seeking Other, Like-Minded, Countries | Cyber Command: We Don’t Wanna Defend the Internet (We Just Might Have To) | Pentagon: Let us monitor your network or else | US appoints first cyber warfare general | Harper government secretly monitoring online chats about politics | Obama Czar Wants Mandatory Government Propaganda On Political Websites | Power Corp. open to charging for online content | NSA head confirmed as chief of US cyber command | Pirate Bay Appeal Judges Cleared of Bias | International Copyright Draft Release Was Apparently A One Time Deal: Now We’re Back To Secrecy | Industry Minister Clement invites input on Canadian digital economy | Google attorney slams ACTA copyright treaty | US regulators seek new network neutrality laws | CRTC approves usage-based internet billing | Red Alert: New Canadian DMCA Bill Within Six Weeks | Fox News Caught Aggregating Others Copyrighted Photographs… Something Murdoch Insists Is Illegal | Cybersecurity event seeks to spur international talks | Australian PM shelves web filter legislation until after election | China wants internet firms to inform on clients | Official ACTA Draft Released, Only Very Slightly Less Awful Than Expected | Big Content’s dystopian wish-list for the US gov’t: spyware, censorship, physical searches and SWAT teams | Danger Room What’s Next in National Security Prospective U.S. Cyber Commander Talks Terms of Digital Warfare | Thousands condemn secrecy of New Zealand round of internet copyright talks | Leading UK ISP Says It Will Defy Government’s Net Censorship Bill | Nikkei Restricts Links to Its New Web Site | Canadian researchers reveal another botnet in China, call for state cybersecurity | Internet linking rights case to go before Supreme Court | Isohunt Ordered to Remove Infringing Content | CETA worse than ACTA — EU Trade Negotiators Demand Canada Completely Overhaul Its Intellectual Property Laws | UK: Met Police launch net café spy operation | ACTA Draft: No Internet for Copyright Scofflaws | UK Budget 2010: Darling puts emphasis on broadband for all | Entire Text of ACTA Treaty Leaks to Online Rights Website | Google reroutes uncensored search to Hong Kong, raises stakes in row with China | Revealed: ACTA to cover seven categories of intellectual property | New ACTA Leaks Complete Picture of Oppressive Global Copyright Treaty | Net produces new generation of human rights activists in China | U.S. cybersecurity bill introduced in Senate | Copyright conviction raises privacy concerns | U.S. feds snooping on Facebook | MP Charlie Angus Introducing Private Copying Levy Bill, Flexible Fair Dealing Motion | Secret Document Calls Wikileaks ‘Threat’ to U.S. Army | Pot, Palin and prorogation: Stephen Harper gets grilled on YouTube | Government Internet Censorship Begins In Stealth In New Zealand | PM turns to YouTube — and takes questions | EU Parliament votes down ACTA global copyright resolution by overwhelming margin | Cyber-bullying cases put heat on Google, Facebook | Cyberattacks push CSIS to reach out to business | United States weighs massive expansion of Internet monitoring | Cyberwar Hype Intended to Destroy the Open Internet | UK: Open Wi-Fi ‘outlawed’ by Digital Economy Bill | Cryptome.org Leaks Microsoft Online Surveillance Guide, MS Demands Takedown Under Copyright Law | Italy Convicts Google Execs over Youtube Video of Downs Syndrome Boy | China launches interview requirement, licensing for personal websites | More Details Emerging About School Laptop Spying, And It Doesn’t Look Good | School Spycams Case Explodes As Feds Initiate Probe | ACTA Internet Chapter Leaks: Renegotiates WIPO, Sets 3 Strikes as Model | Pennsylvania schools spying on students using laptop Webcams, claims lawsuit | Google Books Fosters Intellectual, Legal Crossroads | Google Bans Sale of DVD Critical Of Obama Administration | EU Already Has A ‘Public/Private’ IP Observatory To Watch For Copyright Infringement Online | Google shuts down music blogs without warning | Activists Shut Down Australian Government Websites in Internet Filter Protest | ACTA Is Called An ‘Executive Agreement’ To Implement Restrictive Copyright With Less Hassle Than A Treaty | Swedish Justice Minister reluctant to store internet user’s data | Google, NSA may team up to probe cyberattacks | Hollywood loses landmark copyright case in Australia | Police want backdoor to Web users’ private data | Time Magazine Pushes Draconian Internet Licensing Plan | UN agency calls for global cyberwarfare treaty, ‘driver’s license’ for Web users | CBC’s new licencing plan: Pay to Print, Email, and Blog, and outsource enforcement to American Copyright Digital Rights Bounty Hunters | ACTA One Step Closer To Being Done; Concerns About Transparency Ignored | Internet companies voice alarm over Italian copyright law | UK MPs frozen out of super-secret ACTA copyright talks | China Google Hack Exploited Security Gaps Introduced By State Surveillance Provisions | Privacy watchdog wants public input on social networking sites | Obama Information Czar Calls For Banning Free Speech | Obama Information Czar Outlined Plan For Government To Infiltrate ‘Conspiracy Groups’ | China tells web companies to obey controls | Google Considers Leaving China If China Will Not Allow Uncensored Search | Reading Between The Still Secret Lines Of The ACTA Negotiations | Privacy no longer a social norm, says Facebook founder
2009
UK: Telecom firms’ fury at plan for ‘Stasi’ checks on every phone call and email | China Imposes New Internet Controls | Death Of The Internet: Censorship Bills In UK, Australia, U.S. Aim To Block “Undesirable” Websites | Facebook Privacy Changes Break the Law, Privacy Groups Tell FTC | Beyond ACTA: Proposed EU — Canada Trade Agreement Intellectual Property Chapter Leaks | Australia introduces web filters | We’re no thieves — despite what Rupert Murdoch claims, says Google | Google allows publishers to limit free content | New Leaks of Secret ACTA Copyright Law Reveal Oppressive ‘Global DMCA’ | Geist: Will web child-porn bill do more harm than good? | Obama Wants Computer Privacy Ruling Overturned | MPAA Says Critics of Secret Copyright Treaty Hate Hollywood | NSA Is Giving Microsoft Some Help On Windows 7 Security | ACTA Threatens Made-in-Canada Copyright Policy | Google’s digitization of books | UK Internet surveillance plan to go ahead | FOX News owner’s media empire could block Google searches entirely | Cuban blogger claims she was roughed up by state agents | More ACTA Details Leak: It’s An Entertainment Industry Wishlist | UK: Music filesharers ’spend the most on music’, says poll | UK Business Secretary sets date for blocking filesharers’ internet connections | The bait and switch: EU now to endorse internet disconnection for ‘piracy’ | CRTC allows network throttling as ‘last resort’, encourages pay per use, bandwidth caps | UK: 70% oppose internet ban for filesharers, poll shows | Security boss calls for end to net anonymity | UN Urges International Action on Cyber Security Threat | Think before you post, privacy czar says | Judge in Pirate Bay Appeal Removed for Bias | Case for Internet spying not closed | US ‘to loosen’ grip on internet | U.S. moves to adopt 6 net neutrality rules | Tech giants respond to Media with ideas on charging readers for news online | Planned Internet, wireless surveillance laws worry watchdogs | Six Days Left: Canadian Net Users Caught As Copyright Consultation Nears Conclusion | Chamber of commerce draws fire for backing Bell, Telus on Net reseller speed limits | It’s a great day for freedom of speech: ‘Hate Speech’ laws found to violate Charter Rights | Keeping Google out of libraries | Cyber Bullying Case Officially Dismissed for Vagueness | MP Charlie Angus on copyright: industry lobby pulling for ‘dead business model’ | Ottawa denies altering public’s ECopyright Consultation submissions | Security guards stop MPs, students from distributing fair use flyers at Toronto copyright townhall | Bill would give president emergency control of Internet | Bush’s Search Policy For Travelers Is Kept | ACLU Sues US Department of Homeland Security over Border Laptop Searches | Facebook to make privacy changes, keep user data indefinitely if not deleted | UK Government to consider internet disconnection policy, restrictions | CRTC wants internet pricing answers from Bell | Reuters Steps Up; Says Linking, Excerpting, Sharing Are Good Things For The News | Former copyright lobbyist is Obama’s top pick for US Attorney | UK ISPs condemn Internet surveillance plans | Can The Public Be Heard On Copyright Issues? | Associated Press Tries To DRM The News | iPods, Internet won’t end dictatorship | Copyright Consultation Launches: Time For Canadians To Speak Out | Third stab at copyright law ‘reform’ to kick off with consultations | Facebook violates privacy law: watchdog | Cyber Attacks Traced to the U.S., Britain | Don’t regulate traffic management, Internet providers argue | Yahoo! protects user privacy – and gets fined by Belgium | French Senate passes revamped ‘anti-piracy’ bill | Lazy Hacker and Little Worm Set Off Korean Cyberwar Media Frenzy | Net Neutrality hearings begin with conflicting claims | Internet speed control faces scrutiny at CRTC hearings | Murdoch CEO Labels Bloggers “Political Extremists” | Should linking be illegal? | Psiphon braintrust: Ottawa needs a strategy for cyberwar | US ‘concerned’ over cyber threat | Pirate Bay Retrial Denied | UK to found new ‘cyber-security’ units attached to national eavesdropping centre | US Cyber Security Czar Front-Runner No Friend of Privacy | ISPs must help police snoop on internet under new bill | The dawn of Internet censorship in Germany | Twitter emerges as news source during Iran media crackdown | UK plans to integrate ‘cybersecurity’ centre with US, Canada | Prepare to be boarded! Pirate Party wins entry to European Parliament | Stockholm Court: Pirate Bay Judge ‘Unbiased’ | Time to slay Canadian file-sharing myths | CRTC keeps new media exempt from broadcasting regulation | Canadian copyright lobbyists leaned on “independent” researchers to change report on file-sharing | China begins internet ‘blackout’ ahead of Tiananmen anniversary | UK chases Obama on cybersecurity | Cybersecurity Is Framework For Total Government Regulation & Control Of Our Lives | Think tank plagiarizes, pulls report on Canadian piracy | Obama Set to Create A Cybersecurity Czar With Broad Mandate | Next up for France: police keyloggers and Web censorship | France passes ‘three strikes’ Internet surveillance law | Canadian Parliament Threatens People For Posting Video Of Proceedings Online | EU wants ‘Internet G12′ to govern cyberspace | UK Home Secretary has secret plan to surveil, ‘Master the Internet’ | UK wants industry to track Internet users as plans scrapped for state database | Fredericton police arrest well-known N.B. blogger on legislature grounds | Pirate Bay lawyer calls for retrial after judge confirms ties to copyright groups | Jail terms for Pirate Bay founders, appeal in works | French legislators reject internet piracy bill | Put NSA in Charge of Cyber Security, Or the Power Grid Gets It | Electricity Grid in U.S. Penetrated By Spies | Pentagon spending millions to fix cyberattacks | Aussies Announce $31B National Broadband Network | Britons block Google Street View van | Should Obama Control the Internet? | Cybersecurity law would give feds unprecedented net control | Munk Centre researchers discover botnet, call for international cyberspace ‘legal regime’ | Google Street View comes to Canada | In Australia, censored hyperlinks could cost you | ISOHunt points out Google, Yahoo torrent engines too | Obama Administration Claims Copyright Treaty Involves State Secrets | Internet ad tracking system will put a ’spy camera’ in the homes of millions, warns founder of the web | French government accused of ‘Big Brother’ tactics over internet piracy | Australian web censorship plan to begin trial despite house opposition | Time to regulate online content, cultural groups tell CRTC | Facebook’s Users Ask Who Owns Information | Do We Need a New Internet? | New law to give police access to online exchanges | Chinese Learn Limits of Online Freedom as the Filter Tightens | Britain unveils plans for nationalized internet service | Google plans to make PCs history | EU Police set to step up warrantless hacking of home PCs
2008
Defense Contractors See $$$ in Cyber Security | UK Culture secretary wants international age restrictions for web | Protests in Australia over proposal to block Web sites | Latest Round of Closed-Door ACTA Copyright Negotiations Wrap Up | China restarts online crackdown | CRTC Internet regulation proposals take shape | Cyberbullying verdict turns rule-breakers into criminals | Felony hacking precedent not set in case of Myspace cyberbully | Myspace terms of use could become fulcrum for destruction of online anonymity in precedent setting case | Bell can squeeze downloads, CRTC rules | Australia to Implement Mandatory Internet Censorship | Microsoft patents web moderator robots, forbidden phrases to be memory-holed | CRTC to consider Internet regulation, invites public comment | RCMP to helm a Canadian “cyber-security strategy” | Is an Internet tax coming? | Italian Judge: Blogs are Illegal | Digital rights groups sue for access to secret ACTA treaty | Berners-Lee W3C Consortium to ‘Authorize’ Website Content? | Digital issues deserve spot in election campaign | Critics waging a cyber offensive to fight copyright changes | Law Professor tells tech conference: plans to shut down Internet already on deck | Bell continues throttling Internet, proposes bandwidth caps for resellers | Rogers Looks For New Ways To Annoy Customers, Hijacks Failed DNS Lookups | MySpace signs up to OpenID scheme | Vint Cerf blasts ISPs for choking off internet infrastructure | Bell’s internet throttling illegal, Google says | Canadian Industry Minister lies about Canadian DMCA on national radio, then hangs up | The Canadian DMCA: Check the Fine Print | Government ready to drop copyright bomb | Transparency needed on ACTA | Net neutrality bill hits House of Commons | Revamped copyright law targets electronic devices | New Attempt to Align Canada’s Copyright Act with USA Coming Soon | CRTC revisits Internet oversight | Bell accused of privacy invasion | Canada Considering “Three Strikes and You’re Out” ISP Policy
2007
Canadian DMCA To Be Introduced Tomorrow Morning?
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