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By: Marianna MaoDate: 26 Jun 2012Algorithms and filters use data about you, such as your location, age, gender and preferences to deliver a set of results they think will you'll want to see. But is this a good thing? In this feature, we'll look at exactly what's happening and explain some of the steps you can take to avoid or disable these filters.0 comment(s)
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By: Marianna MaoDate: 26 Jun 2012Obama and his successors in the White House would be banned from using false claims of national security to conceal “embarrassing or unlawful conduct” by the government, under new legislation proposed by lawmakers on both sides of the House.
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By: Marianna MaoDate: 25 Jun 2012Image: Wikimedia Earlier this month Google developer advocate Tim Bray proposed a new HTTP Error status code aimed at shining a light on web censorship. Bray’s new Error 451 would work somewhat like the Error 404 pages you’ve probably seen. But instead of telling you that the page could not be found, an Error 451 response would let you know that the page you were looking for had been censored.
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By: Marianna MaoDate: 25 Jun 2012A year after the Internet helped fuel the Arab Spring uprisings, the role cyberspace plays in launching revolutions is being threatened by proposed changes to a United Nations telecommunications treaty that could allow countries to stifle the free flow of information.
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By: Marianna MaoDate: 25 Jun 2012Wide protests in Sudan on Friday led to the crackdown of many Sudanese activists, including prominent Twitter personalities.
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By: Marianna MaoDate: 25 Jun 2012Netizens are watching Sudan closely, following rumours that the Sudanese authorities intend to cut off the Internet - a chilling reminder of Egypt's attempt to silence activists and contain the January 25 revolution when it pulled the plug off the www on January 27.
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By: Cale Guthrie WeissmanDate: 22 Jun 2012In hopes of creating a more formalized Code of Conduct, Danish ISPs and copyright holders have agreed on a framework where "all ISPs in the country block access to copyright-infringing content if one of the providers is ordered to do so by a court." This is part of a cluster of measures the Danish Ministry of Culture is pursuing to combat Internet piracy.
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By: Cale Guthrie WeissmanDate: 22 Jun 2012Russian President Vladimir Putin has drafted a proposal for the upcoming World Conference on International Telecommunications that would "allow a country to repress political opposition." The US has voiced vociferous objections with this and other provisions, vowing to block any proposal submitted that will threaten the free flow on information on the Internet.
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By: Cale Guthrie WeissmanDate: 21 Jun 2012Secretary general to the UN agency the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) responded to criticisms about the upcoming World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) by detailing the Union's role and what it hopes to gain from the summit. This includes explaining that WCIT cannot control the "free flow of information" online, and the real issue is that "total revenues for telecommunications operators are potentially at risk."
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By: Cale Guthrie WeissmanDate: 21 Jun 2012After being sentenced to prison and receiving fines of over $6.6 million, Swedish torrent-sharing site Pirate Bay co-founders, Peter Sunde and Fredrik Neij, are attempting to file an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. Basing their defense on the claim that "Pirate Bay’s activities are legitimate, based on the EU’s E-Commerce Directive," the two are hoping that the high Court will hear their case.