News Briefs

Net Neutrality Can Be Taken Too Far, Says Zuckerberg in Defense of Internet.org Project

While speaking at a town-hall-style meeting in India on Wednesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended the company’s controversial Internet.org project, insisting on how the project can help connect parts of the country that otherwise wouldn’t have access to the Internet. more

ICANN and EuroDIG Sign Memorandum of Understanding on Multistakeholder Model of Internet Governance

ICANN and the European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to further encourage collaboration and cooperation between both organizations in their efforts to further promote and strengthen the multistakeholder model of Internet governance in Europe. more

EU, US Strike Deal in Principle on New Data-Sharing Agreement

The European Union has struck a deal "in principle" with the United States on a new data-sharing agreement to allow digital information to flow between borders. more

Facebook Accused of “Secretly” Lobbying for Cyber Bill

Facebook lobbyists are working behind the scenes for a major cyber bill set for a final Senate vote Tuesday despite growing opposition to the bill among tech companies, according to a digital rights advocacy group fighting against the measure. more

European Parliament Votes Down Amendments Aimed at Strengthening Network Neutrality

Following some heated debates, the European Parliament today voted down various amendments aimed at strengthening network neutrality in the new telecommunications package which has been on the agenda of the European Union for more than two years. more

U.S. Concerned over Increasing Russian Submarine Patrols Near Data Cables

Russian submarines and spy are reported to be aggressively operating near vital undersea cables that carry global Internet communications, according to a story in the New York Times. The issue is raising concerns among some American military and intelligence officials regarding the possibility that Russians might be planning to attack those lines in times of tension or conflict. more

U.S. Bypassing ICANN on Whois Privacy With Closed-Door Meeting in Paris

Despite positive discussions currently underway at the ICANN54 meetings in Dublin regarding protection of privacy services for domain name registrants, another meeting in Paris seems to be contradicting the efforts. more

ICANN Must Stop Resisting Accountability Changes, Warn US Senators

Two leading US senators, John Thune, chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Technology, and ranking member Brian Schatz have signed a letter warning that without "significant accountability reforms that empower the community," Congress will not support the transition of the IANA contract from the US government to ICANN. more

Content Policing Not Our Responsibility, Says ICANN CEO

ICANN CEO Fadi Chehade, speaking in Dublin yesterday, warned that the organization should resist attempts to be turned into a content regulator responsible for fighting piracy, counterfeiting and terrorism. more

Russia Attempts Large Scale Experiment to Isolate Country from Global Internet

In a large scale experiments, Russia has attempted to test the feasibility of cutting the country off the World Wide Web, according to reports. "The tests, which come amid mounting concern about a Kremlin campaign to clamp down on internet freedoms, have been described by experts as preparations for an information blackout in the event of a domestic political crisis." more

Governments Divided Over Management of Core Internet Functions

Monika Ermert reporting in IP Watch: "Amidst rising voices that time is of essence to finalize the oversight transition for core internet functions from the United States government to the community of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), governments are divided over what their role should be." more

Experts Propose Plan for More Secure Wi-Fi Devices

Over 260 global network and security experts have collectively responded to the newly proposed FCC rules laid out in ET Docket No. 15-170 for RF Devices such as Wi-Fi routers by proposing a new approach to improve the security of these devices. The letter warns FCC ruling will cause more harm than good and risk a significant overreach of the Commission's authority. more

Application for .gay TLD Rejected for the Second Time

ICANN has rejected the application from dotgay LLC for a second time, saying the .gay string does not match the community that dotgay claims to represent. more

China Calls on the United Nations to Impose an International Code of Conduct on the Internet

A Chinese official on Friday called on the United Nations to impose an international code of conduct on the Internet. "It is highly necessary and pressing for the international community to jointly bring about an international code of conduct on cyberspace at an early date," said Wang Qun.. more

European Court Invalidates EU-US Data Pact

The personal data of Europeans held in the United States by Internet companies is not safe from US government snooping, the European court of justice ruled today, in a landmark verdict that hits Facebook, Google, Amazon and many others. more