Nauruan Gov’t Says Ban on Facebook and Such Protects Citizens from “Abuse, Harassment and Bullying”

The Nauruan government says ban on websites such as Facebook is to protect its citizens from "abuse, harassment and bullying" as the United Nations urges the island's controversial regime to lift its ban on freedom of expression and human rights. more

Comcast Says FCC has no Authority to Prohibit Pay-for-Privacy Model by ISPs

Amidst debates concerning privacy rules for ISPs, Comcast in an FCC filing on Monday has urged the Commission to not interfere with business models offering discounts or other value to consumers in exchange for allowing ISPs to use their data. more

ITU Putting Global Cyber Security on Top of Its Agenda

Lisa Schlein of the Voice of America reports: "A new system for tackling the growing number of Global Cyber Attacks has been unveiled at ITU Telecom World 2009, a mammoth exhibition, which showcases the latest advances in ICT or information and communications technology. The International Telecommunications Union, which is sponsoring the event, has put global cyber security at the heart of its agenda. 'As you well know, the next world war could happen in the cyber space and that would be a catastrophe,' said ITU secretary-general, Hamdoun Toure." more

U.S. Court Urged to Reverse Net Neutrality Rules, FCC Chair Says Petition ‘No Surprise’

Several wireless, cable and broadband trade associations today called on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to reverse the net neutrality ruling that passed last month in a 2-1 decision by a three-judge panel. more

How to Combat Counterfeiters on Chinese Marketplaces

Establishing your brand in an effort to combat counterfeiters on the ever growing and incredibly popular Chinese marketplace Alibaba can seem like a daunting task. Alibaba has grown so popular that it now ships over 12 million packages a day, compared the 3 million shipped by Amazon. Additionally, on Cyber Monday, a popular day for online shopping during the holiday season, Amazon processed 37 million orders. In comparison on Singles Day, an annual holiday in China, Alibaba processed 278 million orders. more

Libya Using a Different Internet Strategy than Egypt

In a Renesys blog post, James Cowie writes: "Why did Libya put its Internet in 'warm standby mode' instead of just taking it down, as Egypt did? Perhaps because they're learning from Mubarak's experience. Cutting off the Internet at the routing level (powering down the Internet exchange point, going after the remaining providers with secret police to enact a low-level shutdown) was a technically unsophisticated desperation move on Egypt's part." more

The Emotional Cost of Cybercrime

We know more and more about the financial cost of cybercrime, but there has been very little work on its emotional cost. David Modic and I decided to investigate. We wanted to empirically test whether there are emotional repercussions to becoming a victim of fraud (Yes, there are). We wanted to compare emotional and financial impact across different categories of fraud and establish a ranking list (And we did). more

Bangladesh Govt Orders Internet Shutdown on ‘Security Grounds’

Access to the internet was denied for about two hours in Bangladesh immediately after the Supreme Court upheld the death penalty for Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mujahid. more

Can We Control the Digital Platforms?

The digital market has matured over the last 20 years, and it is no longer an excuse for governments to do nothing with the aim to let new markets and innovations emerge without immediate regulatory oversight. It has become clear this period is now well and truly over. The European Commission has already launched several lawsuits against the digital giants. Regulation, in general, is known as "ex-post" (after the deed has been done). This is set to change, as I will explain later. more

If You’re Thinking About Applying to Be the Next ICANN CEO…

ICANN is preparing to search for its next CEO. In the past and again now, each of us has been asked for advice about applying for the job. We have willingly offered our perceptions of what the job requires. The general thrust of our advice is to alert the potential applicant about the complexities and demands of the job so they can assess for themselves whether they might be a viable candidate. Our comments in these situations are, of course, purely our own opinions, and are not connected to the official posture of ICANN. more

Pokemon Go Server Outage, Hacking Group Claims Credit

OurMine claims credit for DDoS attack on Pokemon Go servers: Several news outlets have reported the hacking group OurMine - also notorious for compromising social media accounts of various celebrities - on Monday took responsibility of hacking the game servers. more

ICG Seeking Public Feedback on Key Internet Governance Proposal

The IANA Stewardship Transition Coordination Group (ICG) on Friday released for public comment the proposal for the transition of the stewardship of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions from the U. S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to the global multistakeholder community. The ICG is encouraging the public to review the proposal and share their reactions and comments during the public comment period here. more

The Legal Enforceability of PIR’s Public Interest Commitment

Since Ethos announced its investment in PIR last fall, Ethos has welcomed the opportunity to engage with .ORG registrants and users to hear their ideas and answer their questions. We listened to concerns expressed in the community, and we worked to address them. We announced a number of voluntary commitments that Ethos is prepared to make, and then we listened to feedback from the community on the scope of those commitments, as well as on the enforceability of those commitments. more

RIR Gainers and Leakers: How Policy Choices Shape the Future of the IPv4 Ecosystem

Diverging policies and fee structures among Regional Internet Registries are reshaping the global IPv4 market. RIPE has emerged as a liquidity hub, while others leak resources, risking long-term instability and financial fragility. more

Governments Accused of Trying to Bypass ICANN Policy Making Process

"ICANN faces first post-transition test of UN power (for real this time)," reports Kevin Murphy today in Domain Incite. more