Google Hosting a Discussion on the Future of Cloud Computing

Google will be hosting a discussion on the future of cloud computing and technology policy tomorrow, March 20, in Washington, D.C. Participants include Jeffrey Rayport, principal at the Marketspace consulting group and a leading experts on digital strategy and marketing, and Andrew Heyward, former President of CBS News, who will be presenting the findings of their new study. "They will assess the possibilities, risks and returns of cloud computing; the next steps in moving forward; and potential implications for technology policy," says Dorothy Chou, Google's Global Communications and Public Affairs. Those unable to attend are invited to submit questions in advance via Google Moderator. more

May 13 Deadline to Nominate People for 2022 Jonathan B. Postel Service Award

Do you know someone who has made outstanding contributions in service to the Internet community? Someone who has made the Internet better in some way who deserves more recognition? Maybe someone who has helped extend Internet access to a large region? Or wrote widely-used programs that make the Internet more secure? Or served in some capacity behind the scenes in Internet services? more

Italy’s Earthquake Rescuers Ask Locals to Unlock Their Wi-fi to Assit in Search and Rescue

The Italian Red Cross says residents' home networks can assist with communications during the search for survivors following Wednesday's 6.2 magnitude earthquake which struck central Italy killing over 240 people. more

ICANN Announces Newly Created Organization to Replace IANA

ICANN has announced the name of the newly incorporated organization, Public Technical Identifiers (PTI), as a nonprofit entity to begin operation as 'Post-Transition IANA'. more

How Brexit Raises Risks for Non-Compliant .EU Domain Names

On June 3, 2020, EURid, the registry for .EU domains, published its timeline and action plan to withdraw and delete .EU domains registered to entities and individuals located in the U.K. ... Following the .EU regulations that were published on March 29, 2019, registrations of .EU domain names may be held by EU citizens, citizens of Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway, independent of their place of residence -- as well as organizations that are established in the EU. more

US Huawei Ban Threatens Internet Access in Rural Areas, Some Providers May Fold

Much of rural America with very low population density, depends on small wireless carriers for their internet access as AT&T, T-Mobile and other large providers have no interest in providing services. more

Experts Urge Support for Security Researchers, Call a Stop to Intimidation Efforts

Over fifty experts and expert advocates have released an open letter in support of security research and against efforts to chill or intimidate security researchers. more

Will COVID-19 Traffic Kill the Internet?

This is the question being asked all across the industry as the volume of data traffic has leaped upward due to students and employees working from their homes. We got our first glimpse of the impact of the crisis when Verizon announced a week into the crisis that they were seeing a 22% increase in data traffic in their network. More recently, AT&T announced a 27% increase in network traffic. more

ICANN Getting More Control Could Mean Major Reform

Kieren McCarthy reporting in the Register: "Domain name overseer ICANN is likely to go through a radical reorganization if it wants to be given more control of critical internet functions, currently run under contract from the US government. Two recent papers -- one from independent legal experts hired by a group looking into the contract's transitioning, and a second from an internet governance think-tank -- have both highlighted the benefit to making ICANN a true member-led organization, with the internet community given real powers to effect change." more

NETmundial +10: Inspiration for Multistakeholder Digital Governance, but Is It Enough?

Last week (29-30 April), Global Partners Digital (GPD) joined other civil society groups, business actors, the technical community and governments in São Paulo, Brazil for NETmundial+10: the ten year follow up to the landmark NETmundial process in 2014, which set out principles for multistakeholder approaches to Internet governance. In the intervening decade, the policy landscape has been transformed by an increase in policy and normative frameworks related to digital technologies, as well the advent of new technologies—particularly AI—and their attendant opportunities and challenges. more

Apple vs FBI: Apple and Others to Argue on the Hill

Tomorrow afternoon at 1pm EST Apple will be giving testimony to the House Judiciary Committee. The session that Apple and others will be taking part in is aptly named, The Encryption Tightrope: Balancing Americans' Security and Privacy In common with other hearings the various witnesses called to speak have already submitted their written testimony, so we can already look at it and analyse it. more

The Internet’s Legitimacy Gap: When Governance Outgrew Its Architecture

Internet governance is shifting from participatory forums to security-driven mandates. As authority accelerates ahead of legitimacy, technical systems face growing instability and operators absorb the risks of politically motivated control. more

Canada’s Privacy Commissioner Asked to Investigate Trump’s Cancelation of Privacy Rules

"Activists and academics are calling on Canada's privacy commissioner to investigate after an executive order from President Donald Trump last week stripped Canadians and other foreigners of the limited digital privacy protections they had enjoyed previously in the U.S," Daniel Tencer reporting in the Huffington Post. more

Applicant Auction Announces Suggested Schedule for 8 Future Private gTLD Auctions

The Applicant Auction team is getting an increasing number of requests from applicants who are scheduled for ICANN's Last Resort auction and would prefer to participate in the Applicant Auction instead. A common question is: What is my last chance to participate in an Applicant Auction? To be able to give a clear answer for this, we are suggesting a schedule for future Applicant Auctions. more

ISOC Funds 11 Projects that Enhance Internet Environments in Underserved Regions

The Internet Society today announced funding for 11 community-based Internet projects that will enhance the Internet ecosystem in underserved communities around the world. The Community Grants are awarded twice each year to Internet Society Chapters and Members. Recipients receive up to US$10,000 to implement their projects. more