Massive African Internet Outage and the Fragility of Undersea Cables

Eight countries in West Africa reported Internet outages after damage was reported to four different undersea fiber cables. The most affected countries are Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Benin, with additional problems caused in Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon. Lesser impact was felt in South Africa, Senegal, and Portugal. There has been no official word on what caused the problem, but it's likely due to the shifting of the seabed due to seismic activity. more

Lawsuit Against IANA Transition Dropped

Four US states attorneys general have quietly thrown in the towel in their attempt to have the IANA transition blocked," reports Kevin Murphy this morning in Domain Incite. more

IRAN Nuclear Deal; the Flag of Changes? the End of Civil Society Isolation? or What?

The crucial importance of Iran Nuclear Deal and, hopefully, the imminent expectation, for reaching to an indisputable solution and agreement among 5+1+ Iran (as well as the other parties who claim to have interest in this matter) all have created a special climate and proper ground for all the activists and the observers in order to seriously sit and make a review of the actual situation and the potentials of the main player of the field, say Iran, or Civil Society of Iran... more

Berners-Lee Urges Citizens to Comment: “Four Days to Save the Open Internet in Europe”

In an open letter released today, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Professor Barbara van Schewick, and Professor Larry Lessig are urging citizens, lawmakers and regulators, to speak up. more

ICANN Releases Call for Public Input for NTIA’s Stewardship Transition of IANA

On 8 April 2014, ICANN released the "Call for Public Input: Draft Proposal, Based on Initial Community Feedback, of the Principles and Mechanisms and the Process to Develop a Proposal to Transition NTIA's Stewardship of the IANA Functions." more

Internet Activity in Britain Stored for a Year Under New Surveillance Law

The internet activity of everyone in UK will have to be stored for one year by Internet service providers, under the new surveillance law plans. "This duty would include forcing firms to hold a schedule of which websites someone visits and the apps they connect to through computers, smartphones, tablets and other devices. Police and other agencies would be then able to access these records in pursuit of criminals -- but also seek to retrieve data in a wider range of inquiries, such as missing people." more

Open, Inclusive Internet Depends on Enriched Debate About Policy Creation, Says Global Business

At the ninth Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Istanbul, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Business Action to Support the Information Society (BASIS) have welcomed the reaffirmation of the IGF's relevance and continued importance as well as the opportunity to work collaboratively with other stakeholders to further improve it. more

Ed Felten Named FTC’s First Chief Technologist

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has named Edward Felten, a Princeton professor of computer science and public affairs, as its Chief Technologist, effective January 1. Felten's main role will be to provide advice on technology policy issues. more

Trojans Fastest Growing Category of Data-Stealing Malware

The Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) recently reported that the number of sites infecting PCs with password-stealing crimeware reached an all time high of 31,173 in December 2008 - an 827 percent increase from January. And according to a report just released by Trend Micro's Focus Report, 93 percent of data-stealing malware have been identified as Trojans in the first quarter of 2009. more

Obama, Xi Reach ‘Common Understanding’ on Curbing Cyber Espionage

resident Obama announced today that he has reached a "common understanding" with Chinese President Xi Jinping on curbing economic cyber espionage, but threatened to impose U.S. sanctions on Chinese hackers who persist with cyber crimes. more

Harvard’s Berkman Center to Study ICANN’s Accountability and Transparency Review Process

The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University announced today that it "will conduct an independent, exploratory study analyzing ICANN's decision-making processes and communications with stakeholders." The study is aimed at developing a framework and recommendations for understanding and improving ICANN's accountability and transparency. "The Berkman Center's final report will be made publicly available after ICANN's Accountability and Transparency Review Team has had the opportunity to utilize its findings in recommendations to the ICANN board." more

Internet Governance in 2026: Sovereignty, Security, and the Limits of Multistakeholderism

As Internet governance fragments in 2026, authority shifts from open, multistakeholder forums to state-led security regimes, legal instruments, and alliance-based cooperation, challenging longstanding institutions and reshaping global norms through enforcement rather than consensus. more

GigaNet Symposium Will Be Held Next Week in Brazil

On Monday, 09 November 2015, the Global Internet Governance Academic Network (GigaNet) will hold its 10th Annual Symposium on Internet Governance Research in João Pessoa, Brazil. The symposium will take place as a pre-event of the United Nations Internet Governance Forum (IGF) which starts on Tuesday in the same location. During their symposium researchers from several parts of the world will address various topics including privacy, infra-structure, trust, security and more. more

Facebook Goes Live with Express Wifi in India

According to a new update on Facebook's Internet.org website on Monday, a service called "Express Wifi" has gone live and plans are in place to expand to other regions soon. more

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