"EU-U.S. commercial data transfer pact clears final hurdle," Julia Fioretti today reported in Reuters: "A commercial data transfer pact provisionally agreed by the EU executive and the United States in February received the green light from EU governments on Friday." more
IGF-USA full day conference at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington DC to be held on Thursday, July 14, 2016 from 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM. Key forum topics include IANA transition, ICANN accountability, broadband access, online privacy, Internet of Things, and digital trade. more
Today, June 26, is the final day that you can help the Internet Society with its "Future of the Internet" survey. It takes about 20-25 minutes and will help my colleagues at the Internet Society develop a number of scenarios about the possible future of the Internet. These scenarios can help all of us in talking to policy makers, leaders, media and the general user population about the choices we have before us for the future of the Internet. more
Yesterday marked the last day of the OECD Ministerial Meeting on the Digital Economy, but also the culmination of a week where the need for an open and trusted Internet has been the main message from all stakeholders. Back in 2008, the OECD was one of the first intergovernmental organizations to open its discussions to the wider Internet community. more
Monika Ermert reporting in the IP Watch: "On the eve of the third internet-related Ministerial Meeting of the Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD) starting tomorrow in Cancun, Mexico, the Global Commission on Internet Governance (GCIG) published a think report on 'One Internet.' Calling for a new 'social compact' for the internet, the 140-page report that was fed by 50 research studies has a number of well-known recommendations, some surprisingly technical and some interesting ones." more
In the past seven years, the number of people online has essentially doubled, from 1.7 billion in 2009 to about 3.4 billion today. New and innovative services have also emerged and people and companies around the world are using the Internet in ways barely imagined at the turn of the decade. Looking ahead to the next five to seven years, there are many forces at work that could have a significant impact on the Internet. more
At a hearing in the Irish High Court, the US government has sought to intervene in the case between a privacy activist and Facebook. Consequently, the court has been adjourned for two weeks to give it - and other parties - time to file a motion in this regard. more
Over the next two days (9-10 June), the European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG) takes place in Brussels, Belgium. With a theme of "Embracing the digital (r)evolution", EuroDIG has a full agenda and Internet Society staff will be participating in many aspects of the programme. For us, a primary focus will be at 11:30 CEST (UTC+2) on Thursday, June 9, when our President and CEO Kathy Brown opens the first Plenary with a keynote speech. more
Iran has given foreign messaging apps a year to move data they hold about Iranian users onto servers inside the country, prompting privacy and security concerns on social media. more
If you are located in Africa or the Asia Pacific region, this coming Tuesday, May 31, is the application deadline for an excellent series of grants related to Internet infrastructure, development, security and education. I just wrote about the Internet Society Cybersecurity Grant for up to $56,000 AUD (roughly $40K USD) in the Asia Pacific region... but it is part of a larger set of grants that all have a deadline of May 31. more
The DNS is normally a relatively open protocol that smears its data (which is your data and mine too!) far and wide. Little wonder that the DNS is used in many ways, not just as a mundane name resolution protocol, but as a data channel for surveillance and as a common means of implementing various forms of content access control. But all this is poised to change. more
What are your concerns around encryption? What questions do you have about the legal, technical and policy aspects of the increasing use of encryption? How does encryption help bring about a higher level of trust in the Internet? On Wednesday, May 25, the Internet Society and its Greater Washington, DC Chapter are hosting an "Online Dialogue About Encryption" to discuss all these questions and many more. more
A Brazilian judge on Monday issued a 72-hour ban on WhatsApp chat service throughout Brazil. The measure which took effect at 2 p.m. was issued on April 26 following a failed 2013 access order from a branch of civil police that investigates criminal activity online. more
The U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously today to pass H.R. 699, the Email Privacy Act, closing a loophole that allowed law enforcement authorities to obtain old email and other digital communications without a warrant from the court. more
I believe and strongly support Internet Principle and Right Coalition (IPRC) Charter is an important edition of document supplementing the principles and rights of individual internet users in any developing and least developed country. Especially in Asia Pacific region where the need and use of such document is immense, as there is a gap in recognition and awareness of rights of internet users. more