Northern America

APCNews speaks to Jamie McClellan, director of member organisation May First/People Link about the political importance of using free and open source software.    

Open Spectrum at AMC 2012 As governments and non-state actors find ways to restrict access to internet content and wireless connections to serve their own purposes, there is growing support for a human rights based approach to information and communication technology, and particularly the internet.

Surveilling CISPA: CC licence DonkeyHoteyI wrote a story about surveillance efforts by the UK authorities lately. It seems that snooping communications (emails, text messaging, etc) is in vogue.

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is being debated in the US House of Representatives today. Wildly unpopular, this bill is the latest in a series of extreme and reactionary legislation that seek a heavy-handed approach to dealing with copyright infringement online. If passed, SOPA would grant broad powers to censor and restrict content on the Internet.

The Canadian Journal of Communication has published a special issue titled Democratizing Communication Policy in the Americas: Why It Matters, V36 #1/2011. As Dr Roberta G.

The movement building skills and ability of the Occupy Wall Street Protesters have been a ray of hope for people around the globe. This movement is building in every major city in America, and the mainstream media outlets are finally mentioning the protests.

Not to be outdone by their neighbours to the south, Canada is now a late entry to the Big Brother Awards.

Controlling what users can and can’t see on computers using filtering software is standard in US libraries. APC questions the Denver Public Library on their filtering policy and practices in a fictional exchange that tackles very real questions of freedom of information.