Northern America

Internet and social media a tool of the affluent
Internet and social media a tool of the affluent 20 July 2011 grady

According a recent report from the University of California, the internet, and social media in particular, is dominated by the rich and educated. So who are these monocled media masters? These bourgeois bloggers?

Sexuality online in Lebanon and USA: Censorship is not the answer
Sexuality online in Lebanon and USA: Censorship is not the answer 11 July 2011 Mavic Cabrera-Balleza

Controlling — or filtering — what people can and can’t see online related to sex however well intentioned can have a profoundly negative impact. Censorship affects not only sexual expression but blocks access to sexual education and important movement-building tools for LGBTI activists.    

This means war?
This means war? 01 June 2011 grady

The Pentagon announced recently in its first formal cyber strategy that cyber attacks constitute an act of war — and could merit a traditional military response. Never mind the problem of attributing cyber attacks to a single, definitive source; even if the perpetrators can be traced to a specific co

User-generated content and social networking in the Arab spring and beyond
User-generated content and social networking in the Arab spring and beyond 30 May 2011 Alex Comninos

This paper is part of a series of policy briefs on the mobile internet from a human rights perspective A contested terrain User-generated content played an important role in the recent protests and uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), collectively referred to as the “Arab spring” or “Arab awakening”. The recent protests and uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt have both been ...

US Senate debates reforms to Electronic Communications Privacy Act
US Senate debates reforms to Electronic Communications Privacy Act 27 May 2011 grady

Senator Patrick Leahy, author of the original 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act, has proposed several amendments to the ECPA in order to “keep pace with new technologies and new threats to our security”.

United States goes for the high score
United States goes for the high score 12 May 2011 grady

According to the Justice Department, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court — the oversight body established to approve or deny surveillance requests in the United States — “approved 100% of such requests”:http://arstechnica.com/

Action Research Network
Action Research Network 11 April 2011

The APC Action Research Network is a network of researchers who focus on “information society” themes. They are carrying out research for action intended to lead to positive changes in the policy environments in the countries and regions where they live and work in three areas – spectrum, human rights online and ICTs and environment.  

Bad Science - Exaggerated claims of child exploitation online
Bad Science - Exaggerated claims of child exploitation online 07 April 2011 grady

An independent study commissioned by the Women’s Funding Network has garnered a lot of attention in recent weeks. The study, which tracks sex trafficking in online classifieds, claims that incidences of child prostitution have risen in some states by as much as 67.4% in a matter of months.

NASA holds open source summit
NASA holds open source summit 14 March 2011 grady

NASA, best known as the guys who invented Velcro, will be holding an Open Source Summit on March 29-30, bringing together researchers and experts in the field of open source “to discuss the challenges with the existing open source policy framework, and propose modifications that would make it easier for NASA to develop, release, and use open source software.”

Study shows new media increases youth's civic engagement
Study shows new media increases youth's civic engagement 01 March 2011 Grady

The study, conducted by the Youth and Participatory Politics research network, found that contrary to commonly held beliefs those who used new media and social networking were more likely to be politically engaged.

« Go back