Monday Round-Up: The Battleground for Internet Freedom
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In an effort to combat restrictive internet policy, such as ACTA or SOPA, a number of internet sites including Mozilla, Imgur, Reddit, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have signed up to be a part of the Internet Defense League (IDL). Anyone can sign up, with the understanding that if such policy comes close to passing, all signees will take other unified action for internet freedom. This week's Monday Round-Up explores more stories concerning internet freedom and privacy, new advances in small computers, and the latest in dropping prices of mobile phones in developing countries.
- Kim Dotcom, of Megaupload fame, is now adding his own appeal to keep the internet free through music
- Youtube released a tool this week that allows uploaders to blur the faces in their videos. This is a great step forward for the video uploading site, but make sure to read through the carefully worded blog, as anonymity in not guaranteed.
- Skype has a history of attempting to protect user privacy, even to the point of frustrating European investigators. However, since Microsoft purchased the service in 2011, changes have been made to the coding making it easier for wiretapping. In related news, the Skype protocol has been cracked by a hacker who wanted to make Skype open source again.
- Raspberry Pi, the company that makes a $35 computer that fits into your wallet, have increased production and lifted purchasing limits, allowing individuals or companies to begin purchasing the product in large supply
- Excited for the Olympics to start? According to McAfree, so are scammers, so be aware that you probably didn't win those free tickets to London.
- DARPA will make you double check your surge protector, with its new hacking machine.
- In exciting news for India, Aircel announced the pricing of the iPhone 3GS at under $200
- Ramadan Mubarak! Google has set up services to help Muslims celebrate the holy month, including a dedicated Youtube channel and Hangouts the will have Ramadan topics
- In the ongoing debate of social media's effect on conflict, two Harvard graduates explore possibilities for ICT in Africa
- The World Bank released its third report on ICT4D, including statistics showing that 75% of the world now has access to mobile phones. They also published a handy dandy infographic that shows amazing facts.
- In Kenya, smart phones are dropping below $100 as manufacturers battle for the market there.
- Uganda is second only to South Africa in terms of advanced technology and innovation capability, according to a new report.
Events this week:
- CIMA hosts an event entitled "Muzzling the Media, News and Information in Closed Societies" tomorrow.
- On Wednesday, Freedom House will be featuring an event on "Moving Towards a Democratic Malawi"
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