Reuters – “China and Iran have stepped up their abuses of human rights, targeting both anti-government activists and the free flow of information over the Internet, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday. In its annual survey of human rights in 194 countries, the State Department also criticized Cuba, Myanmar, North Korea and Russia, which it faulted for killings of activists and journalists.”
Reuters – “A poll of 27,000 adults in 26 countries for the BBC World Service showed 78 percent of Internet users believed the Web gave them greater freedom, while nine in 10 said it was a good place to learn. Respondents in the United States were above the average in believing the Internet was a source for greater freedom and they were also more confident than most in expressing their opinions online.”
US Census Bureau – “Tables with national- and state-level data showing who is accessing the Internet, cross-tabulated by age, sex, race, Hispanic-origin, educational attainment and employment status. State data show Internet usage at home versus use at other locations. Also included is whether people are using broadband or dial-up for Internet access. Commissioned by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the data come from the Current Population Survey.”
Sydney Morning Herald – “It was when his “inner troll” started getting out of hand that Jaron Lanier felt the first stirrings of unease. A “troll” in internet slang is someone who tries to disrupt online discussions with inflammatory or abusive comments, generally anonymously. “When I started to notice myself getting mean online I thought, ‘Something is missing here. Something has gone terribly wrong,”‘ says the 49-year-old computer scientist from San Francisco.”
WSJ – “China often views the ideas of foreigners, from missionaries in the 17th century to 21st-century Internet entrepreneurs, as subversive imports. The tumultuous history behind the clash with Google.”
NYT – “Benjamin is one of 83 children, ages 7, 9 and 11, who participated in a study on children and keyword searching. Sponsored by Google and developed by the University of Maryland and the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, the research was aimed at discerning the differences between how children and adults search and identify the barriers children face when trying to retrieve information.”
EFF – “Our fellow Internet freedom advocates at Electronic Frontiers Australia are gearing up for an important fight in the new year as the Australian government proposes mandatory national Internet filters with a secret blacklist.”
Save The Internet – “There is a silent battle occurring in Washington, D.C., over our ability to freely access and exchange information through our last unbiased medium, the Internet. The telecom industry is feverishly buying up policy-makers in an attempt to block new, unanimously approved FCC regulations on Internet service providers.”
AP – “The Ohio Supreme Court hears arguments Tuesday in a case that pits defenders of online child protection against advocates of free speech. It is one of the longest running cases in the country that grapples with how states protect minors from pornography and predators on the Internet without stepping on the rights of adults and older minors to hear, see and read certain protected content.”
More about the case, from the ACLU
Update – From AP
What a headline.
“One sleeping man was so hard to move that three police community support officers had to be called out to remove him.
Discarded needles, porn-surfing PC users and unusual outbreaks of flea bites were also recorded. And the toilets were regularly the scene of problems.
One report states: “Cubicle littered with cigarette ash and butts and empty cider bottles.”
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