China’s military has declared war on Western thought on the internet

China’s military says the internet has become its main ideological battlefield and that it should build a “Great Wall” online to protect the country’s citizens from “hostile Western forces.” A strongly worded editorial (link in Chinese) published in the People’s Liberation Army Daily on May said: “If we don’t occupy the internet, someone else well. If we don’t defend this territory,…

Indian, US, German rights groups say Internet.org threatens net neutrality

About 60 digital rights groupsfrom several nations across the globe, including India, the U.S., the Netherlands, Germany, Brazil, Austria and others, have criticized Facebook’s Internet.org initiative, saying that it undermines net neutrality. In an open letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg , the groups, some of whom have worked in the area of providing connectivity to the poor,…

Trust and Collaboration – Key Features for the Internet’s Future

Last week, Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), in collaboration with the Global Commission on Internet Governance (GCIG), hosted a conference on Internet governance and cybersecurity. The conference gathered a variety of experts to discuss issues pertaining to Internet governance, human rights, data protection and privacy, digital trade, innovation and security. The…

Opposition against Internet.org growing

Amid growing criticism for Facebook’s Internet.org initiative, 67 Internet activists group have written an open letter to the founder of social networking site Mark Zuckerberg, saying it violates principles of net neutrality and is a threat to freedom of expression. Signatories to the letter include groups from India, Colombia, Netherlands, U.S., Democratic Republic of Congo,…