Freedom of Speech, Internet, Power of Section 230

Freedom of Speech on the Internet: The Power of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act | Patton Boggs LLP - JDSupra:




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Tax the Internet? Lawmakers Struggle Over Web Tax

Lawmakers Struggle Over Web Tax - WSJ.com: "....The tax reprieve, however, is set to expire on Nov. 1, and so far, lawmakers have taken few concrete steps to re-enact it as they debate whether to combine it with a separate, more controversial bill. That measure would allow states to collect sales tax from out-of-state online merchants...." (read more at link above)


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The Internet's Own Boy, The Story of Aaron Swartz

The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz: "Available Same Day as Theaters. Aaron Swartz's online presence and influence was groundbreaking. From helping develop internet protocol RSS to his work as a co-founder of Reddit, the programming prodigy helped shape the digital landscape we all use today. Chronicling his pioneering efforts crusading for open access and free speech and the resulting legal nightmare and tragedy that ensued, “The Internet’s Own Boy” is a dynamic and moving portrait of a brilliant tech millionaire who renounced the values of Silicon Valley startup culture and used technology to tirelessly fight for social justice, no matter what the cost."

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The Internet, the surveillance state, degrading freedom

Saving the Net from the surveillance state: Glenn Greenwald speaks up (Q&A) | Politics and Law - CNET News: "The Internet is being degraded from what its promise was, which was an instrument of freedom, into probably the most effective means of human control and oppression ever known -- because there never existed a technology before to allow people's every thought and word to be comprehensively chronicled in the way the surveillance state allows.""

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Darkest Place on the Internet

The Darkest Place on the Internet Isn't Just for Criminals | Wired Opinion | Wired.com: " . . . But what if lots of ­people started using Darknets some of the time? Having a parallel Internet—or better yet, many parallel ones—could be terrifically useful. You could run your main social life on Facebook on the Clearnet but duck into Hyperboria or a Tor-­hidden service for socializing and reading and writing that you don’t want hoovered up by spy agencies or ad networks. We need fresh ideas for the way we hang out online, and Darknets fit the bill. If you’d like to read more about my thoughts on this, meet me on Hyperboria. I’m thinking of starting a blog." (read more at link above)

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Google's Larry Page on the internet

Google's Larry Page on Why Moon Shots Matter | Wired Business | Wired.com: " . . . Page: Consider our own history. When we started Google, it wasn’t really obvious that what we were doing wouldn’t get regulated away. Remember, at the time, people were arguing that making a copy of a file in a computer’s memory was a violation of copyright. We put the whole web on our servers, so if that were true, bye-bye search engines. The Internet’s been pretty great for society, and I think that 10 or 20 years from now, we’ll look back and say we were a millimeter away from regulating it out of existence.

Wired: My guess is that talking to regulators is probably not your favorite thing to do.

Page: I like talking to everyone. That’s just the way I’m wired. But I do think the Internet’s under much greater attack than it has been in the past. Governments are now afraid of the Internet because of the Middle East stuff, and so they’re a little more willing to listen to what I see as a lot of commercial interests that just want to make money by restricting people’s freedoms. But they’ve also seen a tremendous user reaction, like the backlash against SOPA. I think that governments fight users’ freedoms at their own peril. . . ." (read more at link above)

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Inventor of WWW says an open net is crucial

Are you listening US DOJ, ITU, UN???--

Inventor of WWW says an 'open' net is crucial - One News | TVNZ: "The inventor of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, says an "open" internet, free of Government and corporate controls, is crucial. The physicist is in New Zealand for a series of public appearances, including a rare public lecture at Te Papa museum in Wellington. Three hundred people attended the lecture tonight and appropriately those who missed out on tickets could log on and watch it streamed live through the internet. Sir Tim said it was important to ensure the internet is a place of open communication. . . . The issue of copyright and internet freedom has been particularly topical in New Zealand in the past year with the ongoing extradition case for Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom. The internet tycoon is wanted by US authorities for online piracy charges related to his former file sharing website."


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FCC to Congress: UN and ITU Internet plans must be stopped

FCC to Congress: U.N.'s ITU Internet plans 'must be stopped' | ZDNet: " . . . in a rarely seen show of harshly-written rhetoric, McDowell will also demonstrate that the U.N.'s harmful designs on the Internet are at least a decade old, and its agenda is comprised almost entirely of lies and deceit. McDowell's astonishingly blunt statements (prepared and published in "Fighting for Internet Freedom: Dubai and Beyond") outlined the ITU's frighteningly successful agenda to take control of the Internet by redefining telecommunications treaties in direct benefit to ITU bedfellows not limited to China, Russia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. . . . "


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Lauren Weinstein on Google, France, and Extortion of the Internet

Wow, read the full article at the following link (excerpt below)--

Lauren Weinstein's Blog: Google, France, and the Extortion of the Internet: " . . . Whether we call it Tribute, Danegeld, or just plain blackmail and extortion payments, there is little evidence to suggest that "paying off" a party making unreasonable demands will do much more than quiet them for the moment, and they'll almost inevitably be back for more. And more. And more. Even worse, caving in such situations signals other parties that you may be susceptible to their making the same (or even more outrageous) demands, and this mindset can easily spread from attacking deep-pocketed firms to decimating much smaller companies, organizations, or even individuals. Let's be very clear. France's complaints regarding Google related to activities that are absolutely part and parcel of the fundamental and fully expected nature of the open Internet when dealing with publicly accessible Web sites, and pages not blocked by paywalls or limited by robots.txt directives. France's success at obtaining financial and other concessions from Google associated with ordinary search and linking activities sends a loud, clear, and potentially disastrous message around the planet, a message that could doom the open Internet and Web that we've worked so long and hard to create. Because if France can do this with Google, what's to stop France from the same modus operandi with other firms and sites -- or for other countries and entities to follow a similar course?"


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Senator Wyden Speech at 2013 CES

Senator Wyden Speech at 2013 CES | Blog | U.S. Senator Ron Wyden: "The incumbents often seek special help from the government, claiming they want a marketplace from government intervention; but they don’t get it. The role of the government is to address market failures, and to block cartels, monopolies, and anti-competitive forces that interfere with the effective operation of free enterprise. A legitimate function of the government is to defend the market against the forces interfering with its efficient function. That is where you come in. If we play offense around an agenda for Internet innovation we can, to use the language of the Oregon Ducks, Win the Day. With that in mind, here are some ideas to tackle the big challenges that I see down the field. The centerpiece of our agenda should be guaranteeing innovators the Freedom to Compete.
Here is what the freedom to compete in the marketplace means. First, it begins with access to the Internet. Internet Service Providers – wired or wireless – must be barred from practices that discriminate against specific content. The Open Internet order established by the FCC is a good start but it doesn’t go far enough because, in reality, it is not comprehensive. . . . " (go to link above for full speech)

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The forces of Internet darkness will strike again

The forces of Internet darkness will strike again | Fox News: "At the end of the conference, Ambassador Terry Kramer, head of the U.S. delegation, noted, “It is clear that the world community is a crossroads in its view of the Internet and its relationship to society in the coming century.” While the importance of global dialogue was made clear in Dubai, so was the fact that the ITU is not the appropriate place for Internet governance."

We will not forget: "the ITU is not the appropriate place for Internet governance."


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Vint Cerf: Internet competition has “evaporated” since dial-up

My buddy, Vint Cerf, was at CES recently--

Vint Cerf: Internet competition has “evaporated” since dial-up | Ars Technica: "Vint Cerf, co-creator of the Internet, said today he is troubled by the prospect of companies like AT&T avoiding government regulation after the transition from traditional phone technology to all-IP networks. Already, he said, competition was decimated when the Internet moved from dial-up providers to cable companies and telcos. Cerf—who made the Internet possible by co-developing the Internet protocol and Transmission Control Protocol technology 40 years ago—was speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show's "Silvers Summit" on technology geared toward the older population. "Some people think silver surfers don't know how to use technology. I have news for you: some of us invented this stuff," the 69-year-old Cerf noted. This happened to be just one day after AT&T described its plans to retire the traditional Public Switched Telephone Network and become an all-IP telco. As we reported, AT&T wants to make this transition without being subject to what it calls "monopoly-era regulatory obligations," which AT&T thinks are unjustified in the Internet age. . ."

Silver surfers? My fur is gray--I guess I qualify!


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China tightens Internet restrictions

The following must make the ITU and WCIT really proud--

China tightens Internet restrictions - Salon.com: "China has further restricted Internet usage, legalizing the deletion of posts or pages that contain illicit information and requiring all users to provide their real names to service providers. The new rules, issued on Friday, make it harder for businesses to protect commercial secrets and for individuals to access websites from abroad that the Chinese government believes are politically sensitive, The New York Times reported. The estimated number of Internet users in China has grown to more than 500 million, about 40 percent of the population, the Bangkok Post reported. While netizens are allowed to use pseudonyms, under the new rules they first must provide their real names to service providers, which is expected to stifle conversation on microblogging websites. China’s biggest Internet firm, Sina Corp, reported that the move would reduce traffic to websites like Weibo, China’s version of Twitter. Chinese authorities and Internet companies have always monitored and censored what citizens can say online, but now the government has actually put in place measures that would make deleting possibly controversial posts into law, Reuters reported."

Remember it was China (among other repressive governments) that supported the ITU's attempt to take over the internet at WCIT 2012.


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The UN’s ITU attempt to takeover the Internet at WCIT 2012

Well worth reading the full article (excerpt below) for the true story of the ITU attempt to take over the internet at WCIT 2012--the ITU lied about consensus and their intent to take over the internet--

Behind closed doors at the UN’s attempted “takeover of the Internet” | Ars Technica: " . . . The United States took the floor. Ambassador Kramer announced that the US would not be signing the new treaty. He was followed by the United Kingdom. Sweden said that it would need to consult with its capital (code in UN-speak for “not signing”). Canada, Poland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Kenya, New Zealand, Costa Rica, and the Czech Republic all made similar statements before the Chairman cut the meeting short. At a later meeting that night, additional countries expressed their reservations. The EU issued a directive that the new human rights language was unacceptable, and therefore no EU country would be allowed to sign. An intensive overnight lobbying effort was launched. Once senior-level ministers got an earful from private sector representatives back in their own countries, they sent instructions to their delegations in Dubai not to sign the new treaty. All told, 89 countries signed while 55 did not. This produced a great deal of relief on the US delegation. We were able to dilute the worst proposals of the treaty, even without ultimately signing on to a document that did not match our values, and we were able to achieve that without being isolated, which could have had negative consequences both for American companies doing business abroad and for future diplomatic interactions. But it was a narrow escape. Had the Africa region not overplayed its hand at the last minute with the new “human rights” language, the outcome might have been quite different. Running WCITLeaks and experiencing the WCIT in person impressed upon me the importance of transparency in the decision-making processes that concern the Internet. While we were able to make some WCIT documents public, the group’s formal processes remain arcane and fundamentally closed. . . ."

The ITU should be abolished--one word sums up the organization, its leadership, and its processes at WCIT and elsewhere--DYSFUNCTIONAL! What does the future hold for the ITU? Increasing marginalization as it is now recognized as an untrustworthy organization which bears watching 24/7 as it continues to do the bidding of the most repressive governments in the world.


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The UN's Coming Internet Power Grab

Come December 3rd, the UN is going to try to grab control of the internet and abolish internet freedom--

The UN's Coming Internet Power Grab - Hit & Run : Reason.com: "Currently, the ITRs [International Telecommunications Regulations] cover only international telecommunications services (PDF). But the Russians propose adding a new section to the treaty to deal explicitly with "IP-based networks." Bringing the Internet into the treaty in any capacity would represent a major expansion of the scope of the ITU's authority."

HISS!!

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Catalans fight libel fine with YouTube videos

In the internet era--one has resources  to fight government abuses--

Catalans fight libel fine with YouTube videos: "Catalans fight libel fine with YouTube videos"

When Catalan magazine editors Marta Sibina and Albano Dante created a YouTube video to publicly shame Catalan health-care adviser Josep Maria Via, they were fined 10,000 euro for defamation.

Not to be shouted down by Spain’s libel laws, the two responded by creating yet another video explaining why they were in the right.

In the original video, called the “Greatest theft in the history of Catalonia,” the pair decried what they see as “a lack of transparency in Catalonia’s public health-care system” and the apparent mismanagement of taxpayer dollars.

(Here’s Part 1 … there’s also a Part 2.)

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OMG!--The UN To Control The Internet ?

"Gird your loins"--

There's A Huge Plan In The Works To Give The UN Control Of The Internet - Business Insider:

" . . . Russia, China and other countries back a move to place the Internet under the authority of the International Telecommunications Union, a UN agency . . .  U.S. officials say placing the Internet under U.N. control would undermine the freewheeling nature of cyberspace, which promotes open commerce and free expression, and could give a green light for some countries to crack down on dissidents. Observers say a number of authoritarian states will back the move, and that the major Western nations will oppose it, meaning the developing world could make a difference. . . . Terry Kramer, the special US envoy for the talks, has expressed Washington's position opposing proposals by Russia, China and others to expand the ITU's authority to regulate the Internet. "The Internet has grown precisely because it has not been micro-managed or owned by any government or multinational organization," Kramer told a recent forum. "There is no Internet central office. Its openness and decentralization are its strengths.". . The head of the ITU, Hamadoun Toure, said his agency has "the depth of experience that comes from being the world's longest established intergovernmental organization." . . .  But Harold Feld of the US-based non-government group Public Knowledge said any new rules could have devastating consequences. "These proposals, from the Russian Federation and several Arab states, would for the first time explicitly embrace the concept that governments have a right to control online communications and disrupt Internet access services," Feld said on a blog post. "This would reverse the trend of the last few years increasingly finding that such actions violate fundamental human rights." Paul Rohmeyer, who follows cybersecurity at the Stevens Institute of Technology, pointed to a "sense of anxiety" about the meeting in part because of a lack of transparency. He said it was unclear why the ITU is being considered for a role in the Internet. "The ITU historically has been a standards-setting body and its roots are in the telecom industry. I'm not familiar with anything they've done that's had an impact on the Internet today," Rohmeyer told AFP.

Read my post tomorrow to find out who the ITU's Hamadoun Toure is, and who his "master" is.

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Online tools to skirt Internet censorship overwhelmed by demand

A follow-up to my story 2 days ago about US State Department efforts to keep the internet free:

The masses yearning to breathe free--

Online tools to skirt Internet censorship overwhelmed by demand - The Washington Post: Activists and nonprofit groups say that their online circumvention tools, funded by the U.S. government, are being overwhelmed by demand and that there is not enough money to expand capacity. The result: online bottlenecks that have made the tools slow and often inaccessible to users in China, Iran and elsewhere, threatening to derail the Internet freedom agenda championed by the Obama administration. “Every time we provide them with additional funding, those bottlenecks are alleviated for a time but again fill to capacity in a short period of time,” said André Mendes, director of the Office of Technology, Services and Innovation at the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), which funds some of the initiatives. “One could reasonably state that more funding would translate into more traffic and, therefore, more accessibility from behind these firewalls.” The United States spends about $30 million a year on Internet freedom, in effect funding an asymmetric proxy war against governments that spend billions to regulate the flow of information. The programs have been backed by President Obama, who promoted the initiatives at a town-hall-style meeting in Shanghai three years ago.

Money well spent!


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Internet Censorship in China

Wonder why so many oppose efforts by the UN to take control of the internet and impose censorship? Here's what is happening in China:

The Great Internet Firewall of China - Businessweek: "This time it’s the New York Times that has Chinese Internet censors raising the digital gates. Shortly after the publication of a lengthy article on Oct. 26 asserting that Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s family members “have controlled assets worth at least $2.7 billion,” the media company’s English and Chinese websites were blocked within China. Then came the official government condemnation. “Some reports smear China and have ulterior motives,” foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a regular press briefing when asked about the censorship of the story. China’s Internet is managed “in accordance with laws,” the spokesman said. This follows an earlier online clampdown on Bloomberg LP, which owns this website and Bloomberg Businessweek magazine. Both its website and that of Bloomberg Businessweek have been blocked since Bloomberg News published a report on June 29 detailing how the extended family of Vice President Xi Jinping came to control assets worth $376 million. Xi is expected to take over from Hu Jintao as China’s next top leader at a once-every-five year Party Congress, opening Nov. 8 . . .  The rise of the vibrant Chinese net—with 538 million Chinese Internet users and 274 million individual weibo or microblog accounts—has certainly complicated things for China’s censors, however. That has led to something of a game of cat and mouse between Chinese who post comments and link to articles that have been blocked elsewhere, and censors who quickly scrub them from the Internet after finding them. With the publication of the latest New York Times article on the premier’s family wealth, the censors seem to be winning: All Weibo posts related to the piece are quickly being removed from the Web."

Every totalitarian regime in the world resents the openness and freedom of the internet--and the UN is guilty of being a tool used by the most repressive governments.  Keep the internet free!


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The Best Story About The Web This Year

You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time. --Abraham Lincoln, (attributed) 16th president of US (1809 - 1865)

Why The Internet Cool Kids Think Gawker Outing Reddit's Violentacrez Is The 'Best Story About The Web' This Year - Forbes: "On Friday, Gawker published a piece that the Internet Cool Kids had been waiting for. In it, Adrian Chen unmasked one of the volunteer moderators of Reddit, a site for sharing news, info, pics and links that, like Facebook and Google, sends a lot of traffic to news sites and thus is a place in which the Internet Cool Kids are very interested. This particular Reddit user, who went by the handle Violentacrez, created and moderated some controversial sub-Reddits, including Jailbait, a place for sharing photos of sexy, underage girls, . . ."

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