Latest news & blogs
Nepal's king says he will hand power back to the people
- after mass protests in defiance on the curfew imposed by the King, leading to increased international pressure. Three Human Rights organizations call for targeted sanctions.
Yahoo helps China arrest pro-democracy activists
- For the third time Yahoo has been implicated in the arrest of a cyberdissident in China. In 2003 Jiang Lijun was sentenced to four years in prison for his pro-democracy articles published online. According to Reporters without Borders a copy of the court verdict shows that Yahoo helped the Chinese police to identify him.
World Bank fails to get to the bottom of corruption
A series of loan suspensions and internal investigations has everyone at the World Bank talking about corruption; despite high-profile moves by president Paul Wolfowitz, the root causes of corruption - underpaid civil servants, an acceptance of bribery by big business, and dirty money - remain largely unaddressed.
Unease over how the net is run.
Internet governance policies strike at the core of free speech, privacy, and a competitive marketplace, and there are growing concerns over the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)'s seeming inability to address these issues.
When much of the media is controlled by the rich and powerful, it raises the question: what about the little guy?
"Give them a camcorder" says GreenNet member Undercurrents , a group of activists
making films they think the mainstream media are either missing or don't want to cover. They have been highlighted as this week's Guardian "Campaign of the Week".
Identity protection firm looks for gaps in Great Firewall of China
The firm has released software (available on an English language site) designed specifically for Chinese citizens, that offers a way around the web filters put in place by Beijing. In addition, the software promises to shield the personal identities and related information of users that the Chinese government is currently able to monitor.
Singapore attacked over blog gag.
The Singapore government has extended censorship laws to ban podcasts and videocasts that carry political content in the run up to the country's parliamentary elections. Reporters Without Borders have condemned the suppression of a genuinely democratic debate on the Internet
Clamping Down On Protest - Arrests under Serious and Organised Crime and Police Act.
Two women were arrested at NSA Menwith Hill on 1st April within hours of the new Act being brought into force. More details here.
Public services now have legal means to open up.
From 1 April the Office of Public Sector Information has had its powers extended - now local councils, NHS organisations, police and other emergency services can offer their data to the public for free via a simple licensing scheme.
Google accused of bio-piracy.
Google has been accused of being the "biggest threat to genetic privacy" for its alleged plan to create a searchable database of genetic information. They were presented with an award as part of the Captain Hook Awards for Biopiracy in Curitiba, Brazil.