Syria's Internet Completely Cut Off for the First Time Since its Civil War Began
BY Sam Roudman | Thursday, November 29 2012
Since early this morning, the Internet has been effectively cut off in Syria. Internet intelligence company Renesys reported that all 84 of Syria’s ISP address blocks have become unreachable. The most recent update at noon shows 92 percent of Syria’s networks still down. Read More
Dashboard Government: The Politics of Measurement
BY David Eaves | Wednesday, November 28 2012
The other week I was informed that the city of Edmonton, Alberta, published an online dashboard of various metrics that it hopes will both educate residents about the city's services. As more and more of what governments do — from running buses to fixing potholes to processing paper — is managed by computers, there is an ever-increasing capacity to measure, and make public, the results of any given activity. The opportunity to create more accountable systems and governments is real. If we are going to end up with government dashboards all over the place — and frankly, I hope we do — dashboard-makers had better do a bunch of things right. Read More
Pakistan Considering Bill that Would Ban Independent Mapping Projects
BY Nighat Dad | Wednesday, November 28 2012
The government of Pakistan is about to propose a law that would make it illegal for independent bodies to engage in mapping. The Land Surveying and Mapping Bill 2012, proposed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), transfers all mapping authority in Pakistan to Survey of Pakistan (SoP), which reports to the MoD and takes its orders from General Head Quarters (GHQ). Read More
Following Government Orders, Tajikistan's Telecoms Have Blocked Facebook
BY Lisa Goldman | Tuesday, November 27 2012
Facebook is now totally blocked in Tajikistan. Starting from last week, the Ministry of Communications ordered the country's six mobile service providers and six Internet service providers to block access to the popular social media platform. Read More
In India, Your Facebook Status Could Get You Arrested
BY Lisa Goldman | Wednesday, November 21 2012
Often described as the world's largest democracy, India's legislation on free speech would probably surprise the average American. Vague wording of laws that define defamation issues and hate speech, for example, have affected freedom of expression on the Internet — perhaps most notably, on social media platforms. As the New York Times India edition reports, there have been several cases of otherwise law-abiding citizens being arrested and even jailed for their tweets and status updates. Most recently, two women were arrested for Facebook updates. Read More
The Geopolitics of the Open Government Partnership in Action
BY David Eaves | Wednesday, November 21 2012
While in Burma, President Barack Obama welcomed the country into the Open Government Partnership — an example of the OGP as part of a global U.S. strategy to forge a set of alliances with key partners around the world. It may also advance transparency and anticorruption through collaboration and new technology — but there are other chess games in progress, too. Read More
How "We The People," the White House e-Petition Site, Could Help Form a More Perfect Union
BY Micah L. Sifry | Tuesday, November 20 2012
With nearly one million people signing petitions on the White House's "We the People" e-petition site calling for their state to secede from the Union, it's tempting to dismiss the platform as a lightning rod for the most disaffected Americans. But people petitioning the government could also be invited into a new kind of civic dialogue, one that might build on what "We the People" already promises: an official reply from the powers-that-be. Freed from the demands of another election and blessed with some of the smartest technologists in the country, the Obama Administration could use "We the People" to begin the work of constructing a real digital public square, not just another e-Potemkin village. Will they? Read More
Free Phone App Teaches Afghan Women to Read
BY Lisa Goldman | Thursday, November 15 2012
The Ministry of Education in Afghanistan is rolling out a free phone app that it hopes will raise the literacy level amongst women, reports Wired.co.uk. Currently, only 15 percent of Afghan women can read and write. Read More
[Op-Ed] How Obama’s Foreign Policy Can Be Savvier about Tech and Democratization
BY Phil Howard | Tuesday, November 13 2012
600,000 Georgians Rally for Democracy, Sept 2012 (Photo from http://www.democracyingeorgia.org)
In this op-ed, author Philip Howard looks at recent events in Georgia, Hungary, Myanmar and Venezuela, countries that are all in flux--some moving toward greater democracy, some less. He argues that "the transportable strategy for all four countries—countries that have actually become archetypes for how a country can open up or close down—involves encouraging open Internet access and competitive media environments. These countries are now ideal points of intervention, where a deliberate US response on information policy reform would not only solve problems in those countries. It would send the right signals to the strongmen in neighboring countries." Read More
U.A.E. Passes New Law Prescribing Mandatory Jail Time for Online Dissidents
BY Lisa Goldman | Tuesday, November 13 2012
The United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) is cracking down on dissent with a new law that stipulates jail time for anyone who criticizes the government online, reports the Global Arab Network. Read More