Belarus’s illusion of democracy
Polling day procedure may have been in place, but censorship ruined any chance of a free parliamentary election in Europe’s last dictatorship, says Andrei Aliaksandrau (more…)
India discusses proposals to regulate the internet
The Indian government’s proposal to the United Nations General Assembly, to form a 50-member United Nations Committee on Internet Related Policies (CIRP) to “regulate” the internet has been met with controversy since it was tabled last October. On 19 September, one of India’s leading industry bodies, the Federation of Indian Chambers and Commerce Industry, FICCI, held a panel discussion bringing together government, business groups and civil society for the first time to debate the proposal.
Currently, a US-based nonprofit called the Internet Cooperation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) coordinates Internet domain names and IP addresses; with a sophisticated system of councils set up to address the concerns of various stakeholders (corporations, governments, Internet user groups, etc.) across the world.
Berlin internet freedom and human rights conference
There have been a number of internet freedom conferences this year as the debate intensifies over the role and responsibilities of governments, corporations and individuals online. The Arab Spring has spurred some governments to tighten their grip on the internet, whilst for others it has acted as a wake up call on the power of the internet to promote democracy and change. The German government’s conference in Berlin aimed to highlight the interplay between internet freedom and human rights in the run up to the ITU World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) and the Internet Governance Forum (IGF).
Corporations don’t have feelings, so why should they be able to sue for libel?
Major companies have alternatives to litigation, says Mike Harris. With PR teams and big advertising budgets they can easily counter false claims or unfair criticism (more…)