Bombarded by media questions in the hours after Friday’s nightmare events in Norway, Oslo’s police simply put their hands up: “We have no main theory, we don’t even have a working theory,” a police official told AFP. “We already have enough to do to get an understanding of the situation.” (more…)
Rebecca MacKinnon, internet freedom guru and Global Network Initiative / Global Voices stalwart was at TEDGlobal 2011, in Edinburgh yesterday.
Ahead of the January 2012 of her new book, Consent of the Networked: A Citizen’s Guide to the Worldwide Struggle For Internet Freedom, MacKinnon was reiterating her belief that the internet is headed for a Magna Charta moment when citzens rise up to demand their governments protect free speech online. She draws a fascinating correlation between the factors that led to the “great charter” in 1215 and modern interet censorship.
Take the time to watch it.
Leaked documents have revealed British government plans that could seriously affect web users. Peter Bradwell reports
Just hours after the PROTECT IP Act passed unanimously in the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday, Democratic Senator Ron Wyden from Oregon placed a hold to prevent it from reaching the Senate. Wyden argued the legislation was an “overreaching approach to policing the internet.” The act was introduced two weeks ago and authorises the government to use court orders to prohibit internet search engines from displaying sites that violate intellectual property laws. It would also force internet providers to block “rogue” sites offering pirated goods.Media groups fighting for anti-piracy protection have largely praised the legislation.