In The News

Think Again: The Internet

Evgeny Morozov April 29, 2010
The Internet was once seen as a force for tremendous good around the world, promoting commerce, peace, human rights, and democracy. But none of those promises have come fully true. The transnational networks created by the Internet can be as much a force for ill as for good. Twitter and other social networking media may be useful for activists but they are also useful for repressive governments....

For India, US Health Care a Sea of Opportunity

Taylor Barnes April 26, 2010
India’s outsourcers are preparing to develop their next business sector from the United State’s health care reform by covering its administrative and technological needs. A demand for lower administrative expenses and treatment of more patients for every dollar requires low cost labor that comes from outsourcing. Since there are no regulations limiting personal medical data from leaving the US,...

Spreading Digital Revolution in a Cuban Living Room

Nick Miroff April 12, 2010
Yoani Sanchez, the Cuban blogger who was been recognized internationally for her Generation Y blog, hosts a Blogger Academy to teach other Cubans the skills required to participate in social media, including Twitter, blogging, and Wikipedia. While the Cuban government has not shown any intentions to shut down the Blogger Academy, it continues to view Sanchez as “part of an aggressive US foreign...

Iraq Video Brings Notice to a Web Site

Noam Cohen, Brian Stelter April 8, 2010
The recent release of a video showing the killing of two Reuters' employees in Iraq by the web site Wikileaks shows how power is shifting to new sources in the age of global interconnectedness. Reuters had tried for several years to obtain the video from the Pentagon through Freedom of Information request without success. Wikileaks, which is a voluntary organization with a political agenda...

China: Defending its Core Interest in the World – Part II

Guobin Yang April 7, 2010
Media reports on Google’s redirecting internet searches by Chinese authorities to its uncensored site in Hong Kong have largely presented it as a conflict between two global titans. But the narrow focus of such reporting overlooks that Google’s pull-out was limited, leaving many services in place, and that Chinese authorities have not acted to shut down the company’s Hong Kong detour, notes...

Google Has Censorship Balancing Act Outside China

Michael Liedtke April 6, 2010
Google has expanded rapidly in recent years to take advantage of profits available in other countries around the world. As it does so, it is encountering resistance from governments that ask it to restrict access to certain content. China, from which Google recently withdrew its main search operation, is but the most notable example. Germany asks Google to restrict access to Nazi propaganda, for...

Information For Change

Nayan Chanda March 30, 2010
The speed of the Internet continues to increase dramatically, shrinking the world and creating new opportunities by delivering vast amounts of content to mobile devices. But the increasing speeds could create expectations and social pressures that governments are not prepared to meet. Countries need to have educated populations and good technological infrastructure to take advantage of the...