In The News

Holder Promises Snowden Will Face Justice

Jamie Smyth, Geoff Dyer, Paul J Davies June 25, 2013
US Attorney General Eric Holder has accused Edward Snowden, the source behind the National Security Agency leaks, of endangering lives of citizens in the US and those in allied nations, and vows to prosecute the computer technician. In the run-up to the G8 Summit in Northern Ireland, EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding has said that an agreement was reached with Holder to form a joint US-EU...

NSA Surveillance: The US Is Behaving Like China

Ai Weiwei June 14, 2013
Many are shocked by reports on the scope of the US National Security Agency’s PRISM operation, and comparisons to the monolithic security apparatus in China may not be far off. Both US citizens and foreigners are left wondering about the targets. Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, who has both lived in the US for 12 years and been in detention in China, expresses surprise and disappointment....

US Snooping Revelations Cause Trouble for Allies

Andrew Osborn June 11, 2013
Exposure of the US National Security Agency’s vast intelligence collection program through the use of internet companies like Google and Facebook is creating headaches for allied governments across the world. UK Foreign Secretary William Hague attempted to assure Britons that privacy laws were respected, while the opposition in Germany expressed displeasure and urged Merkel to demand answers from...

Is Big Data Turning Government Into Big Brother?

Michael Liedtke June 7, 2013
Privacy advocates have long been concerned about the US National Security Agency collecting data on US citizens and foreigners. Recent reports that Verizon and likely other US telecommunications firms are handing over phone logs stir new concerns about surveillance activities started under the George W. Bush administration. Individuals who use digital devices leave digital trails, reports Michael...

US Senate Plans Crackdown on Visa “Abusers”

Anna Fifield April 24, 2013
Proposed US immigration reform may include tough rules to weed out IT sourcing companies that are believed to abuse the H-1B visa system for skilled scientists and researchers. Program abuses include undercutting wages and hiring workers with skills that duplicate those already available among US workers. Top recipients of H-1B visas include Indian firms, with a bulk of their employees based in...

US Embassy in Cairo Scrubs Twitter Feed of Link to Daily Show Commentary on Egypt

Robert Mackey, Liam Stack April 10, 2013
Internet users can close down Facebook pages, correct blog entries or scrub Twitter logs, but global observers take notice of prominent censorship. Jon Stewart of the Daily Show came to the defense of Bassem Youssef, an Egyptian comedian under investigation for mocking Egypt’s president and Islam. Youssef’s show in Egypt adopts Stewart’s format of a mock news show, exposing hypocrisy and...

Saudi Arabia “Threatens Skype Ban”

March 28, 2013
Skype, WhatsApp and Viber offer an array of free messaging and telephone calls. All are cross-platform internet services with widely popular free plans that reach out to numerous nations. Demanding the right to monitor the applications, the government has given the three companies a week to respond. Reports have emerged that the telecommunications regulator may block the services and may have...