In The News

Jonathan Fenby January 19, 2010
Google’s recent dispute with China is not just about internet censorship; it’s also about China’s evolving role on the world stage, according to journalist and author Jonathan Fenby. It is unlikely Beijing will allow citizens to access banned Internet sites through Google – a condition the company demanded for staying in China. There are also concerns about Internet security in general, but the...
Dan Levin January 19, 2010
Google may be considering pulling out from China but makers of software that allow Internet users to circumvent censorship are finding their business improving. Individuals in countries as diverse as China, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, even Australia – all of which ban or censor Internet sites to some degree – want the freedom to explore the online world. Virtual private networks (VPN), which...
Loretta Chao, Aaron Back January 13, 2010
Google’s decision to start offering uncensored searches in China at the risk of being barred from the country is likely to have broad repercussions. Google announced its decision as a result of cyber attacks, some of which sought to compromise Google’s Gmail accounts of human rights activists. Politically, the move could add further tension to the US-China relationship, as the attacks were...
Gabriel Weimann January 12, 2010
Amid the clamor surrounding intelligence failures and opening of new fronts in counter-terrorism effort, a new link has come to light – the open space of the Internet. Conventional wisdom holds that the war in Afghanistan weakened Al Qaeda and eroded its operational efficiency. Terrorism expert Gabriel Weimann believes this to be far from the truth. Social networking sites, online chat rooms,...
Mwaura Samora October 8, 2009
Reality television shows are popular across Africa, attracting young viewers and making celebrities out of the shows’ stars. The shows promote unity and integration across Africa and allow a new focus on continent-wide issues such as HIV. Supporters say the shows bring Africans together in a way that politicians have been unable to match. Critics, though, say the contestants neither represent...
September 25, 2009
In the last decade, mobile phones penetrated even the world's poorest communities, as established Western companies and developing world upstarts filled demand for communication that could not be met in time through landlines and traditional mail delivery. Studies suggest that this telecommunications boom leads to substantial growth in GDP per capita. As a result, the developing world's...
Matthew Weaver July 9, 2009
North Koreans are thought to be behind a cyber attack aimed at South Korean and US government and business websites. The attack – known as denial of service in which malicious software instructs thousands of personal computers to visit particular websites simultaneously – is not uncommon, though a South Korean professor doubts North Korea had the capability to knock down a website. Whatever the...