CNET: FCC kicks off investigation into broadband map accuracy. “The federal government keeps a map that highlights areas that have or don’t have broadband service. Critics say this national broadband map doesn’t accurately reflect the level of access in the US. Now, the Federal Communications Commission is going to act on this.”
internet access
New York Times: How to Save the Web
New York Times: How to Save the Web. “In recent years, it has become clear that the web is not living up to the high hopes we had for it. Built as an open tool for collaboration and empowerment, the web has been hijacked by crooks and trolls who have used it to manipulate people all over the world. To preserve a web that serves all of humanity, not just the privileged and the powerful, we will have to fight for it. That’s why I’m asking governments, companies and citizens across the globe to commit to a set of core principles for the web.”
New York Times: Digital Divide Is Wider Than We Think, Study Says
New York Times: Digital Divide Is Wider Than We Think, Study Says. “Ferry County in northeastern Washington spans more than 2,200 square miles of mostly forestland, rivers and lakes. And according to the Federal Communications Commission, everyone in the sprawling county has access to broadband internet. But that is not the reality experienced by the roughly 7,500 residents of this county, which is rich in natural beauty but internet-poor.”
The Siver Week: Belarus Introduces Compulsory Identification Of Internet Users
The Siver Week: Belarus Introduces Compulsory Identification Of Internet Users. “The law specifically provides for mandatory identification of users of Internet resources, including commentators, and also on the forums. For authentication, the user will need to enter your mobile phone number when filling out the user agreement.”
Techdirt: FCC Accused Of Burying Data Highlighting Sorry State Of US Broadband
Techdirt: FCC Accused Of Burying Data Highlighting Sorry State Of US Broadband. “Back in 2011 the FCC launched something called the Measuring American Broadband program. It was revolutionary in the fact that for the first time, the FCC refused to simply take ISPs at their word in terms of the speed and connection quality of their broadband offerings. Instead, the FCC hired UK firm Samknows to embed custom-firmware modified routers in the homes of thousands of real world broadband volunteers, providing insight into the real state of US broadband network performance, not the rosy picture of US broadband telecom industry lobbyists like to paint. Not surprisingly, actually using real world data to inform policy paid dividends.”
Quartz: African countries disrupt internet connectivity more than anywhere else
Quartz: African countries disrupt internet connectivity more than anywhere else. “When it comes to internet shutdowns, African nations are among the world’s worst violators. From Ethiopia in the east to Algeria in the north, Cameroon in the center and Zimbabwe in the south, countries are regularly cutting off connectivity for extended periods than any other region globally, the 2018 Transparency report from Facebook shows.”
Dawn: Pakistan’s online clampdown
Dawn: Pakistan’s online clampdown. “On the afternoon of June 3, 2018 — with the general elections only a month away — many users on Twitter took to the microblogging platform to express their inability to access a website operated by the Awami Workers Party (AWP). Once accessible to several users on various internet providers of the country, it now directed visitors to a message stating that the website was ‘not accessible’ because ‘it contains content that is prohibited for viewership from within Pakistan’. The website, however, was accessible to users outside the country.”
