Topic: Internet Connectivity

Pakistan bans Twitter, citing blasphemous content

Activists see the government's claims of blasphemy as a convenient excuse to rein in free-wheeling conversations on the social media site ahead of elections.

Europe's Internet revolt: protesters see threats in antipiracy treaty

Anger over proposed antipiracy treaty ACTA was expected to bring thousands to Europe's streets today. Supporters say it will better protect intellectual labor, while opponents see free speech threats. 

Five major SOPA supporters

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and its Senate counterpart, the Protect IP Act or PIPA, would allow the US government to seek a court order and even shut down websites that contain content or links “committing or facilitating online piracy.”  Moreover, advertisers and Internet service providers would be banned from doing business with violators.

However, payment and advertising networks, search engines or service providers that take voluntary action to redress detected violations – by terminating businesses with transgressor sites or comply with the law – will be granted immunity from liability charges.

On Sept. 22, 2011, more than 350 trade associations, professional and labor organizations, and businesses signed a letter urging Congress to enact legislation to stop “rogue sites” from copyright infringement.

Here are five key SOPA and PIPA supporters:

European Court: Internet providers can't be forced to monitor users

The European Court of Justice overturned a Belgian court's injunction in what experts say is a victory for Internet providers and users over proponents of tighter copyright controls online.

Five things you need to know about 'the cloud'

Menacing as this hazy tech term may sound, the cloud is actually a regular part of daily digital life. In fact, gadget analysts expect this metaphorical cloud to envelop more of the world in coming years.

Cell phones ubiquitous globally, but 1 in 8 now have mobile Internet

Cell phones in hands of more than 5 billion people, United Nations says. But mobile Internet growing much faster than cell phones: 160 percent last year alone.

Earthquake plays havoc with East Coast cell networks

Cell networks went down in many areas immediately following the 5.8-magnitude quake. But Verizon, AT&T, and others say there was no damage to their networks. Here's why.

Tablet computers feel the competition with release of HP TouchPad

Tablet computers like the iPad will have another tablet to compete with when HP and Palm release their TouchPad on July 1.

Happy IPv6 Day! How Internet traffic will soon change forever.

Internet traffic is about to undergo a major change. IPv6 will soon rewrite the inner workings of the Web. But will this overhaul of Internet traffic affect you?

Netflix streaming makes up 22 percent of Internet traffic

Netflix streaming accounts for more than a fifth of all North American Internet traffic during prime times.

Why AT&T is hunting down broadband service hogs

Broadband service through AT&T DSL is no longer unlimited. There will soon be a 150 to 250 gigabyte monthly cap on broadband service.

Broadband service: House says no to FCC rules

Broadband service would be more heavily regulated under the FCC. But House votes to repeal its proposed rules for broadband service.

Less mobile Internet. Cheaper price. But a fair deal?

New federal rules allow Metro PCS to offer a low-cost plan that blocks access to popular websites on the mobile Internet. Critics say it's a breach of net neutrality.

10 ways to prevent cyberconflict

From establishing cyberwar limitation treaties to banning the 'first use' of cyberweapons, experts offer ways to head off a future major conflict in cyberspace.

It's official: The Internet just ran out of addresses

The pool of new IP addresses, the phone numbers of the Internet, has finally run dry. What do we do from here?

Egypt's Internet shutdown, visualized

Google Transparency Report's traffic numbers provide a stark illustration of the impact of the Egyptian government's Internet shutdown that began last week.

Egypt unrest: How do you shut down Internet service in an entire country?

Internet service was shut down nationwide in Egypt Thursday amid large-scale antigovernment protests. How does a government just turn off the Internet for a whole country?

Mark Zuckerberg Facebook account hacked

The Mark Zuckerberg Facebook fan page was hacked this week. So who is the mysterious prankster that managed to steal Mark Zuckerberg's identity?

West Africa Rising: World Bank offers Internet 'revolution' to Sierra Leone, Liberia

The World Bank’s board of directors last week approved an underwater fiber-optic cable project that promises to bring 'a major infrastructural revolution' to Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Verizon sues over net neutrality rules

Verizon has gone to court to protest new net neutrality rules, which will keep Internet providers from interfering with traffic over their networks.

Comcast wins OK to buy NBC

Comcast purchase of NBC will make it a media powerhouse, although regulators insisted upon certain conditions to ensure competition.

Did WikiLeaks bring on cyberwar? Maybe a cyber sit-in.

After Visa, MasterCard, and others cut services to WikiLeaks, a group launched ‘distributed denial of service’ attacks against these businesses. But a new analysis shows that the attacks lacked punch.

Broadband Internet: Google delays announcing test cities

Broadband Internet experiments are still on, Google says, but it needs more time to pick its test locations.