New York City Slams Verizon’s Spectacular Fiber Failure
In 2008, Verizon promised the city of New York that everyone who wanted fiber optic Internet and television service from FiOS would have it by 2014. We’re now almost halfway through 2015, and a new report reveals just how spectacular Verizon’s failure was when it came to delivering on that promise. The Wall Street Journal […]
F.C.C. to Fine AT&T $100 Million for Slowing Data Speeds
The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday said it planned to fine AT&T Mobility $100 million, accusing the company of misleading millions of wireless customers with unlimited data plans by slowing down their service without adequately informing them. The agency said that once customers had used a certain amount of data, AT&T delivered service that was […]
Cuba is expanding Wi-Fi access, cutting costs
HAVANA -Cuba says it’s expanding Internet access by adding Wi-Fi capacity to dozens of state-run Internet centers and more than halving the cost that users pay for an hour online. The announcement published in Thursday’s edition of the newspaper Juventud Rebelde is the first significant expansion of the Internet in Cuba since President Barack Obama […]
Internet-Plus Poised To Transform China’s Film Business Models
Self-confidence overflowed as Chinese film and Internet executives pitched a new business model that may be on the way to transforming the fortunes of local studios and rolling back the influence of Hollywood in China. At a high-powered seminar on Sunday at the Shanghai film festival, the plutocrat bosses of Bona Film Group and Enlight […]
YouTube to launch dedicated video gaming site and apps
YouTube has announced plans to launch a dedicated site and app for gaming in an attempt to take on Amazon-owned streaming service Twitch. Twitch allows gaming fans to watch and interact with live broadcasts of others playing games. Google, which owns YouTube, is understood to have made a bid for Twitch last year, only to […]
Miami-Dade principal reassigned after Internet post about Texas officer
MIAMI – The principal of a South Florida high school has been removed from his position after expressing support online for a Texas police officer who waved a gun at teens while responding to a call about an unruly pool party. The Miami-Dade County school district announced today that Alberto Iber had been removed as […]
US teen facing 15 years in prison for Internet aid to IS
A tech-savvy US teen pleaded guilty Thursday to using social media to aid the Islamic State group, a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison, the Justice Department said. Ali Shukri Amin, 17, a resident of Virginia, admitted to providing advice and encouragement to IS and its supporters, US prosecutors said. Under the […]
Apple Music and Labels Investigated in 2 States
While Apple was preparing a splashy introduction for a new service that would stream music over the Internet for a fee, the attorneys general of New York and Connecticut were quietly investigating the Silicon Valley giant’s negotiations with music companies in search of potential antitrust violations. The attorneys general wanted to know whether Apple pressured […]
The Government does not Need a Warrant to Read Our Emails
Should the contents of email messages be protected from unwarranted law enforcement scrutiny to the same extent as physical letters sent through the mail? The answer seems obvious. Email is today’s postal service, and the personal contents of email messages are as private to people as the letters sent through the U.S. Postal Service. But […]
Ruling prohibits blanket ban on Internet use for parolees
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) – A blanket ban on Internet use unlawfully deprives parolees convicted of sex crimes of more liberty than necessary because the Internet has become a necessary part of modern life, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals said the wording in a standard condition of supervised release […]
House passes extension of Internet tax ban
The House on Tuesday passed a bill that would permanently extend a ban on state and local taxes on Internet access. Lawmakers approved the legislation on a voice vote, which would also ban discriminatory taxes on e-commerce. The ban, first passed in 1998, has required a series of extensions over nearly two decades. But […]
U.S. Solidifies and Expands Leadership in Internet Usage
New data (link is external) from the Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI) Forecast and Methodology 2014-2019 show that U.S. and global Internet traffic continues to grow at double digit rates, that the U.S. is on a path to solidify and expand its leadership in international Internet usage, and that video over fixed networks remains the […]
Why States Taxing Internet Would be Better
The U.S. House is expected to vote Tuesday on a bill that would prevent state and city governments from levying taxes on Internet access. The bill is important for a number of reasons. But it also highlights an important tension between Washington and the states — one that affects how we regulate what has become […]
China’s Internet Giant Baidu Invests $11.5 Million in Free Wi-Fi Company
Chinese internet search engine giant and popular mapping service provider Baidu Inc., has invested $11.5 million in Qianhai Mobile – a local start-up that provides commuters in over 10 cities across the country with free wireless internet access. China Money Network reported that the investment deal, which will be implemented through the subscriptions of […]
U.S. officials are scrambling: Massive data breach exposes federal employees
Chinese hackers have caused a massive data breach in U.S. government computer networks, placing the entire federal workforce at risk. Data from the Office of Personnel Management, which is essentially the human resources department for the federal government, as well as the Interior Department have been accessed by foreign hackers, the Department of Homeland Security […]
A Critical Moment For The Future Of The Internet
The Internet, the greatest invention of our generation—several generations in fact—is in many ways a reflection of the American Dream. It’s vast and open, unlimited in its potential reach. It’s inclusive and welcoming. Anyone can be part of it and make a difference. The fastest growing part of the global economy is Internet-based, and the […]
Hunting for Hackers, N.S.A. Secretly Expands Internet Spying at U.S. Border
WASHINGTON — Without public notice or debate, the Obama administration has expanded the National Security Agency‘s warrant-less surveillance of Americans’ international Internet traffic to search for evidence of malicious computer hacking, according to classified N.S.A. documents. In mid-2012, Justice Department lawyers wrote two secret memos permitting the spy agency to begin hunting on Internet cables, […]
Google founder defends accident records of self-driving cars
SAN FRANCISCO – Google co-founder Sergey Brin says he sees little reason to release the accident reports involving the Internet company’s self-driving cars because he believes there’s nothing new in documents withheld to protect the privacy of other motorists. Brin, who oversees Google’s fleet of self-driving cars, outlined his rationale Wednesday during a sometimes-testy exchange […]
Pennsylvania senators to introduce Internet gambling bill
HARRISBURG, PA. -Republican state senators in Pennsylvania are preparing to introduce legislation to allow Internet gambling. The forthcoming bill was advertised Wednesday by Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati and three other Republicans. Their memo to fellow senators says the bill would allow existing Pennsylvania casinos to offer Internet gambling. Players must be in […]
One woman’s trash ended up being a recycling firm’s treasure.
A Silicon Valley e-waste recycling firm is trying to find a woman who dropped off her unwanted computer without knowing the bulky machine was worth thousands of dollars. CleanBayArea sold the woman’s rare Apple 1 computer at auction for $200,000. The company’s policy is to split half the proceeds with the original owner, so […]