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Since 1996, the Benton Foundation has provided free, daily summaries of articles concerning the quickly-changing telecommunications policy landscape. Since September 2005, we've used individual stories to help track developments in telecommunications legislation, the media ownership debate and efforts to ensure universal broadband.

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Defend America, One Laptop at a Time

Submitted by Benton Foundation on July 2, 2009 - 8:12am
Last updated: July 2, 2009 - 8:12am

Our economy, energy supply, means of transportation and military defenses are dependent on vast, interconnected computer and telecommunications networks. These networks are poorly defended and vulnerable to theft, disruption or destruction by foreign states, criminal organizations, individual hackers and, potentially, terrorists.

Facebook to Offer New Features to Allow Users to Control Privacy of Information

Submitted by Benton Foundation on July 2, 2009 - 8:11am
Last updated: July 2, 2009 - 8:12am

Facebook's biggest asset — its population of more than 200 million users — is also part of its Achilles' heel. As more people join and connect with more people they know, the chances grow that one's embarrassing photographs from a night of carousing might be seen by the wrong person.

Industry Tightens Its Standards for Tracking Web Surfers

Submitted by Benton Foundation on July 2, 2009 - 8:11am
Last updated: July 2, 2009 - 8:11am

In an effort to fend off federal regulation, major trade groups in the advertising industry have announced stricter guidelines on how their members use and collect online data. In a report to be released Thursday, a consortium of the trade groups intends to address a growing concern in Washington and among consumer advocates that people are being tracked too much online, with information about their Web surfing, shopping habits and overall interests being collected for advertising purposes.

Facebook's 'Click-Through Activism' Broad but Fleeting

Submitted by Benton Foundation on July 2, 2009 - 8:10am
Last updated: July 2, 2009 - 8:10am

Facebook activism, the trendy process by which we do good by clicking often, was in its full glory last week, but whether our virtual virtuousness will result in real-world action is unpredictable, and has as much to do with human nature as it does with amassing enough numbers.

Does Race Play a Role in Coverage? Black Reporters on the Beat of Michelle Obama

Submitted by Benton Foundation on July 2, 2009 - 8:09am
Last updated: July 2, 2009 - 8:10am

A number of beat reporters following First Lady Michelle Obama are African American women. Perhaps this gives them a richer cultural understanding of Obama as a trailblazer. Indeed, most write with enthusiasm, in some cases even admiration, about the first lady as a long-awaited role model for black women.

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