Internet/Broadband

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.

Is Twitter the news outlet for the 21st century?

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

The extraordinary amount of news coverage the mainstream media has recently devoted to Twitter has led some to think the press is in love with the 3-year-old microblogging service. But it's a jealous love.

FCC To Seek More Public Input on Broadband Plan

Submitted by Benton Foundation on July 1, 2009 - 8:11pm
Last updated: July 1, 2009 - 8:12pm

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski indicated that the FCC host national discussions across the country as well as online on the National Broadband Plan. The FCC is currently receiving written public comment through July 21; FCC must present the plan to Congress by Feb.

The Good News and the Bad News In The Stimulus News

Submitted by Benton Foundation on July 1, 2009 - 8:10pm
Last updated: July 1, 2009 - 8:11pm

The rules of the road for the $7.2 billion broadband stimulus package hit a lot of high notes, putting public policy in favor of an open and non-discriminatory Internet front and center for projects that would bring the Internet to unserved and underserved areas.

NTIA Unveils Program to Help States Map Internet Infrastructure

Submitted by Benton Foundation on July 1, 2009 - 8:08pm
Last updated: July 1, 2009 - 8:16pm

The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced details of a grant program to fund collection of state-level broadband data, as well as state-wide broadband mapping and planning, which will assist NTIA in creating a national broadband map.

Biden Announces Availability of the $4 Billion in Recovery Act Loans and Grants to Increase Broadband Access and Adoption

Submitted by Benton Foundation on July 1, 2009 - 6:15pm
Last updated: July 2, 2009 - 10:45am

Vice President Joe Biden announced the availability of $4 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act loans and grants to help bring broadband service to un-served and underserved communities across America. This is the first round of Recovery Act funding aimed at expanding broadband access to help bridge the technological divide and create jobs building out Internet infrastructure.

Can the Free Market Provide Broadband for Everyone?

Submitted by Benton Foundation on July 1, 2009 - 6:14pm
Last updated: July 1, 2009 - 6:15pm

Only 2 percent of the world lives in a country where broadband penetration has exceeded 80 percent, according to a report from TeleGeography. The report noted that worries over broadband saturation are really only appropriate in 10 countries out of the 127 the firm tracks, and the US isn't even one of those saturated markets.

USDA Broadband Program Exempted from "Buy American", too

Submitted by Benton Foundation on July 1, 2009 - 6:13pm
Last updated: July 1, 2009 - 6:13pm

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) is hereby granting a limited waiver of the Buy American requirements of ARRA Section 1605 with respect to certain broadband equipment that will be used in projects funded under the Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP).

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