The European Commission plans to call Britain and Denmark to account for dragging their feet on enforcing a controversial new law to protect people's privacy on-line.
The move is a sign of how the war of words over so-called "cookie" reform is heating up a week after a deadline for European Union member states to adopt the rules into their national laws. The EU e-privacy directive requires websites to obtain users' explicit consent before allowing the storage of cookies, small pieces of text that Web browsers use to store information like website preferences, as well as track users' movements from site to site. The reform has been hotly contested by Internet companies, on-line advertisers and start-ups, who say it will handicap a tool that is central to how the Web operates.
Switzerland's Federal Communications Commission (ComCom) says that it is maintaining its intention to award all of the mobile radio frequencies which will become free in the next few years in a single auction.
It had already launched the corresponding invitation to tender in November 2010. Since then, Comcom has completed its examination of all the changes requested by various interested companies. It will modify some points in its invitation to tender and will extend the deadline for candidatures for the auction to the end of September. The auction will be held in the first quarter of 2012.
German ISPs are handing out data on about 300,000 subscribers per month to content owners, according to new data from the country’s Internet industry association ECO.
The numbers show that the chances of getting caught for illegal file sharing have increased, the association said. ECO published the numbers to make the case against mandates that would force ISPs to block access to torrent sites and other infringing services. European Union politicians have been discussing such measures in recent months, and rights holders have made inroads into a number of European countries with lawsuits against ISPs aimed at forcing them to block access to file sharing sites.
A pilot project in rural Senegal uses text messaging to remind women of upcoming doctor's appointments and local health meetings. The sound of a text message, recognizable the world over, but in a small village tucked away down the sandy back-roads of Senegal, a few short beeps can be vital reminders. For mothers living in and around the Mbosse, receiving an SMS (cellphone small message service, text) from their doctor's helps keep themselves, and their babies, alive and healthy.
A new report by Ovum Consulting reveals that Canada's wireless industry contributed $41.2 billion to the Canadian economy in 2009.
Commissioned by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA), the study determined the wireless sector contributed more than $17.2 billion in terms of direct contribution to the GDP through the sale of goods and services; an additional $14.98 billion due to the economic flow through to contributing suppliers in the supply chain; and more than $9 billion in consumer surplus - the additional benefit or satisfaction that consumers receive from wireless services, above and beyond what they pay for the services.
<p>Benton believes that our democracy is enhanced by a rich and inclusive media system that values the voices of all communities. To that end, we’ve supported research that gives us a sense of the health and well-being of public service media.</p>
Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade
House Commerce Committee
June 2, 2011
http://energycommerce.house.gov/news/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=8666
Witness List
Jeanette Fitzgerald
General Counsel, Epsilon Data Management, LLC
Tim Schaaff,
President, Sony Network Entertainment International
Community Broadband Adoption Impact & Sustainability Conference
Connect Your Community, a project of OneCommunity
Monday, June 27, 2011 8:00 AM to Tuesday, June 28, 2011 4:00 PM
http://www.connectcommunity.org/cbais/
Join us for the Community Broadband Adoption Impact & Sustainability Conference! Sustainable Broadband Adoption and Public Computing Center project staff and other digital inclusion practitioners are implementing strategies to creatively engage, equip, train, and support those left out of our digital society. Join us as we learn from each other, share best practices and brainstorm solutions.
We have designed the CBAIS Conference as an interactive event focusing upon:
Monday, June 27
8:00 – 9:30 Breakfast & Registration
9:30 – 10:00 Welcome – Bill Callahan & Laura Breeden
10:15 – 11:30 Breakout Sessions
11:45 – 1:15 Keynote & Lunch
1:30 – 2:45 Speed Share of Custom Apps & Favorite Tools
3:00 – 4:15 Breakout Sessions
6:00 – 8:00 Networking Dinner
Tuesday, June 28
8:30-9:30 Breakfast
9:15 – 9:30 Welcome
9:45 – 11:00 Breakout Sessions
11:15 – 12:30 Lunch & Birds of a Feather
12:45 – 2:00 Breakout Sessions
2:15 – 3:30 Past, Present & Future of Digital Inclusion
Innovative Learning Awards
Computers for Youth
Thursday, June 16, 2011
6pm
http://innovativelearningawards.eventbrite.com/
The Innovative Learning Awards brings together educators, technology professionals, industry leaders, and CFY supporters to celebrate the year’s accomplishments and to recognize excellence and innovation in education. Visionary of the Year, Family Learning Software, and Parent of the Year Awards will be presented at the event.
Politico
June 9, 2011
8am
http://politico.cvent.com/events/emerging-tech-leaders/event-summary-29d...
Angela Giancarlo, FCC
Matthew Hussey, Office of Sen Snowe (R-Maine)
Vivek Kundra, Federal CIO
David Quinalty, Senate Commerce Committee
Ari Schwartz, NIST
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