Digital Content

The Trump administration’s move to shut down the Open Technology Fund (OTF), an internet freedom project that helped millions of people in China access the open web, has stirred concern from lawmakers, including Republicans, who argue the nonprofit is a crucial tool to counter the rise of Beijing. OTF, launched in 2012, was intended to allow people who live under repressive regimes to circumvent restrictions and access the internet.

The Federal Trade Commission is asking a federal appellate court to reject advertising and business organizations' challenge to click-to-cancel rules that aim to let consumers easily terminate recurring subscriptions to newspapers, gyms, and other businesses. The agency's filing comes in response to a lawsuit brought by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, Michigan Press Association, NCTA -- The Internet & Television Association, Chamber of Commerce and other business groups that are seeking to invalidate the rules.

For over 35 years, the Center for Changing Lives (CCL) has worked to connect Chicagoans to financial services that will, well, change their lives. CCL operates in four main categories of work: 1) U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-approved housing counseling and financial coaching, 2) employment coaching and digital literacy, 3) resource development coaching, and 4) small business coaching.

The independent inquiry group appointed for this market investigation has found that a number of markets relating to browsers on mobile devices are not working well for consumers and businesses, which is holding back innovation and could be limiting growth in the UK. Mobile browsers are apps which provide the primary gateway for consumers to access the web on their mobile devices, and hence for businesses to reach them with their content and products.

Digital blackouts reached a record high in 2024 in Africa as more governments sought to keep millions of citizens off the internet than in any other period over the last decade. A report released by the internet rights group Access Now and #KeepItOn, a coalition of hundreds of civil society organisations worldwide, found there were 21 shutdowns in 15 African countries, surpassing the existing record of 19 shutdowns in 2020 and 2021. Authorities in Comoros, Guinea-Bissau, and Mauritius joined repeat offenders such as Burundi, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, and Kenya.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr is asking Google to address allegations that YouTube TV “marginalizes” faith-based programming. “I am writing because concerns have been raised with the FCC that YouTube TV discriminates against faith-based programming,” Chairman Carr said in a letter sent to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and YouTube CEO Neal Mohan.

Five US Senators wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi, raising concerns about reports that Elon Musk’s social media company “X” (formerly Twitter) is leveraging his influential position in the Trump Administration to extract revenue from advertisers. If Musk uses his government position to protect those who engage in business with him—or harm those who do not—then he risks running afoul of criminal ethics laws. The Department of Justice (DOJ) would be responsible for investigating a potential criminal violation of federal ethics laws.

Human rights conferences can be sobering, to say the least. They highlight the David vs. Goliath situation of small civil society organizations fighting to center human rights in decisions about technology, sometimes challenging the priorities of much more powerful governments and technology companies. But 2025's RightsCon, the 13th since the event began as the Silicon Valley Human Rights Conference in 2011, felt especially urgent.

The advancement of digital technologies has led to the evolution of media content delivery methods. In particular, Over-The-Top (OTT) services have experienced an explosive growth in the video content industry. The skyrocketing data traffic increases the burden on ISPs’ infrastructure, and the discourse on CPs’ payment of network usage fees has emerged. It is significant to review the case of Netflix-SK Broadband in South Korea, the world’s significant legal dispute over network usage fees.

The Federal Trade Commission launched a public inquiry to better understand how technology platforms deny or degrade users’ access to services based on the content of their speech or affiliations, and how this conduct may have violated the law. Censorship by technology platforms is not just un-American, it is potentially illegal. Tech firms can employ confusing or unpredictable internal procedures that cut users off, sometimes with no ability appeal the decision.