Since 2010, the Benton Foundation and the New America Foundation have partnered to highlight telecommunications debates from countries outside the U.S.
Stories from Abroad
UK targets tech giants with a digital services tax that would start in 2020
The United Kingdom is targeting the likes of Alphabet and Facebook by introducing a digital services tax that aims to raise about $500 million a year for the government. UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond unveiled the measure in his Autumn Budget. He said it was designed to hit the largest internet businesses, not start-ups. It would affect profitable companies with annual revenues that exceed about $640 million, he said.
China has been 'hijacking the vital internet backbone of western countries'
China Telecom, a state-owned telecommunications company, has been "hijacking the vital internet backbone of western countries," according to researchers from the US Naval War College and Tel Aviv University. China Telecom, the country's third-largest telco and internet service provider, has had a presence inside North American networks since the early 2000s when it created its first point-of-presence (PoP).
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FCC Chairman Pai: ‘Level playing field for old regulations and new tech a challenge’
A Q&A with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai.
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Chairman Pai Remarks at India Mobile Congress
Throughout my time here in New Delhi, I look forward to strengthening friendships—and building new ones—with colleagues across both government and industry. Together, we can help deliver digital opportunity for all those we represent.
Britain's Information Commissioner fines Facebook $644,000 over users' data breach
Britain's Information Commissioner has slapped Facebook with a fine of $644,000 — the maximum possible — for its behavior in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The ICO's investigation found that between 2007 and 2014, Facebook processed the personal information of users unfairly by giving app developers access to their information without informed consent. The fine was the maximum allowed under the law at the time the breach occurred.
Global Internet Access is Even Worse than Dire Reports Suggest
Four years ago, the United Nations predicted that more than half of the global population would be connected to the internet by 2017, buoyed in part by “the fastest growing technology in human history”: mobile broadband. The world missed the mark.
Russian-Linked Bots Used US Startups to Meddle in Elections
Operatives behind Russian-linked bots used tools from US startups, including IFTTT Inc., to supercharge social-media misinformation campaigns and meddle in elections. Data disclosed by Twitter showed that hundreds of accounts affiliated with the Russia-based Internet Research Agency used services offered by IFTTT, RoundTeam Inc. and Dlvr.it Inc. to automate and disperse their divisive messages more widely. San Francisco-based IFTTT lets people connect different apps and automatically post content on multiple services.
Saudis’ Image Makers: A Troll Army and a Twitter Insider
The murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, has focused the world’s attention on the kingdom’s intimidation campaign against influential voices raising questions about the darker side of the crown prince. The young royal has tightened his grip on the kingdom while presenting himself in Western capitals as the man to reform the hidebound Saudi state. Saudi operatives have mobilized to harass critics on Twitter, a wildly popular platform for news in the kingdom since the Arab Spring uprisings began in 2010.
Dramatic slowdown in global growth of internet access
The Web Foundation is working on an analysis of United Nations data that shows the growth of internet access around the world has slowed dramatically. The striking trend shows the rate at which the world is getting online has fallen sharply since 2015, with women and the rural poor substantially excluded from education, business, and other opportunities the internet can provide. The data shows that growth in global internet access dropped from 19% in 2007 to less than 6% in 2017.
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New data show how Iran tried to manipulate public opinion on Twitter
Twitter accounts originating in Iran masqueraded as foreign journalists and concerned US citizens in their attempt to push political messages on the social media site until they were suspended earlier in 2018.