J. D. Fielder

NY Times: Regulating the Internet in a Multifaceted World

Aplogies for the gap between posts! Was on vacation in Oregon (which is paradise, in my humble opinion). Also, I'm painfully aware that it's been a while since I wrote up my own commentary rather than simply posting links. I have ideas brewing, though, so stay tuned.

That said:

NY Times: Last month, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France invited Internet company executives, digital policy makers and others to the French capital for a special meeting in advance of the gathering of leaders of the Group of 8 industrialized nations in Deauville, France. This week, it is the turn of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to summon the digerati to Paris.

Like Mr. Sarkozy, the O.E.C.D., which analyzes the economic policies of the 34 industrialized democracies that make up its membership, aims to highlight the growing importance of the Internet in driving innovation and economic growth. In addition, the backdrop of both meetings is a growing interest in the future governance of the Internet. CONTINUED

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Inforgraphic: Global Internet usage by 2015

Nice infographic from Mashable and The Atlantic:

Continued at The Atlantic

Fun Stuff: "The Witches of Oz"

As much as I appreciate Lewis Carroll's (real name: Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) opium-marinated Alice in Wonderand, L. Frank Baum's Oz Cycle is even more mind bending (and no, the slippers aren't ruby in the books).

That said, this looks like a worthy evening diversion this coming Fall:

The Witches of Oz

Egypt: Not Just the Facebook Revolution

I do have a soft spot in my heart for print newspapers. From Businessweek:

The demonstrations that ended Mubarak's 30-year rule have become known as "The Facebook Revolution," but the uprising had old-media roots. Over the last decade, the emergence of independent media organizations like Al-Masry Al-Youm provided Egyptians with a picture of the corruption, venality, and fecklessness of the Mubarak regime. When pro-democracy activists began converging on Tahrir Square in January, millions of fed-up Egyptians were primed to join them. "The social media obviously played a very important role," says Khaled Fahmy, a professor of history at the American University in Cairo, "but the more traditional media played a vital role, too—maybe not in triggering the revolution but in preparing the way for it." And yet four months later, the revolution's momentum has stalled and the press is again walking a delicate line—albeit one painted by a different authority. CONTINUED

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WSJ.com: Mideast Uses Western Tools to Battle the Skype Rebellion

Disappointed? Yes. Surprised? Not really.

In March, following the Egyptian revolution that toppled President Hosni Mubarak, some activists raided the headquarters of Amn Al Dowla, the state security agency, uncovering the secret memo about intercepting Skype calls. In addition, 26-year-old activist Basem Fathi says he found files describing his love life and trips to the beach, apparently gleaned from intercepted emails and phone calls. "I believe that they were collecting every little detail they were hearing from our mouths and putting them in a file," he says.

A cottage industry of U.S. and other companies is now designing and selling tools that can be used to block or eavesdrop on Skype conversations. One technique: Using special "spyware," or software that intercepts an audio stream from a computer—thereby hearing what's being said and effectively bypassing Skype's encryption. Egypt's spy service last year tested one product, FinSpy, made by Britain's Gamma International UK Ltd., according to Egyptian government documents and Gamma's local reseller.

Continued at the Wall Street Journal

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