New America Foundation
Schwartz Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation and founder of Global Voices Online; author of Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom; Visiting fellow at Princeton University's Center for Information Technology Policy; former CNN Beijing Bureau Chief and correspondent (1998-2001), she started working there in 1992
The Web at 25: Free Flow of Information or Censorship? The web was invented 25 years ago by a British physicist with a strong sense of Western values. Sir Tim Berners-Lee still envisions a free, open, democratizing system of universal communication. Berners-Lee has recently advocated a digital Bill of Rights to protect against the growth of government censorship that Google's Eric Schmidt calls " mechanisms of repression ." In China, citizen bloggers can be arrested. Pakistanis can't watch YouTube; and Russians won't read independent websites about Ukraine. Censorship and privacy violations reveal limits to the Global Village as the worldwide web becomes truly worldwide.
The Challenge of Getting the Truth about China During Vice President Joe Biden's recent visit to China, he complained to the highest officials about the treatment of western reporters. After weeks of anxiety for some two-dozen western reporters, the Chinese government is renewing some press passes. Yesterday, Bloomberg News said its reporters' finally had been granted the annual renewal of their press cards. The New York Times says the same for some, but not all, of its staff in China. Visas will probably follow. But one veteran of 18 years may never return to the country, and others have now been warned. We hear what they've gone through. When stories about human rights and income inequality leak to Chinese audiences, they threaten the power of Communist Party leaders. Will western news agencies now censor themselves? Will the crackdown make it harder than ever to learn about the world's second-most powerful nation?
Internet Piracy: Will SOPA Change the Web as We Know It? There's a major battle on Capitol Hill involving big money with Republicans and Democrats on both sides of the issue. It's all about Internet sites that profit from stolen movies and music. Movie studios and music producers say copyright theft is costing them $58 billion a year. They're backing laws proposed in the House and the Senate to give the Justice Department the power to shut down websites that profit from stolen material. The Internet industry says it's concerned about piracy too, but it claims the proposed laws are a real threat to freedom and openness on line. Can that material be protected without destroying the freedom that makes the Internet so important to so many users? Photo: Netflix is one of several companies that's threatened by Internet piracy. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Internet Piracy: It's Hollywood versus Silicon Valley America's so-called "creative" industries are battling it out on Capitol Hill with a lot at stake for consumers who depend on the Internet. The movie and music industries, some labor unions and the Chamber of Commerce want to crackdown on Internet piracy, which is costing some $58 billion a year. They're backing laws proposed in the House and the Senate to give the Justice Department the power to shut down Internet sites that profit from stolen material. While the Internet industry says it's concerned about piracy too, web giants like Google and Yahoo — joined by consumer groups — claim the proposed laws are a real threat to freedom and openness on line. Would Washington have the power to police the web, like China? Are there other ways of protecting the rights and income of producers and artists?
Egypt, the Internet and Political Change The government of Egypt has promised reforms, but protesters are still saying that Mubarak has to go. Today's crowd in Cairo was one of the biggest so far. We speak with a reporter on the ground in Cairo as well as observers in the US and in Egypt.
Egypt, the Internet and Political Change Another enormous crowd turned out in Tahrir Square today, celebrating Google executive Wael Ghonim, who says he created a crucial Facebook page last June. It was dedicated to a victim of police brutality, and encouraged Internet users to share their anger. Now it's credited with starting the protests we see today. But is the Internet necessarily an instrument of democracy? Can it also be used by authoritarian regimes to enforce the status quo? We hear more about its role in Egypt, and how it's used in Iran and China. How is it regulated in the US? Should the government have a "kill switch," just in case?
Can Google and China Make Amends? Earlier this year, Google announced it would no longer submit to Chinese censorship, but would re-route Internet users to sites in Hong Kong. China called it “unacceptable,” and today was the day that Google's license to operate in China expired. The deadline passed without any announcement from China. Rebecca MacKinnon, visiting fellow at Princeton's Center for Information Technology Policy, testified today before the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission on China's information-control practices.
Americans are Sick and Tired of Politics America feels more divided than ever. But the majority of the electorate is actually united on something: they are tuning out from political debates.
A call to prepare for the next natural disaster A local environmentalist says we should spend more time and money preparing for natural disasters than responding to them. A Ventura resident who lost his home in the Thomas Fire says rebuilding is taking longer than he’d hoped. Local animal shelters are becoming critical evacuation centers. And California counties must now hold public meetings on their relationship with federal immigration agents.