Articles by date
21 May 2013
Guantanamo wi-fi shut down after Anonymous threat (BBC News)
The American military has turned off its wi-fi service inside the prison at Guantanamo Bay following threats by the hacker collective Anonymous.
Editorial: Eavesdropping on Internet Communications (New York Times)
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has a new plan to intercept Internet messages, calls and video chats. Instead of requiring companies like Skype and Google to build surveillance capabilities into their services as it suggested in 2010, the F.B.I. now proposes fining companies that fail to comply with court-ordered wiretaps.
Apple's Web of Tax Shelters Saved It Billions, Panel Finds (New York Times)
Even as Apple became the nation's most profitable technology company, it avoided billions in taxes in the United States and around the world through a web of subsidiaries so complex it spanned continents and went beyond anything most experts had ever seen, Congressional investigators disclosed on Monday.
Will 'Digital Ethnic Cleansing' Be Part of the Internet's Future? Eric Schmidt, Jared Cohen, and Steve Clemons discuss the political limitations of the Internet (The Atlantic)
It's easy to assume that a global Internet, with all its promise of scaled communication and education and democratization, will eventually help to foster democracy. But it's also not entirely accurate to assume that. In a conversation with The Atlantic's Steve Clemons yesterday evening, Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen -- co-Googlers and co-authors of The New Digital Age: Reshaping the Future of People, Nations, and Business -- made a point of emphasizing the limitations of technological innovation. Particularly when it comes to geopolitical change.
Google, Microsoft and Yahoo are secret backers behind European Privacy Association (Computerworld)
After being accused of a lack of transparency by an independent watchdog, the European Privacy Association has confirmed that Google, Microsoft and Yahoo are backers.
EU Digital Agenda chief promises single mobile market by 2015 (ZDNet)
The European Commission's digital agenda chief has promised to break down the barriers between cellular firms across the 27 EU member states before she leaves office in just under two years.
Hackers From China Resume Attacks on U.S. Targets (New York Times)
Three months after hackers working for a cyberunit of China's People's Liberation Army went silent amid evidence that they had stolen data from scores of American companies and government agencies, they appear to have resumed their attacks using different techniques, according to computer industry security experts and American officials.
Warnings over gambling apps targeting Australian youth market (ABC News)
Researchers warn a new wave of simulated gambling applications are aiming to hit the jackpot with a new generation of younger gamers.
20 May 2013
Former Google exec says he has 100,000 emails showing how 'immoral' company avoids paying UK tax (The Independent)
A former Google executive-turned-whistleblower says he has 100,000 emails that expose an "immoral" tax avoidance scheme used by his former employer, that has "cheated" British taxpayers out of hundreds of millions of pounds.
Part Three: Who Controls the Internet? (Government Technology)
In part one and part two of our three-part series, we discussed attempts to regulate the Internet both nationally and globally. Though the future of internet governance is unknown, as regulatory agencies and governments clamp down, cooperation between Internet advoacy groups and regulatory agencies could help avoid increased Internet censorship or possible balkanization.
19 May 2013
Google boss Eric Schmidt may snub David Cameron over company's House of Commons grilling (Independent on Sunday)
The internet giant Google has thrown a veil of corporate secrecy around its billionaire executive chairman, putting in doubt his scheduled attendance at a meeting in Downing St tomorrow with the Prime Minister.
One tax law for us and another for Amazon (The Observer)
On the edge of Rugeley stands Amazon's largest distribution centre in Britain. Life for the workers who trudge around the 800,000 sq ft warehouse is not as bad as it was for the men who once worked in the pits of the Staffordshire coalfield, but that is not saying much. They must carry satnavs, which direct their movements round the stacks and flash warnings from managers to stop dawdling or chatting with colleagues. Britain being the way it is, they have no job security.
Amazon's tax arrangements are nothing short of a work of art. Bravo! by David Mitchell (The Observer)
Amazon has come in for plenty of stick for paying so little tax in the UK. But its actions display such impish wit that it's hard not to revel in the majesty of a terrible thing well done
Google insider exposes 'immoral' tax scam (Sunday Times)
A former Google executive has blown the whistle on a massive and "immoral" tax avoidance scheme that has "cheated" British taxpayers out of hundreds of millions of pounds over the past decade.
18 May 2013
Editorial: Sales Taxes and the Internet (New York Times)
Twenty-one Republicans voted with 46 Democrats (and 2 Independents) recently to pass the Marketplace Fairness Act, a long-overdue bill allowing states to require online retailers to collect sales taxes and remit them to the state where the customer lives. Will the House be so rational? It's a long shot.
Google chief Eric Schmidt to meet British Prime Minister after tax row (The Guardian)
Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt will meet David Cameron next week, just days after the internet giant was mauled by a Commons committee over its tax affairs, it has emerged.
Part Two: Who Controls the Internet? (Government Technology)
In part one of our three-part series, we discussed America's attempts to regulate the Internet -- and many Americans are concerned about the Internet moving away from its current governance model, for good reason.
Call for transparency after Australian corporate regulator accidentally blocks 1,000 websites (ABC News)
There are calls for greater oversight and transparency after the corporate regulator accidentally blocked more than 1,000 websites.
Canada's Competition Bureau plans investigation into Google Canada (Financial Post)
A decision by U.S. regulators to end a probe into whether Google Inc. hurt rivals by manipulating internet searches will not affect the European Union's examination of the company
HMRC are being 'bamboozled' by Google: MPs confront search giant over 'devious' attempt to avoid paying UK tax (The Independent)
Google was branded "devious, calculating and unethical" by MPs who accused the internet giant of deliberately subverting its motto, "don't be evil", in order to pay less tax.
17 May 2013
Will giving the internet eyes and ears mean the end of privacy? (The Guardian)
Corporations and governments are turning the internet into a colossal, always-on surveillance tool. Once passive objects are able to report what's happening, where is the power balance?
UK MP on Google tax avoidance scheme: 'I think that you do evil' (The Guardian)
Google and Amazon came under fierce attack from MPs and tax campaigners after fresh whistleblower allegations put further strain on claims by the internet giants that their multibillion-pound UK-facing businesses should not be taxed by Revenue & Customs.
Amazon faces whistleblower's claims over UK business tax practices (The Guardian)
Amazon is facing mounting questions over the extent of the business activities conducted out of Patriot Court, its headquarters in Slough, threatening to throw the group's controversial UK tax structure into disarray.
US Congress Wants Answers From Google on Privacy Impact of Glass (All Things D)
A group of Congress members has sent a letter to Google seeking answers to a range of questions about the privacy implications raised by its Google Glass project.
Who Controls the Internet? Part One (Government Technology)
The idea that anyone is controlling the Internet runs contrary to common knowledge. The Web has a tradition of hosting free content with relatively little government or regulatory interference, and is today backed by a fervent army of supporters ready to defend a free and open platform.
