Political operatives are faking voter outrage with millions of made-up comments to benefit the rich and powerful

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A fierce battle over the regulation of the internet was riddled with millions of fake comments in the most prolific known instance of political impersonation in US history.

Sarah Reeves sat on her couch in Eugene, Oregon, staring at her laptop screen in furious disbelief. She was reading the website of a government agency, where her mother appeared to have posted a comment weighing in on a bitter policy battle for control of the internet. Something was very wrong.

For a start, Annie Reeves, who loved to lead children’s sing-alongs at the Alaska Zoo, had never followed wonky policy debates. She barely knew her way around the web, let alone held strident views on how it should be regulated — and, according to her daughter, she definitely didn’t post angry comments on government websites.

But Sarah Reeves had a more conclusive reason to feel sure her mother’s name had been taken in vain: Annie Reeves was dead. She died more than a year before the comment was posted.

Continue reading… “Political operatives are faking voter outrage with millions of made-up comments to benefit the rich and powerful”

Roaming surcharges in the EU to disappear in June 2017, deal reached on net neutrality rules

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A provisional deal on new rules governing open Internet (net neutrality) and the abolishment of roaming surcharges was reached in the wee hours of 30 June after marathon negotiations between the European Council, Commission and Parliament, led by the Latvian presidency of the Council. Continue reading… “Roaming surcharges in the EU to disappear in June 2017, deal reached on net neutrality rules”

Europe to abolish roaming charges by December 2015

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The EU is one step from ending roaming charges and delivering net neutrality for all Europeans.

The first move was to slash pricing of mobile phone roaming costs across Europe. Then calls were made to abolish mobile roaming costs completely, with a view towards “safeguarding citizens’ right to access an open Internet.” Today that vision has become a reality.

 

 

Continue reading… “Europe to abolish roaming charges by December 2015”

Tim Wu’s “Master Switch” – The Rise and Fall of Companies Who Develop New Technologies

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Tim Wu, the Columbia law professor who came up with the term “net neutrality” in a research paper, has just written a new book, “The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires,” published by Knopf. The book chronicles the rise and fall of companies that develop new technologies, and discusses the future of the Internet.

 

Continue reading… “Tim Wu’s “Master Switch” – The Rise and Fall of Companies Who Develop New Technologies”

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