Information Society Watch

May 25, 2008, The Daily Telegraph

The International Telecommunications Union reports that at the end of 2007, the number of mobile phone users in the world was over 3.3 billion, which is equivalent to a penetration rate of roughly 49%. The article notes that developing countries have made significant progress in mobile growth, there is still a 'digital divide' in Internet use and broadband availability.

February 27, 2008, Eric Bangeman, Ars Technica

In an effort to preserve freedom of expression on the Internet, the European Parliament has passed a proposal to treat Internet censorship as a trade barrier. This is among the first proposals to tie trade to Internet censorship.

April 24, 2008, Joe McDonald, The Associated Press

The Chinese government, according to the Xinhua News Agency, has reported that the online number of Internet users in China has grown to 221 million, tying the US for largest online population. However, the numbers can be deceiving because they depend on how the measure is taken.

April 2, 2008, Kevin J. O'Brien, New York Times

In a reversal of its loss in September, Microsoft has won approval by the International Organisation for Standardisation for its Office Open XML (OOXML), a format for interchangeable Web documents. The international standards designation for OOXML will have important effects on software spending by governments and large companies.

January, 18 2008, Jaime FlorCruz, CNN

China has long been known for its strict curb on the flow of information, but things are changing, as is evident by the outpouring of support and anger in the wake of the recent death of citizen journalist Wei Wenhua. Wei was beaten to death by local city inspectors after he attempted to take pictures of the inspectors beating up villagers blocking trucks dumping trash.

January 14, 2008, BBC News

The European Commission (EC) has held a long-running investigation into Microsoft's operating procedures, which had led to the EC imposing a huge fine on the company last year after holding it guilty of breaking European Union (EU) antitrust laws.

December 4, 2007, mediaforfreedom.com

Uruguay has passed a Community Broadcasting Bill that recognises community broadcasting in its own right alongside state and private sectors and says television and radio frequencies should be more equitably distributed. A regulatory council of government, media, university and free expression representatives will collaborate to grant and renew frequencies and ensure that the government does not use frequency allocation to indirectly censor broadcasts.

December 26, 2007, The Hindu

This article examines the successes and failures of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) programme as mass production of the laptops has finally gotten underway and countries are beginning to place their orders. In one Peruvian village, 50 primary school children who received laptops 6 months ago are demonstrating the OLPC's potential.

January 6, 2008, Kultida Samabuddhi, Bangkok Post

The radical political website sameskybooks.org has been shut down for lese majeste content, in the form of articles and harsh commentary in forums about the monarchy that has been deemed as insulting to the monarchy. Media freedom advocates are concerned that the closure of sameskybooks.org signals a move towards an increase in Internet censorship in Thailand.

December 5, 2007, EFY News Network

The CSI-Nihilent e-Governance awards have been instituted with aim of identifying states and organisations who have successfully utilised ICT in discharging their functions. The article lists the awardees for the current year among whom the standout performer is Gujarat which emerged as the best E-Governed state.