Information Society Watch

2006, Yochai Benkler,Yale University Press

This book is a useful guide to the networked information economy and an eloquent statement of the left-liberal conception of the Internet’s “institutional ecology”.

2009, D. Howe and H. Nissenbaum, Oxford University Press

TrackMeNot (TMN) is a Firefox browser extension designed to achieve privacy in web search by obfuscating users’ queries within a stream of programmatically generated decoys. The authors in this article address why TMN’s approach is both legitimate and necessary for web search privacy.

2000, Lucas D. Intron & Helen Nissenbaum, The Information Society

This article argues that search engines raise not merely technical issues but also political ones. The study reveals that search engines systematically exclude (by design and/or accidentally) certain sites, and certain types of sites, in favour of others, systematically give prominence to some at the expense of others.

January 2007, Tim Wu & Christopher Yoo, Social Science Reseach Network

In the following exchange, Professors Tim Wu and Christopher Yoo engage in an informative debate over the merits of network neutrality that reviews the leading arguments on both sides of the issue.

November 2008, Jaffrey Rosen, NY Times

This news article investigates and draws out revelations for taking stock of Google's avatar as a gatekeeper and the implications for free speech on Internet as well as the increasingly pertinent question of regulation-by whom and how?

September 16, 2008, Declan McCullagh, Cnet News

Unknown to most people, a UN agency is quietly debating whether anonymity on the Internet should be done away with. A new set of technical standards which have been proposed by the Chinese government aims to trace the source of any sort of electronic communication, a move which can potentially make it impossible for anyone to remain anonymous and raises serious questions on privacy. It also means that anonomysing networks like Tor may be affected.

August 2008, IT for Change

This is a contribution on behalf of IT for Change towards the September consultations which will decide the agenda for the third annual Internet Governance Forum to be held in Hyderabad in December 2008. This contribution specifically looks at the issue of 'enhanced co-operation' as a process for global Internet policy making.

2005, Howard Williams, World Bank

This paper seeks to explore the issues of Internet governance from a development perspective. The WSIS process and the report of the UN Working group on Internet Governance provide an initial framework within which to develop the issues. These issues not only concern the equitable distribution of Internet resources and the ways in which a secure and reliable function of the Internet can be achieved, but also include issues of multi-lingualism and local content as well as the institutional setting of Internet governance mechanisms and participation.

May 2008, Abiodun Jagun, Association for Progressive Communications

The second Internet Governance Forum was held in Rio De Janeiro late last year. The prime topic of discussion was the issue of access to the Internet infrastructure and services for the hitherto disadavantaged sections of the world population.

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.