Information Society Watch

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.

February 2008, Murali Shanmugavalen, Panos London

This article draws attention to some of the challenges that lie in the way to bridging the digital divide. First, even as many developing countries witness expansion of new means of communication such as the Internet and mobile phones, a significant proportion of their populations, especially those in the rural areas, remain unserved or underserved.

December 11, 2007, Center for Democracy and Technology

This report by the Center for Democracy and Technology looks at the United States E-Government act of 2002 and its effectiveness in making government available to citizens. It aims to highlight the lack of accessible government information to encourage federal agencies to consider their information policies.

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.

March 31, 2008, Rory Cellan-Jones, BBC News

This blog by a BBC technology correspondent discusses the future of online encyclopedias, with a focus on whether Wikipedia will continue to rule the reference arena. It explores the benefits of an open model of knowledge building versus models that favour 'experts'.

March 17, 2008, Nate Anderson, Ars Technica

Based on a recent report on the state of the news media, this article says that the making and marketing of news on the Internet is dominated by the same players who control the traditional print media. The report, released by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, suggests that bloggers rarely represent popular opinion, as most bloggers come from elite backgrounds.

January 29, 2008, BBC News

A web-archive developed by the aboriginal Australian community opens up a new set of possibilities in the area of Digital Rights Management (DRM). This grew out of the social mores and needs that have been embedded in the community over centuries, which filters out different content based on certain parameters which may be linked to gender, family or tribe.

February 27, 2008, India e-News

The European Commission (EC) has imposed a record fine on Microsoft Corporation for its non-compliance with anti-trust regulations. Microsoft has been found to deny access to the protocols and communication mechanisms that would allow its rivals to co-exist and function with Microsoft systems.

July 5, 2007, Choe Sang Hun, New York Times

In South Korea, the paradigm of the Internet search is being transformed from the Google model to a real-time question-and-answer platform featuring local language content. South Korea's leading search portal, Naver.com, fosters a sense of community and human interaction by relying on volunteers to generate content.

June 12, 2007, Internet Artizans

The article analyses the social networking websites with regard to their support for freedom of expression. Although such websites claim to be public communities, in reality they are communities created by corporates for profit. This can result in serious privacy violations and restrictions on expression, as any content that poses a hindrance to revenue and advertising is liable to curbed.