Most Believe Internet Access Is a Human Right

Access enables rights, but is not a right itself: Vinton G. Cerf

(NEWSER) - With Facebook and Twitter fueling protests across the Arab world, many wonder: Is the Internet a human or civil right? No, declares Google VP Vinton G. Cerf firmly. Courts in various countries have declared it so, but the UN stopped short, calling the Internet "an indispensable tool for realizing a range of human rights." That's exactly what it is, Cerf writes in the New York Times : "Technology is an enabler of rights, not a right itself," "a means to an end, not … an end in itself." More»

All Finns are now guaranteed a connection

(NEWSER) - Sure, here in the US we have life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But the Finnish government is tossing in the right to speedy Internet access, reports the AFP . Today Finland became the first country in the world to guarantee the availability of a broadband connection for every citizen. "The universal service obligation concerning Internet access of one Megabit per second (Mbit/s) has entered into force," says a government official. More»

(NEWSER) - IBM is developing a set of water grid technologies, designed to revamp the world’s badly outdated fresh water delivery systems in much the same way many countries are trying to upgrade their energy grids, CNET reports. IBM projects the water management business could be worth $20 billion within 5 years. “Water is the great sleeping crisis,” says the CTO of IBM’s green division, “and it is most definitely starting to wake up.” More»

Despite $70M project, access still terrible

(AP) - It was all sunshine, smiles, and celebratory speeches as officials marked the arrival of an undersea fiber-optic cable they promised would end Cuba's Internet isolation and boost web capacity 3,000-fold. Even a retired Fidel Castro hailed the dawn of a new cyber-age. But more than a year after the February 2011 ceremony, and 10 months after the system was supposed to have gone online, the government never mentions the cable anymore, and Internet here remains the slowest in the hemisphere. People talk quietly about embezzlement torpedoing the much-ballyhooed $70 million project, but nobody has explained exactly what happened. More»

Human rights group calls out freedom fighters for abuses

(NEWSER) - It's tempting to paint the conflict in Syria as a brutal regime fighting virtuous rebels, but Human Rights Watch today issued an open letter to the Free Syrian Army accusing insurgents of a variety of brutalities, including kidnapping and torturing security forces and government supporters. "The Syrian government's brutal tactics cannot justify abuses by armed opposition groups," it writes. "Opposition leaders should make it clear to their followers that they must not torture, kidnap, or execute under any circumstances." More»