News of the movement for June 4, 2012


Future of the Internet

Can the White House Declare a Cyberwar?

The Constitution gives Congress the sole power to declare war -- but it's silent on cyberwar. That's causing consternation on Capitol Hill in the wake of a recent report detailing how President Barack Obama joined forces with Israel to launch secret cyberattacks on Iran's nuclear program. For some lawmakers, it's further evidence that the White House has taken too much war-making power from Congress.

Jennifer Martinez and Jonathan Allen, Politico

Expert Issues a Cyberwar Warning

When Eugene Kaspersky, the founder of Europe’s largest antivirus company, discovered the Flame virus that is afflicting computers in Iran and the Middle East, he recognized it as a technologically sophisticated virus that only a government could create.

Andrew E. Kramer and Nicole Perlroth, New York Times

Which Internet Companies Protect You from the Government -- and Which Don't

Earlier this year, Twitter was subpoenaed for the account information of an Occupy Wall Street protester. It has resisted, but would other online companies do the same? If you break the law, in many cases, the government is going to turn to the digital services you frequent -- Facebook, email, your phone carrier -- to find evidence. But will those companies go to bat for you?

Leslie Horn, Gizmodo

Farmers Don't Need Fast Broadband, Says Labour MP

Rural broadband funding should be spent elsewhere because "farming has existed without the Internet for eternity," a Labour MP has claimed.

Johann Tasker, Farmers Weekly


Save the Internet

Jamming Tripoli: How Insurgents Fought Back Against Gaddafi's Spy Network

By now, it's well-known that the Arab Spring showed the promise of the Internet as a crucible for democratic activism. But in the shadows a second narrative unfolded, one that demonstrated the Internet's equal potential for government surveillance and repression on a scale unimaginable with the analogue techniques of phone taps and informants. Today, with Gaddafi dead and a provisional government of former rebels in charge, we can begin to uncover the spying machine that helped the dictator cling to power.

Matthieu Aikins, Wired

Profit-Driven Surveillance and the Spectrum of Freedom: 'We Will Offer Electronic Monitoring Services in Every State'

The question of civil liberties versus privacy carries with it an entire set of tired arguments and predictable political posturing. The debate, however, is changing radically, because the capabilities to invade and control privacy have become extremely granular, and the profit motive has now changed the traditional actor in surveillance from the state to the private corporation.

Matt Stoller, Naked Capitalism

Brussels to Tackle Online Blocking and Throttling

Brussels Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes is to draft legislation on Net Neutrality in light of data showing that between 20 and 50 percent of European Internet providers use software to block online access.

Benjamin Fox, EU Observer


Journalism and Beyond

Newspapers Cut Days from Publishing Week

Almost two weeks ago, the Times-Picayune in New Orleans, which is owned by Advance Publications, announced that it would cut back its print schedule to just three days a week. Within hours, its sister publications the Birmingham News, the Press-Register of Mobile and the Huntsville Times followed suit. Four days later, Postmedia announced that three of its papers, the Calgary Herald, the Edmonton Journal and the Ottawa Citizen would all eliminate their Sunday editions.

Christine Haughney, New York Times

A Big, Not Easy Solution to the Journalism Crisis in New Orleans

Let's focus, for the sake of simplicity, just on the situation in New Orleans. There are solutions -- not easy solutions, but big solutions, and if folks have the gumption to pull off these ideas, the Big Easy could actually have better journalism and a better informed citizenry. I would call them (although political junkies might cringe at this term) a Third Way for saving journalism in the Crescent City.

Will Bunch, Poynter

Safety Concerns in the Age of Citizen Journalism

When foreign blogger and cellphone video reporters are censored there is an outcry. Why then do those same Western audiences seem to accept the oppression and censorship of civilian journalism when it happens in our own cities?

Eric Matthies, International News Safety Institute

Media Portrayal of Black Youth Contributes to Racial Tension

Mainstream media often portray African-American youths, especially black men and boys, as criminals, crime victims and predators. These stereotypes, according to social justice advocates, can create a racially charged atmosphere that results in violence such as the shooting death of teenager Trayvon Martin.

Joshunda Sanders, The Grio

Where Is the Money?

Most newspapers have profit margins that, while not what they were in the '90s, would still make other local businesses quite happy. Here's the illustration: Warren Buffett wouldn't buy newspapers if he didn't think they made money. So the real question isn't "where is the money?" The real question is, what is the newspaper spending its profits on?

Media, Disrupted

The Chart That Explains Media's Addiction to Print

The past few weeks have seen some fairly dramatic moves by U.S. and Canadian newspaper chains that have chosen to stop printing their papers on certain days in an attempt to save money. But in most cases this has been a result of a "forced march" toward digital, rather than a choice to embrace the online world at the expense of print. A single chart illustrates why that decision is so difficult: because print is still a massive source of advertising revenue. But the chart also shows why the print-based media industry is so afraid of the future.

Mathew Ingram, GigaOM