United States/Canada

ONI Blog: SonicWALL Filters Harmless Sites
It is the right of private companies to block access to certain sites for their employees or customers, certainly. But in the United States, some customers of Panera Bread, a popular nationwide chain restaurant that offers free wifi, are frustrated. ...
ONI Blog: FCC Plans Filtering for 2155 MHz Spectrum
Facing heavy pressure from Congress, the FCC last week delayed its planned auction for the 2155-2188 MHz band of spectrum. Among the points of contention, the auction as it is currently designed would require that the winner ...
ONI Blog: Porn on Planes?
The recent announcement from American Airlines regarding wireless Internet service on airplanes has caused quite a stir. The Association of Professional Flight Attendants have raised concern about passengers viewing questionable content during the flight. That questionable content, specifically, would...
ONI Blog: U.N. agency to draft possible limits on Internet anonymity
A document obtained by CNet News has revealed that the U.N National Security Agency is part of a group drafting a set of technical standards determining how to trace Internet communications back to their original sender, potentially limiting users' ability to...
ONI Blog: YouTube, Scientology and the DMCA
You've all seen the anti-Scientology protests; a group known as Anonymous, wearing Guy Fawkes, protest outside various churches of Scientology, or most recently here in Cambridge, outside of an exhibit aimed at teaching people about the religion. Many such protests...
ONI Blog: Bloggers Unite Against FISA Bill
Since the Senate approved the new FISA bill, the blogosphere has been in a state of upheaval, declaring it an infringement on the Bill of Rights. NPR recently reported that liberal and conservative bloggers have joined forces to...
ONI Blog: Global Online Freedom Act: How Do We Stop "Illegitimate" Law Enforcement?
Congress is considering new legislation to prevent US companies from assisting the censorship and surveillance regimes of so-called Internet-Restricting Countries (IRCs): China, Iran, and so forth. On balance, the Global Online Freedom Act would probably help companies make smarter decisions...
ONI Blog: Palfrey Testifies on Complying with Foreign Censorship Laws
An increasing number of American companies are being asked to obey censorship and surveillance laws in China that run contrary to free speech and privacy guarantees in the United States. These companies have been asked to monitor Internet users' activities, to give...
ONI Blog: Can The Government Censor Wireless Broadband?
Free wireless broadband has been a goal of academics, activists, and politicians for years, and M2Z, a new start-up led by former FCC official John Muleta might give it to them. Unfortunately, it will not be the broadband...
ONI Blog: Wireless: you might not have to pay for it, but it won't be free, says FCC
Earlier this month, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission released a report , addressing their efforts to build broadband access. So far, recent efforts have centered around auctioning off portions of the wireless spectrum, and some with the requirement that the...

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