We hear a lot about community and free expression when it comes to the Web.  From tech bloggers to legal scholars, the boosters spare little praise for the social benefits of technologically connected groups.  Some cyber gurus even go so far as to predict that these new communities are already spawning a new, populist dialogue that will ultimately change the ...

I guess it comes down to the obvious answer that “sex sells,” but with the recent arrest of two Vietnamese songwriters, I can’t help but notice the overwhelming silence on social media in stark contrast to the outpouring of support for Pussy Riot.  Okay, I get it.  Mini-dresses on leggy, Russian girls wearing brightly colored balaclavas are hard to beat ...

During the squabble over SOPA and PIPA, one of the underlying (and possibly just lying) PR bullets coming out of Silicon Valley was that the actions called for in the bills would “break the Internet.”  And when that wasn’t the claim, the most consistent complaint was that the bills would chill free speech.  But in the wake of violent protests ...

The Washington Post reported yesterday that the Iranian government is laying the foundation for a national intranet that would replace Iranian citizens’ access to the world wide web.  Iranians already have limited access to high speeds and certain social media sites, but this infrastructure would give the government even greater control to filter out western influence, to squelch and monitor ...

“If your freedom of speech has no limits, may you accept our freedom of action.”    This was a statement painted on a wall in Cairo where protestors yesterday stormed the U.S. embassy.  And this morning, we learn that U.S. Ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens was killed along with three other embassy staff in a rocket attack on their car. ...

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