ICTD News for 09 March 2007

[ICTD Newsmaster <ictdnews@undp.org>]

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CONTENTS

E-GOVERNANCE/E-GOVERNMENT
	France, China, And Turkey Handcuff The Internet
	E-petitions could undermine democracy, MPs warned
	Sociology at Microsoft

PRIVACY/SECURITY
	Wife of Chinese cyber-dissident sues Yahoo!




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E-GOVERNANCE/E-GOVERNMENT
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---- France, China, And Turkey Handcuff The Internet
France, China, and Turkey have been in the news this week with wrongheaded attempts to handcuff the Internet. All three countries are trying to use regulation to control what they see as Internet-fueled damage to society. Sadly, all three countries are likely to find that the regulations are at best ineffective, and, at worst, harmful.
http://www.sdnp.undp.org/perl/news/articles.pl?id=9342&do=gpage



---- E-petitions could undermine democracy, MPs warned
"Dictators like Hitler would have loved the internet, sending out petitions asking what people think of the Jews and claiming he was communicating directly with the people - and then trace back the individuals who answered." 
http://www.sdnp.undp.org/perl/news/articles.pl?id=9341&do=gpage



---- Sociology at Microsoft
At Microsoft, Smith uses public Internet data to look at the social phenomenon of online communities, and he tries to make them better for people and better for business. He recently gave a presentation regarding his work at Microsoft's TechFest in Redmond, WA, an annual event at which Microsoft researchers from around the world share their latest work. Technology Review caught up with Smith to ask him about the field of cybersociology.
http://www.sdnp.undp.org/perl/news/articles.pl?id=9339&do=gpage




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PRIVACY/SECURITY
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---- Wife of Chinese cyber-dissident sues Yahoo!
Wang Xianoning was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in 2003 for posting what Beijing claimed were subversive materials on the net. His wife, Yu Ling, flew into the US this week with the aim of suing Yahoo! for damages and forcing the net giant to apologise for the actions of its Hong Kong division, which passed on email account information that revealed her husband's identity.
http://www.sdnp.undp.org/perl/news/articles.pl?id=9340&do=gpage




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