Bad News for privacy concerned people!
It will be once again easier for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to sell your personal data for marketing or advertisement purposes without taking your permission.
Last October, the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) passed a set of privacy rules on ISPs that restrict them from sharing your online data with third parties without
Facebook’s Free Basics Internet service has been Blocked in India.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has banned mobile carriers and broadband providers to charge customers based on what services or content they access over the Internet.
Under Prohibition of Discriminatory Tariffs for Data Services Regulations, 2016, “no service provider shall offer or charge
Facebook’s Free Internet access to India has hit a hurdle:
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has ordered the mobile carrier to temporary suspend the Facebook’s Free Basics Internet program.
Facebook’s Free Basics is an app that allows users to access certain Internet websites, including Facebook, for free.
However, India’s independent regulatory body has asked
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has backed VPN provider Golden Frog’s FCC filing that accuses ISPs of stripping out STARTTLS instructions from email messages.
Today companies and public interest organizations across the country are protesting to urge the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to maintain the principle of net neutrality on the Internet. This battle has been going on for many years as different interests try to create public policies that best serve their own business goals. This isn’t inherently bad except when if it’s at the expense of users and broader public interests. ISPs and cable providers are proposing a scheme that would allow web sites and services providers to pay more so their sites could be accessed faster by users online, effectively creating a “fast lane†and a “slow lane†on the Internet. This is a fine idea if you can pay and you’re in the fast lane, but unfortunately for those that can’t pay, their users (perhaps you and me) will likely get a degraded and slower Internet experience. It will also make the web sites and services for those that can’t pay less competitive and further accelerate the digital divide.
Net neutrality is a core principle that’s made the Internet work for a long time. It ensures that all content is treated equally and without discrimination by those that pass the bits along. For example, imagine if Comcast, the largest ISP, concludes the proposed merger with Time Warner, the second largest ISP (and which also owns HBO), could make online access to their own HBO content faster than other video content provided by their competitors like Apple, Netflix, Roku. Suppose they didn’t like editorials that were critical of their organization, and they made it harder for people to access it by making it slow. The Internet wouldn’t work and we wouldn’t have the robust market of ideas that the Internet affords us. Of course there are reasonable network management requirements that may impinge on the ideological goal, but net neutrality as a principle enables the Internet to fulfill its potential as an information medium that provides a rich, uncensored, although sometimes messy, diverse set of ideas and information.
Today, AVG joined many others in the “Internet Slowdown†campaign to encourage the FCC to take a stand and reject policies that would undermine net neutrality. And just like in the movie “Colors†unless you take action, this issue will never die. You can learn more in this nifty infographic called A Guide to the Open Internet or find out how to let your voice be heard at Fight for the Future.
