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Berkman Buzz: Week of August 9, 2010

BERKMAN BUZZ: A look at the past week's online Berkman conversations
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What's being discussed...take your pick or browse below.

* Doc Searls might be wrong about the future of the Internet.
* Jonathan Zittrain gets to the core of net neutrality.
* CMLP warns against three-strikes Internet laws.
* David Weinberger wonders if Google ever really loved him in the first place.
* Herdict discusses Australian Internet filtering.
* Weekly Global Voices: "Rwanda: Bloggers Discuss Presidential Election 2010"

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The full buzz.

"I think the Net will get worse before it gets better. But I think we need to consider seriously whether it will get better at all. Recent defeats of the FCC by carriers make clear who holds the cards. (And I'm not saying that the FCC was right. I've always felt that 'Net Neutrality' was more effective as a red flag for carriers than for helping its proponents' legislative and regulatory agendas.) Here's what I believe, at least for now. The Internet, as the open and generative thing its protocols like to support, is good for humanity, for human evolution, for society and for business. I would like that to be right, but it might be wrong, and I'm open to hearing that."
From Doc Searls' blog post On being wrong

"???It's hard to know what to make of the Google/Verizon deal since until earlier today both companies have denied that there is one. And it’s hard to argue about net neutrality because it means so many different things to different people. I've got lots of reading to do to catch up on the newly released set of principles from the companies, but in the meantime here are a few thoughts on the topic. The core question is this: when Internet Service Providers turn out to have captive audiences of subscribers -- either because their customers have few if any alternatives for broadband, or because switching is complicated and cumbersome, or because ISP practices are obscure and thus hard for customers to adapt to -- how far should they be allowed to leverage that captivity?"
From Jonathan Zittrain's blog post What matters in net neutrality

"One of our allies, New Zealand, is considering a three strikes Internet termination plan. Another ally, France, has already passed such a measure -- HADOPI, but can't seem to enforce it (legally). While I've written about the lunacy that is HADOPI, I thought our friends down under might be interested to learn of the hideous side effects of swallowing the Internet Execution program."
From Andrew Moshirnia's blog post for the CMLP, Hey, When Did This Slope Get so Slippery? The Danger of Self-Surveillance in Three-Strikes Internet Laws

"There is no denying that I am a Google fanboy. I postponed my technolust for an iPhone until I could get a Droid. I switched from the Firefox browser to Google's Chrome. I use Google Mail, Google Calendar, Google Reader, Google Docs, and Google Maps, and I’d probably use Google Bugle and Google Tattoogle, if such things existed. I bought into Google products in large part because they tend to kick butt, but I have put up with some frustrations because I believed that Google was on my side. Our side.'Where are the other big companies that are standing up for the open Internet?' I have asked in public more than once. So, Google's joint proposal with Verizon hurt. Has Google cheated on me? Were there others before Verizon? Did Google ever really love me in the first place?"
From David Weinberger's blog post for APM's Future Tense, Notes from a Disappointed Fanboy

"The controversial plan to filter the Internet could be dead in the water after the Liberal-National Coalition, the main opposition group in the Australian parliament, declared it opposed the policy. The current Australian Government announced the filter two years ago as part of its cyber safety program to protect children from pornography and offensive material. With little over a week to go until the elections, the Internet filter has become a controversial issue that is dividing the political parties in Australia."
From Stefan Kulk's blog post for Herdict, Internet filter becomes an issue in Australian election campaign

"Rwandan presidential election was held in Rwanda on 9 August 2010. Preliminary results released by the National Electoral Commission show that President Kagame has won by a landslide. What does Kagame's victory mean to Rwanda? Was the election free and fair? What are the real challenges facing Rwanda now that the election is over? These are some of the issues that bloggers are discussing following the release of preliminary results."
From Ndesanjo Macha's blog post for Global Voices, Rwanda: Bloggers Discuss Presidential Election 2010

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The weekly Berkman Buzz is selected from the posts of Berkman Center people and projects: http://cyber.harvard.edu/planet/current/

Suggestions and feedback about the Buzz are always welcome and can be emailed to syoung@cyber.harvard.edu