Information Policy

China says Kerry's call for Internet freedom naive

China criticized U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday for his "naive" call for more Internet freedom in the country, and wondered why his discussion with Chinese bloggers had not touched upon Edward Snowden.

UKAuthority.com acquires E-Government Bulletin to create super-team

UKAuthority.com, the UK's leading web and video news site covering the use of IT and new digital technologies by government, has acquired E-Government Bulletin, a world leader in its field.

It Is Payback Time! - Government of Sweden on Internet Governance

By Patrik Fältström

Today is a wonderful day for us working with Internet Governance that do believe in an Open Internet and multi stakeholder model for its governance.

Ustream Backs Citizen Journalism In Ukraine

As demonstrations in Kiev descended into chaos, some of the most striking pictures came from citizen journalists. Part of that is dedication - live streamers like Ukrstream.tv and Spilno.tv have been covering the protests nonstop since November - but part of it also has to do with Ukraine's crackdown on traditional media

Source: http://gigaom.com/2014/02/19/ustream-launches-nonprofit-program-to-support-citizen-journalism-in-ukraine-and-beyond/

Facebook to purchase WhatsApp in $19 billion deal

Facebook has agreed to buy global messaging service WhatsApp in a deal worth as much as $19 billion in cash, stock and restricted shares. WhatsApp, which says it will continue to operate independently, processes 50 billion messages each day and counts 450 million active users, with 70% of those logging in at least once a day. Facebook is "buying 450 million loyal users and an extraordinary growth story, but at a staggering cost," wrote Bloomberg Industries analyst Paul Sweeney.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-19/facebook-to-buy-mobile-messaging-app-whatsapp-for-16-billion.html