The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us once and for all that broadband access is critical infrastructure. Without it, communities cannot work, learn, or earn online – a necessity during stay-at-home orders. And policymakers are taking notice. In the past few months, trillions of dollars have been proposed by the House, Senate, and White House for […]

The post Risks and Rewards of the U.S. Broadband Funding Boom appeared first on Internet Society.

New resource will help communities find the right funding for their networks At the 2020 Indigenous Connectivity Summit (ICS), participants asked the Internet Society to create a “centralized database that captures funding opportunities, eligibility, and information on how to apply.” There is currently no coordinated federal database where applicants can find all available funding sources. […]

The post New Guide to Federal Broadband Funding Opportunities in the U.S. appeared first on Internet Society.

Earlier this year, chapter members from around the world were asked to assist a government minister with an important project. The minister had been tasked with giving an emergency briefing on content filtering and needed the chapter members to help assess an important question. Would the critical properties of the Internet Way of Networking – the […]

The post Chapter Members Pool Ideas to Inspire New Use Case on Content Filtering appeared first on Internet Society.

This opinion piece was originally published in The Hill. Now is not the time to be careless with laws that could harm the Internet we rely on more than ever in our day to day lives. Policymakers owe it to the billions of users around world that rely on the Internet for work, education, and daily […]

The post The Internet Is Built on ‘Intermediaries’ – They Should Be Protected appeared first on Internet Society.

The Internet has been revolutionary for human progress. Bit by bit, byte by byte, it has come to underpin modern life. For those of us online today it is hard to imagine (or remember) a world where the Internet was not the fabric of our social lives, education, entertainment, innovation, and culture. But what makes […]

The post How Do We Ensure the Internet Grows and Improves? Start with the Internet Impact Assessment Toolkit appeared first on Internet Society.

People around the world are relying on the Internet to keep them connected to everyday life, but Indigenous communities in North America are being left behind by companies and governments. Lack of connectivity means many are unable to access even basic information and healthcare. And while COVID-19 has hit Indigenous communities especially hard, lack of access means […]

The post The 2020 Indigenous Connectivity Summit and Trainings: Register Now appeared first on Internet Society.

While Indigenous communities across the US battle some of the most brutal COVID-19 mortality rates in the country, they’ve simultaneously raced against the clock to take advantage of a once-in-a-generation opportunity to access and manage their own broadband. The Tribal Priority Window is an unprecedented opportunity for eligible US Tribes to apply for 2.5GHz spectrum […]

The post Tribal Priority Window Extended to September 2 – But It’s Still Not Enough Time to Connect Indigenous Communities to a Critical Lifeline appeared first on Internet Society.

When the EARN IT Act was introduced in March 2020, technologists, civil society organizations, academics, and even a former FBI General Counsel blasted the bill as a thinly veiled attempt to prevent platforms from keeping users safe with strong encryption. The bill had implications for intermediary liability, of course, but it was clearly a play […]

The post The Internet “Just Works”: The EARN IT Act Threatens That and More appeared first on Internet Society.

By now, many of us are realizing we’ve been taking access to basic things for granted, such as social interaction, health care, on-site education, and…the Internet. While always valuable, the Internet is now a lifeline offering a fortunate few the ability to adapt and maintain a semblance of reality and connection to our employment, health […]

The post COVID-19 Response Must Include Massive Funding for Fiber-Optic Internet Access appeared first on Internet Society.

Last week, the U.S. Congress passed the third stimulus bill in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This bill primarily focused on economic relief for companies, individuals, cities, states, and tribal communities. It allocates over $2 trillion in funds for a variety of measures intended to ease the burden of COVID-19. Some of the included measures […]

The post Could the CARES Act Close the Digital Divide in the United States? appeared first on Internet Society.

As Canada considers how to renew its broadcasting and telecommunications regulatory regime, it should steer clear of recent recommendations that would impact key Internet properties that foster Canadian innovation online. On Jan. 29 the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Review (BTLR) panel handed the Canadian government 97 recommendations to consider as it prepares new legislation to […]

The post Canada’s Innovative Future Relies on Upholding Core Properties of the Capital ‘I’ Internet appeared first on Internet Society.

Ever wonder if your next doctor’s appointment will result in jail time? Luckily most of us never have to think about that. But LGBT Tech Executive Director Chris Wood says for people in countries where their truth is outlawed, the prospect of finding a trusted healthcare provider without encrypted messaging apps is worse than grim. […]

The post Owning Your Keys: The Technical and Human Side of Encryption appeared first on Internet Society.

In June of this year, I had the great privilege of traveling to Ulukhaktok, NWT, Canada to talk to community members about the possibility of building a new, local Internet service network. As a result of these meetings, and the incredibly driven individuals I met with in Ulu, this time next year, Ulukhaktok will be […]

The post Ulukhaktok: Community Networking in the (Far) North appeared first on Internet Society.

Indigenous communities across North America are working to bridge the digital divide. Each year the Indigenous Connectivity Summit (ICS) brings together community leaders, network operators, policymakers, and others to talk about new and emerging networks and the policies that impact them. During the two-day Summit, people from across the United States, Canada, and the rest […]

The post 2019 Indigenous Connectivity Summit Training: Empowering Communities to Create Connections on Their Own Terms appeared first on Internet Society.

On May 15th, the White House tweeted it had created a new online surveying tool for Americans to report instances of social media censorship due to political bias. Setting aside the politics of this move, there are serious privacy and security concerns that come with hosting such a survey on its website. When users visit […]

The post Americans Deserve Better User Privacy appeared first on Internet Society.

After more than a decade of regulatory ping pong, net neutrality’s future in the United States is still unclear. Since 2004, FCC rulemakings have been caught in a vicious cycle. They have been passed, fought in court, and returned to the FCC with minor (and sometimes major) revisions. In the last few years there have […]

The post Finding Common Ground on U.S. Net Neutrality appeared first on Internet Society.

Data Privacy Day is a little like celebrating the anniversary of your first date. They are both a yearly occasion to reflect on the most important relationships in our life, the former with those who know the most about us, the latter with our significant other. It’s also a reminder that relationships are built on […]

The post My Privacy Online: Championing Trust in the Era of IoT appeared first on Internet Society.

On April 4, 2018, the Canadian Multistakeholder Process: Enhancing Internet of Things (IoT) Security held its first convening in partnership with the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA); CANARIE; Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Canada; and the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPIC). Over 80 participants from government, academia, public interest, industry, and other organizations attended […]

The post Senegal Kicks Off Enhancing IoT Security Project appeared first on Internet Society.

In November 2017, the Internet Society hosted its first Indigenous Connectivity Summit in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This event brought together over 200 Indigenous community members to talk about Internet access solutions, and the importance of connectivity for socioeconomic, health, community empowerment, education, and cultural and language preservation. It was an incredible two days that […]

The post Innovative Approaches to Connecting Indigenous Communities appeared first on Internet Society.

The Enhancing IoT Security project hosted its second multistakeholder event on June 21, 2018. This meeting served as an opportunity for new participants to join the conversations and for participants of the first meeting to continue working toward consensus on IoT security norms that would empower consumers and ensure network resiliency. A group of 30 […]

The post Enhancing IoT Security Project Continues with Second Successful Multistakeholder Event in Ottawa appeared first on Internet Society.