Grant Gross

Author Archives: Grant Gross

Member News: Israel Chapter Pushes for Better Internet Access

More broadband, please: The Internet Society’s Israel Chapter has reached out to the Israeli government about a number of issues affecting the country’s broadband service. Commenting on a plan by telecom provider Bezeq to roll out fiber broadband to 80 percent of households in the country within six years, it said the Ministry of Communications should […]

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The Week in Internet News: Spyware Targets Human Rights Activists, Journalists

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Spyware on the loose: Military-grade spyware from Israeli company NSO Group has been used to spy on journalists, human rights activists, and business leaders, according to an investigation from the Washington Post and media partners. Among the people being spied on were several Arab royal family members, at least 65 business executives, 85 human rights […]

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The Week in Internet News: U.S. Health Official Warns of COVID Misinformation Online

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Bad information: The U.S. surgeon general, the nation’s top public health spokesman, is calling on social media outlets to crack down on misinformation about COVID-19 and the safety of vaccines, The New York Times reports. Misinformation about the pandemic and the vaccines available is “an urgent threat to public health,” Dr. Vivek Murthy said. “Modern […]

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The Week in Internet News: Trump Sues Social Media Giants

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A big-league lawsuit: Former U.S. President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube for being kicked off the social media outlets for violating their terms of service, the Washington Post reports. Most legal experts say the lawsuit has little chance of success; the U.S. First Amendment protects people like Trump against […]

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The Week in Internet News: U.K. Government says ‘No Encryption for Kids’

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Less protection for kids: The U.K.’s Department of Digital, Media, Culture and Sport has recommended that children’s accounts on social media platforms and messaging services should not use end-to-end encryption, TechCrunch reports. In the effort to protect kids against online predators, cyber bullying and other bad stuff, the agency says children shouldn’t be protected against cybercrime, […]

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The Week in Internet News: EU Launches Antitrust Investigation of Google

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Competing for ads: The European Union has launched an antitrust investigation of Google’s advertising practices, with investigators looking into whether the company favored its own online advertising technology, CNBC reports. The probe will look into whether made it harder for other online advertising services to compete. Blocking the ads: In a related story, Google has […]

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The Week in Internet News: Biden Warns Putin About Some Cyberattacks

No-go zone: U.S. President Joe Biden told Russian President Vladimir Putin that some types of cyberattacks are off-limits during a meeting at the G7 summit in Switzerland recently, Reuters reports. Destructive attacks by Russian hackers on U.S. critical infrastructure must end, Biden said. It’s unclear if the talk will have much of an effect. Banned […]

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Member News: Somalia Chapter Focuses on Internet Education

Paying by phone: The Somalia chapter of the Internet Society is focusing on educating Internet users, particularly young people, about mobile payments. The chapter is working with technology stakeholders to improve digital literacy. The chapter notes that 70 percent of adults in Somalia use mobile money services regularly, and more than two thirds of payments […]

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The Week in Internet News: Twitter Deletes Tweet, Nigeria Bans the Whole Platform

No more tweets: After Twitter removed a tweet by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, the federal government there banned the platform, at least temporarily, because of “the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence,” DW.com reports. Some Nigerians are tweeting anyway, but they risk arrest for doing so, […]

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The Week in Internet News: Yet Another Ransomware Attack

Where’s the beef? Cybercriminals, likely from Russia, shut down a Brazilian meatpacker’s operation for a couple of days using ransomware, Reuters reports. The attack on JBS, the world’s largest meatpacker, came just weeks after ransomware, also likely from Russia, shut down the Colonial Pipeline in the U.S. for several days. The U.S. FBI blamed the […]

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Keeping the Internet on during Benin’s Presidential Elections

With protests intensifying and social media interruptions reported in the weeks leading up to Benin’s presidential elections on 11 April 2021, many Internet and civil rights organizations were growing nervous about the potential for another Internet shutdown. Internet access was cut for almost 24 hours during Benin’s legislative elections in 2019 and there has been […]

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The Week in Internet News: Russia Hackers Target Human Rights Groups

Targeted attacks: A Russian hacking group is targeting international aid and human rights organizations, according to Microsoft, Al Jazeera reports. The recent attacks, from the Nobelium group, targeted about 3,000 email accounts of more than 150 organizations spanning 24 countries. Nobelium is blamed for the recent SolarWinds attacks as well. The group gained access to […]

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The Week in Internet News: Rural Areas Need Broadband to Attract Workers

Recruiting issue: Companies in some areas of the rural U.S. are trying to hire workers, but the lack of quality broadband service is hurting their efforts, the New York Times reports. The story looks at a manufacturer of asphalt paving equipment in rural Iowa that paid to have fiber laid to its factory, but there’s […]

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The Week in Internet News: Many U.S. Residents Support Community Broadband

From the community: A new poll from Morning Consult finds that more than half of U.S. residents trust local governments to provide broadband services, and just 14 percent believe local governments should be prohibited from providing broadband. Currently, 18 states limit or outright prohibit local governments from providing their own broadband. In those states, “these […]

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The Week in Internet News: India Tries to Censor Online Critics

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Shut your mouth: The government in India has tried to silence critics of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic there as cases spike in the country, BuzzFeed News reports. India’s IT ministry recently ordered Twitter to block more than 50 tweets from being seen in the country, and Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube also had content critical […]

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Member News: Chapters Respond to Proposed Internet Regulations

Big, big data: Several chapters of the Internet Society have joined the debate over proposed government Internet regulations. The Israeli Internet Association, for example, has raised concerns about a Ministry of Communications proposal to require all communications companies in Israel, including cellular, Internet, and television providers, to regularly give the ministry detailed information on the […]

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