Internet

The Indian government has banned Facebook from offering free Internet access in the country. Officials said the program breached net neutrality principles by favoring some sites over others. Since 2013, Facebook has offered a service called Free ... Basics in some nations where Internet access is unaffordable to large parts of the population. Most of these countries are in Africa and the Indian subcontinent. The service, offered in partnership with cellphone operators, gives users free access to data usage on a smart phone, which for many users will be their primary or only way of getting online ... (view more)

Facebook is making yet another change to the way it shows content on a user's home page. The tweaks are designed to better reflect what people actually think of the content. The changes will affect the News Feed, which displays user posts in an ... order based on an 'importance', determined by Facebook's algorithm. Prior to the News Feed, posts were shown in chronological order. Facebook concluded that viewing posts in chronological order was simply unworkable, due to the sheer volume of content posted in a day. In some cases, users could potentially see 1,500 posts a day. (Source: techcrunch.com ... (view more)

Computer and mobile device owners have been warned to carefully review links before clicking on them, after the creation of a website that can either slow down or crash smart phones completely. The site in question uses a simple but effective ... technique to cause the problem. The site's web address is simply the words "crash" and "safari" next to one another (with no space in between), and is a "dot com" domain name. Trouble-makers online have been spreading links to the problematic site through email and social media. It's worth checking links carefully as ... (view more)

The proportion of Americans with a broadband connection (such as cable or DSL) at home has dropped for the first time. The surprise trend appears to be down to cost and people using smartphones as their main way to get online. The revelation comes ... from the Pew Research Center, which regularly surveys the public on tech and communications issues. It found the percentage of people who say they have broadband at home is now 67 percent, down from 70 percent in 2013. (Source: pewinternet.org ) Broadband Use Falling Across The Board While that could be a statistical quirk, it's borne out by the ... (view more)

Facebook is testing a change to its policy requiring people to use their real name on the site. The idea is to keep the principle of accountability while dealing with some practical issues. The site has always had a policy that users must operate ... with "the name their friends and family know them by." The idea is that it makes users accountable for what they say in posts and messages, and thus helps to stop people hiding behind anonymity. The policy often causes criticism. Some people disagree with the idea of having to be identifiable on the site. Writing in a blog post this week, ... (view more)

The attorney general of New York has asked Internet users in the state to test and submit their Internet speeds. Eric Schneiderman says the move is part of a probe to see if broadband providers are making misleading speed claims. Schneiderman is ... asking users in the state to visit InternetHealthTest.org , which is an independently run site. The site runs a simple download speed test to work out an average speed. (Source: ny.gov ) Results Must Be Sent Via Screenshot Unfortunately, Schneiderman's office was unable to automated the process for sharing the results with other government ... (view more)

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has hired a noted privacy campaigner to investigate Internet providers. It's part of a joint move with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to strengthen security and privacy measures in the communications ... industry. Jonathan Mayer has been hired as the FCC chief technologist in its enforcement division. In effect, he'll deal with the practical issues involved in deciding whether or not a company is following the law. It's a strong sign the commission intends to get tougher on company violations. New Appointee Exposed Google Trickery Mayer ... (view more)

Yahoo has confirmed it has blocked some users from accessing their email if they are running ad-blocking software. It describes it as a test for a small number of users. Several users reported seeing a message reading "Uh oh... We are unable to ... display Yahoo Mail. Please disable Ad Blocker to continue using Yahoo mail." Ironically one of those affected was a former Yahoo executive who at one stage was in charge of revamping the Mail service. (Source: engadget.com ) Ad-Blocking A Hot Topic The move has proven controversial even if it isn't a first. Many sites are set to detect if ... (view more)

Facebook says more than four million Parisians used its "Safety Check" feature to reassure friends they were safe after last weeks terrorist attacks in Paris . But the company has been forced to explain why it did not activate the feature for ... bombings in Beirut. The Safety Check feature was introduced to help people quickly and easily let others know they are safe during a disaster situation. The idea is to help cut down the number of phone calls and text messages sent asking if somebody is OK, or to let others know they are OK. That in turn is designed to reduce the pressures on ... (view more)

The Federal Communications Commission (FTC) says it won't force web companies to take any heed of "Do Not Track" tools in web browsers. The move may fatally undermine the technology which is part of all modern browsers. The idea of "Do Not Track" is ... to have a standardized way for users to indicate to website operators that they don't want their online activity tracked. It's designed particularly for situations in which a third-party advertising agency which has access to a website can put a tracking cookie on the computer of a visitor to the site. The next time ... (view more)