Tag archive: United Nations

The United States, along with 40 other nations, has signed a statement made by Sweden to the United Nations Human Rights Counsel condemning the “three strikes” laws against online copyright infringers as a violation of human rights, reports Ars Technica. Neither the UK nor France, two nations who have such laws on the books, signed the statement. “All users…should have greatest possible access to Internet-based content,… Read More

As evidenced by the Facebook Revolutions and ensuing Middle East turmoil, the Internet is a powerful tool and one capable of change. Of course, its eliminating citizen use of the Web under oppressive regimes has also yielded consequences. Perhaps inspired by these effects, the UN has declared the Internet a human right. A recent report titled “Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and… Read More

In an interview with the Associated Press, International Telecommunications Union secretary-general Hamadoun Toure said BlackBerry maker Research in Motion should supply customer data to law enforcement agencies around the world, characterizing the governments' needs as “genuine” concerns that cannot be ignored. The ITU is primarily concerned with regulating global radio spectrum usage, supervising telecommunications… Read More

A new report issued by the International Telecommunications Union finds that well over half the people on planet Earth are mobile phone subscribers: some 4.6 billion people were estimated to be mobile phone subscribers at the end of 2009, which corresponds to 67 percent of the entire human population. The number represents phenomenal growth for the mobile industry: in the year 2002, about 1 billion people were signed up to use cell phones. The… Read More