IETF turns 30!

30 Years of Engineering the Internet This week marks the 30th anniversary of the meeting that became the very first edition of IETF meetings now held three times per year. On 16-17 January 1986 in San Diego, California, 21 people attended what is now known as IETF 1. Some names and topics found in the …

After censorship, Pakistan gets country-specific version of YouTube

For the first time in several years, residents of Pakistan can openly watch YouTube—just not the YouTube that the rest of the world is watching. Google, which purchased the video-streaming website in 2006, launched country-specific versions for Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka on Tuesday. “YouTube is already available in Nepali, Sinhalese and Urdu, and now having country-specific …

Congress still blocking US from releasing control of the internet

Late Tuesday night, after the Republican presidential debate in Las Vegas, Republican leaders in Congress released a $1.15 trillion budget proposal. It’s a massive bill with several huge points of contention, including tax breaks and military spending, but nestled within its 2,009 pages is a small provision that could frustrate attempts to loosen the country’s …

Outgoing ICANN CEO revives NetMundial in the Wuzhen Summit

ICANN’s outgoing CEO has sprung a surprise support for a new Chinese government initiative to expand its view of internet governance. This came during the last day of the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, the conference organizers unexpectedly announced they had set up a new “high-level advisory committee” that would guide the agenda of future …

Brazilian Judge Shuts Down WhatsApp for 48 Hours

A judge in Sao Paulo has ordered WhatsApp to shut down for 48 hours, starting at 9pm Eastern tonight. WhatsApp is the single most used app in Brazil, with about 93 million users, or 93% of the country’s internet population. It’s a particularly useful service for Brazil’s youth and poor, many who cannot afford to …