open Internet

On Tuesday, Google made a strong move against communist China by refusing to continue censoring search results on its Chinese site. In the wake of cyberattacks it linked to China, Google also said it would consider shutting down operations in the Asian nation.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski is being bombarded this week with letters from all sides over his Net-neutrality proposals. The FCC is closing public comments on the chairman's proposals for new rules that would limit the abilities of Internet service providers and wireless providers to discriminate against certain uses on their networks.

Executives from Google, Twitter, Amazon.com and several other giant technology businesses have joined to support an open Internet. Twenty-four executives signed a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said Monday that Internet providers, including wireless, phone, cable and satellite companies, should not be allowed to block some types of content traveling over their broadband networks.

He told the Brookings Institute in Washington, D.C., that wireless carriers should be held to the "open Internet" rules by which home broadband providers are already abiding.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski is expected to outline network-neutrality proposals on Monday, according to Reuters. The proposals could become rules at the FCC's October meeting.

Neutrality advocates want Internet service providers barred from blocking or slowing Internet traffic based on content. ISPs, including AT&T, Verizon Communications, and Comcast, say growing traffic needs to be managed, and they contend that neutrality could stifle innovation.

Some of the world's most prominent technology companies are offering suggestions to publishers on how they can charge readers for news online.

IBM Corp., Microsoft Corp., Oracle Corp. and Google Inc. -- a company some newspapers blame for helping dig their financial hole -- responded to a request by the Newspaper Association of America for proposals on ways to easily charge for news on the Web.

The Federal Communications Commission sent letters to Apple, AT&T and Google on Friday requesting further information concerning recent news reports that Apple has banned the sale of a Google Voice app and has removed related -- and previously approved -- third-party offerings from its iPhone App Store.

Incoming FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said Apple's decision raises questions about certain practices in the mobile marketplace.

Chinese Web surfers are being asked to stay off the Internet on July 1 to protest the Chinese government's demand that blocking software Green Dam Youth Escort be installed on all PCs sold in China.

That is the date the software filter sold by Jinhui Computer System Engineering is due to debut. All PCs sold in China on and after this date must have the software. It's also the anniversary date of the founding of the Communist Party in China.

Skype's free iPhone application is stirring up debate again. Available on Apple's App Store on March 31, the app first stirred debate after being blocked by Deutsche Telekom in Germany. Now Skype is fueling debate on network neutrality.

Skype's Voice over Internet Protocol app gives users Skype calling and instant messaging on Apple iPhones and second-generation iPod touches. The application, which saw more than one million downloads in the first two days after being made available, allows users to make calls on the iPhone over a Wi-Fi connection, but not on AT&T's 3G cellular network.

From Edge: