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Our views on the Internet and society
Syrian citizen journalists capture Netizen Prize
Monday, March 12, 2012
For the past year, Syrian citizen journalists have continued to collect and disseminate information on the uprising wracking their country.
Reporters Without Borders
tonight honored these courageous activists, awarding them the
2012 Netizen Prize
.
Jasmine a 27-year-old Syrian activist living in Canada, accepted the award in a ceremony in Paris on behalf of the
Local Coordination Committees
. She preferred to use a pseudonym to protect her family inside Syria. “The Netizen Prize proves that our voices were heard and that we succeeded in delivering the stories of millions of Syrians who are struggling on the ground to achieve what they have always dreamed - to live in freedom and dignity” she said.
This is third year in a row that Google has sponsored the Netizen Prize. Reporters Without Borders counts 200 cases of netizens arrested in 2011, up 30% over the previous year. Five were killed. This is the highest level of violence against netizens ever recorded. More than 120 are currently in jail for keeping us informed. Our own products are blocked in about 25 of 125 countries in which the company operates. “The Internet allows courageous individuals in Syria and elsewhere to tell their story to the world,” said Google France President Jean-Marc Tassetto. “The Netizen Prize and our work with Reporters Without Borders testifies to our belief that access to information will lead to greater freedom and greater social and economic development.”
Syrian journalists and bloggers are threatened and arrested by the government. International news organizations are, for the most part, kept out of the country. In their absence, the committees have become almost the only way to keep the world abreast of the violence wracking the country. They emerged spontaneously following the start of the Syrian revolution last March, bringing together human rights activists and local journalists, and now are found in most cities and towns across the country. “The Netizen Prize proves that our voices were heard," Jasmine said.
Informants on the ground send information and the committees confirm it from multiple sources. A third group translates the news into English and distributes it. News, videos and pictures are posted on the group's
Facebook page
, on its
photo blog
, and on the group’s own
website
. "There are millions of stories that made us cry, laugh, get mixed emotions since the uprising began,” Ola added. “We were talking to a mother of three detainees and she made us all promise each other that no matter what, we will never stop covering the events of our beloved Syria."
The award was distributed on
World Day Against Cyber Censorship
. In 2010, the Netizen Prize was awarded to
Iranian cyberfeminists
. Last year, it went to
Nawaat
, a group blog run by independent Tunisian bloggers. The nominees for the Netizen Award 2012 come from across the globe, ranging from Russia to Syria to Brazil and China. their geographic diversity a reflection of the growing impact of the Net.
Posted by William Echikson, Head of Free Expression, Europe, Middle East and Africa
Freedom of Expression at the United Nations
Friday, March 9, 2012
Sessions at the
United Nations Human Rights Council
-- the UN body in Geneva that holds countries to account for their international obligations -- are almost always predictable affairs. Lots of diplomats talking about the same problems year after year. But the UN last week devoted a special session for the first time to free expression on the Internet, and we at Google were pleased to be one of the first private corporations invited to participate in such an official UN event.
The moment signaled how the international community is waking up to the importance of Internet freedom. The UN council’s auditorium was packed with almost 300 people. More than 50 ambassadors and delegates raised their hands to speak. Officials said they had rarely seen so many requests. Obviously, the stakes are high.
Some delegations outlined the limits on free expression and openness that many countries would like to impose. Some even tried to quash the session entirely through procedural means. The critics emphasized the dangers of the Net to promote terrorism, violence, or religious hatred, proposing that governments should be able to limit freedom by deciding how much opposition "legitimate authorities" should face from their citizens.
But many others - the majority, in fact - spoke up in favor of an open Internet where information flows freely. When Gutenberg invented the printing press, many feared the evils in books, argued
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt
, whose country was the primary sponsor of the session. The same rules that govern freedom of expression on paper or the television airwaves should apply online, he insisted.
For Google, this UN session represented an opportunity to encourage governments to protect free expression online by disclosing when and why they make requests to companies to remove content or turn over information about users. We publish our own
Transparency Report
. This way, government/citizens can evaluate whether or not laws that may be well intentioned are enhancing/eroding freedoms. But our Report represents at best only a partial view. It would be much better if governments would do this themselves for their entire countries.
This session offered a critical look at the issues facing countries around the world as we debate the future of protecting and promoting the free flow of information online. The stakes are huge and all those who care about keeping the Internet open and free must come together to press the cause.
Posted by William Echikson, Head of Free Expression, Europe, Middle East and Africa
Remembering Colossus, the world’s first programmable electronic computer
Thursday, March 8, 2012
It’s no secret we have a
special fondness for Bletchley Park
. The pioneering work carried out there didn’t just crack codes—it laid the foundations for the computer age.
Today, we’d like to pay homage to a lesser-known contributor—
Tommy Flowers
. Bletchley Park’s breakthroughs were the product of theoretical mathematical brilliance combined with dazzling feats of engineering—none more so than Flowers’ creation of
Colossus
, the world’s first programmable, electronic computer.
Photo of Dr. Thomas “Tommy” Flowers. Reproduced with kind permission of the Flowers family
By 1942 the hardest task facing Bletchley Park’s wartime codebreakers was deciphering messages encrypted by
Lorenz
, used by Germany for their most top-secret communications. Initially Lorenz messages were broken by hand, using ingenious but time-consuming techniques. To speed things up, it was decided to build a machine to automate parts of the decoding process. This part-mechanical, part-electronic device was called
Heath Robinson
, but although it helped, it was unreliable and still too slow.
Tommy Flowers was an expert in the use of
relays
and
thermionic valves
for switching, thanks to his research developing telephone systems. Initially, he was summoned to Bletchley Park to help improve Heath Robinson, but his concerns with its design were so great he came up with an entirely new solution—an electronic machine, later christened Colossus.
When Flowers proposed the idea for Colossus in February 1943, Bletchley Park management feared that, with around 1,600 thermionic valves, it would be unreliable. Drawing on his pre-war research, Flowers was eventually able to persuade them otherwise, with proof that valves were reliable provided the machine they were used in was never turned off. Despite this, however, Bletchley Park’s experts were still skeptical that a new machine could be ready quickly enough and declined to pursue it further.
Fortunately Flowers was undeterred, and convinced the
U.K.’s Post Office research centre
at Dollis Hill in London to approve the project instead. Working around the clock, and partially funding it out of his own pocket, Flowers and his team completed a prototype Colossus in just 10 months.
Photo of the rebuilt Colossus which you can visit at
The National Museum of Computing
in the U.K.
Reproduced with kind permission of The National Museum of Computing.
The first Colossus came into operation at Bletchley Park in January 1944. It exceeded all expectations and was able to derive many of the Lorenz settings for each message within a few hours, compared to weeks previously. This was followed in June 1944 by a 2,400-valve Mark 2 version which was even more powerful, and which provided vital information to aid the D-Day landings. By the end of the war there were 10 Colossus computers at Bletchley Park working 24/7.
Once war was over, all mention of Colossus was forbidden by the
Official Secrets Act
. Eight of the machines were dismantled, while the remaining two were sent to London where they purportedly were used for intelligence purposes until 1960. It wasn’t until the 1970’s that Colossus could begin to claim its rightful crown at the forefront of computing history.
Tommy Flowers passed away in 1998, but we were privileged recently to catch up with some on his team who helped build and maintain Colossus.
This week heralds the opening of a
new gallery
dedicated to Colossus at the U.K.’s
National Museum of Computing
, based at Bletchley Park. The rebuilt Colossus is on show, and over the coming weeks it will be joined by interactive exhibits and displays. Bletchley Park is less than an hour from Central London, and makes a fitting pilgrimage for anyone interested in computing.
Posted by Lynette Webb, Senior Manager, External Relations
(Cross-posted from the
Official Google Blog
)
Lights, camera, action
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Film-making among young people has never been more popular, and the great thing about the internet is that you no longer need to be a movie mogul to reach a global audience. These days the tools to shoot, edit and distribute your work are available to just about everyone.
YouTube has been working with two organisations in the UK who do great work to help develop the next generation of film industry talent. At the
First Light Awards
, held this week at the
British Film Institute
in London, we supported a brand new Digital Innovation Award. It gives film-makers aged 18-25 from all backgrounds the chance to win £1,000 towards their next film project. Winner Kristina Yee’s film entitled “Witch” is a beautiful and innovative piece of animation.
Ben Burdock, only 22, from London was a runner up with his film No Escape.
The other runner up was Horoscope Crazy, by 19-year old Luc Eisenbarth from Brighton and Hove.
We also sponsored the National Film and Television School’s Showcase at the BFI Southbank. It showcases students’ animation, documentary, fiction and entertainment work to the industry. Films from last year’s edition went on to win an
Oscar nomination
and a
BAFTA award
. Agents have already been swooping on this year’s talent.
Our partnership with the school includes a film clinic aimed at helping amateur film-makers tell their stories to a broader audience and a business module in which students can learn about new digital distribution strategies and ways to make money from their work online.
YouTube is all about helping the next generation of creative stars to innovate and thrive online. We now have more than 30,000 partners making money from their work and we look forward to seeing this week’s winners and exhibitors get their names up in lights.
Posted by Anna Bateson, Director of YouTube Marketing, Europe, Middle East and Africa
Celebrating Courageous Citizen Journalism
Monday, March 5, 2012
Each year on
World Day Against Cyber Censorship
, Google and
Reporters Without Borders
join together to celebrate and hand out a prize for defending online freedom. This year, we’ll be gathering in Paris on March 12 to debate the issue of cyberfreedom and name our annual
Netizen of the Year
.
The 2012 nominees come from around the globe, from Russia to Syria to Brazil, China and beyond. Their geographic diversity a reflection of the growing impact of the Net. Once connected, each one of us is now able to share our thoughts and observations with the world.
Forty countries engage in active censorship, up from four a decade ago. Google products are blocked in about 25 of 125 countries in which we operate.
Reporters Without Borders inaugurated the annual World Day against Cyber Censorship in 2008, with the aim of protecting a single Internet, free, and accessible to all. Google joined in 2010 to sponsor the Netizen of the Year award, which recognises a user, or a blogger dissident who became famous for his work in defence of freedom of expression on the Net. An independent jury of press experts chooses the winner who receives prize money of EUR 2,500.
In 2010, the Netizen Prize was awarded to
Iranian cyberfeminists
. Last year, it went to
Nawaat
, a group blog run by independent Tunisian bloggers. The nominees for the Netizen Award 2012 are:
Leonardo Sakamoto, Brazil
: Journalist and professor, Sakamoto covered East Timor's war of independence and Angola's civil war. On his blog, he investigates the plight of Indian minorities in the Amazon.
Wukan, China
: The village of Wukan (13,000 inhabitants) in Southern China was the scene of a violent revolt last December. Village inhabitants used the Internet and social network Weibo to mobilise public opinion.
Maikel Nabil Sanad, Egyp
t: This blogger denounced abuses by the army during the popular protests of spring 2011 and was imprisoned in post-revolutionary Egypt.
Grigory Melkonyants, Russia
: Melkonyant’s
KartaNarusheniy.ru
publishes an interactive map illustrating irregularities in Russian election campaigns. It allows users to locate and report fraud by posting photos, videos or audio recordings.
Media Centers Local Coordinating Committee, Syria
: Groups of citizen journalists collect and disseminate, in real time, information and images of Syria's uprising.
Paulus Le Van Son, Vietnam
: Le Van Son is a 26-year old blogger covers religious and human rights issues. After he reported on anti-Chinese protests and police violence, he was arrested on August 3, 2011, in Hanoi.
We look forward to seeing you in Paris on March 12 to celebrate cyberfreedom and learn the name of the winner.
Posted by William Echikson, Head of Free Expression, Europe, Middle East and Africa
Five billion voices - Big Tent comes to Madrid
Thursday, March 1, 2012
This week Spain hosted the world's biggest
mobile phone conference
. Today, more and more people are accessing the internet through their phones and other mobile devices. So this seemed a good moment to debate how the world will change when huge numbers of people get online, many for the first time.
The theme of our latest Big Tent event in Madrid was five billion voices: the internet and free expression.
Google’s Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt spoke of the life-changing potential of bringing tablets and low cost computers to billions of people in the developing world. At the same time, he warned about a construction of a digital caste system - where the world’s digital elites move ever further ahead through access to highest quality technology.
Another danger is government censorship. Schmidt warned that today more than 40 governments around the world seek to deny their citizens access to the internet. In the debate that followed, the famous Spanish journalist, Malén Aznárez, President of the Spanish office of
Reporteros sin Fronteras
, suggested that we were underestimating the threat. Tthe number of governments now censoring the internet has risen to 60, Aznárez said, adding that authoritarian regimes are learning fast how to block and filter content.
Subjects covered in the course of the lunchtime event included the proposed US Stop Online Piracy Act, Child Safety online, and the European Commission's proposed Right to be Forgotten.
Secretary of State for Telecoms and the Information Society, Víctor Calvo-Sotelo Ibáñez-Martín, closed with a speech outlining the new Spanish government’s commitment both to the digital economy and to online government transparency.
This was the latest of a series of Big Tent events aimed at bringing together diverse points of view on the hot issues relating to the internet and society. So far we’ve held them in
London
,
Berlin
and the
Hague
. We’ll be continuing the debate on a range of issues - free expression, privacy, copyright, innovation and more - over the coming months all around the world. And coming soon, we’ll be launching the Big Tent YouTube channel so you can join in the debate, wherever you live.
Posted by Peter Barron, Director, External Relation, EMEA
Google's new privacy policy
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Cross-posted from the
Official Google Blog
Our
updated Privacy Policy
takes effect today, March 1. As you use our products one thing will be clear: it’s the same Google experience that you’re used to, with the same controls.
And because we’re making these changes, over time we’ll be able to improve our products in ways that help our users get the most from the web.
While we’ve undertaken the most extensive user education campaign in our history to explain the coming changes, we know there has been a fair amount of chatter and confusion.
Here are a few important points to bear in mind:
Our privacy policy is now much easier to understand.
We’ve included the key parts from more than 60 product-specific notices into our main Google Privacy Policy—so there’s no longer any need to be your own mini search engine if you want to work out what’s going on. Our Privacy Policy now explains, for the vast majority of our services, what data we’re collecting and how we may use it, in plain language.
Our privacy policy will enable us to build a better, more intuitive user experience across Google for signed-in users.
If you’re signed in to Google, you expect our products to work really beautifully together. For example, if you’re working on Google Docs and you want to share it with someone on Gmail, you want their email right there ready to use. Our privacy policies have always allowed us to combine information from different products with your account—effectively using your data to provide you with a better service. However, we’ve been restricted in our ability to combine your YouTube and Search histories with other information in your account. Our new Privacy Policy gets rid of those inconsistencies so we can make more of your information available to you when using Google.
So in the future, if you do frequent searches for Jamie Oliver, we could recommend Jamie Oliver videos when you’re looking for recipes on YouTube—or we might suggest ads for his cookbooks when you’re on other Google properties.
Our privacy controls aren’t changing.
The new policy doesn’t change any existing privacy settings or how any personal information is shared outside of Google. We aren’t collecting any new or additional information about users. We won’t be selling your personal data. And we will continue to employ industry-leading security to keep your information safe.
If you don’t think information sharing will improve your experience, you can use our privacy tools [
link
] to do things like edit or turn off your search history [
link
] and YouTube history [
link
], control [
link
] the way Google tailors ads to your interests and browse the web “incognito” using Chrome [
link
]. You can use services like Search, Maps and YouTube if you are not signed in. You can even separate your information into different accounts, since we don’t combine personal information across them. And we’re committed to
data liberation
, so if you want to take your information elsewhere you can.
We’ll continue to look for ways to make it simpler for you to understand and control how we use the information you entrust to us. We build Google for you, and we think these changes will make our services even better.
Posted by Alma Whitten, Director of Privacy, Product and Engineering
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