Europe Blog
Our views on the Internet and society
Internet at Liberty 2012 Conference: Join the discussion
Monday, May 21, 2012
This week, 300+ Internet activists, policy makers, academics and NGO leaders from over 30 countries, including many from Europe, will gather in Washington, D.C. to discuss the future of free speech online. The event is called
Internet at Liberty 2012
, and we want you to join the discussion.
The future of free expression is uncertain. According to the
Open Net Initiative
, more than 620 million Internet users—31% of the world’s total Internet users—live in countries where there is substantial or pervasive filtering of online content. And when free expression is in jeopardy, so are reporters; as the
Committee to Protect Journalists
found, nearly half of all the writers, editors, and photojournalists imprisoned around the world are online journalists.
Dictatorships and authoritarian regimes are the worst offenders, but democracies around the world are also questioning whether the Internet requires monitoring and supervision. 2012 is a crucial year. As governments are trying to draw the right lines, we are bringing the most challenging and important debates to you via Internet at Liberty 2012.
Join us on May 23 and May 24 by watching our livestream at
YouTube.com/citizentube
, and feel free to Tweet your questions and comments (@InternetLiberty). If you are in the DC area, consider joining us at the event live. You can register
here
. Space is limited, but this is a crucial issue and we want you to participate.
For more information, check out the
detailed schedule of events
.
Posted by Bob Boorstin, Director, Public Policy
Keep the Internet open
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
It was a needed wake up call. Vinton Cerf, our Chief Internet Evangelist, recognised as one of "
the fathers of the Internet
", came to Brussels this week to talk about keeping the Internet open.
At meetings at the European Commission and European Parliament, at a lecture at the University of Leuven, and at other encounters, Vint explained how the Internet stands at a crossroads. Built from the bottom up, powered by the people, it has become a powerful economic engine and a positive social force. But its success has generated a worrying backlash: the number of governments that censor Internet content has grown to 40 today from about four in 2002.
Of course, Vint acknowledged that “like almost every major infrastructure, the Internet can be abused and its users harmed.” But he argued that “we must take great care that the cure for these ills does not do more harm than good.”
In particular, Vint cautioned against a move by governments to seize control of the Net at the International Telecommunication Union, a United Nations organisation which counts 193 countries as its members. The ITU is conducting a review of the international agreements governing telecommunications and aims to expand its regulatory authority to the Internet at a summit scheduled for December in Dubai. Vint warned that such a move holds potentially profound implications for the future of the Internet and all of its users.
Last June, then–Prime Minister Vladimir Putin stated the goal of Russia and its allies as “establishing international control over the Internet” through the ITU. And in September 2011, China, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan submitted a proposal for an “International Code of Conduct for Information Security” to the UN General Assembly, with the goal of establishing government-led “international norms and rules standardizing the behavior of countries concerning information and cyberspace.”
The decisions taken in Dubai in December have the potential to put government handcuffs on the Net. To prevent that - and keep the Internet open and free for the next generations - we need to prevent a fundamental shift in how the Internet is governed. I encourage you to take action now: insist that the debate about Internet governance be transparent and open to all stakeholders.
Posted by Posted by Al Verney, Communications Manager, Brussels
Reaching out to Germany’s Silver Surfers
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
For many senior citizens, the Internet seems overwhelming, and often, downright dangerous. In Germany, privacy concerns have combined with the elderly’s natural reticence to technology to keep many senior citizens offline.
In order to begin changing this perception, we partnered with the Federal Associations of Senior Citizens, which includes 100 organisations and 13 million members, and the “Deutschland sicher im Netz” (Germany Safe Online - our partner in the Good to Know campaign in Germany) to raise awareness among all age groups on online safety and security. At this month's SenNova congress and fair for senior citizens, we hosted a booth with our partners to help inform participants about how to stay safe and get the most out of the Internet.
Of the 20,000 visitors to the fair, we held 800 individual conversations in three days. Many senior citizens appreciated meeting “Google in person.” We handed out more than 4.000 pamphlets including tips and tricks for Search and Social Networks which we especially created with our partners for seniors.
We took away some important lessons. More than their digitally native grandchildren and great-grandchildren, seniors desire face-to-face discussions about the Internet. This includes the importance of printed materials, keeping the information we provide simple and jargon free and presented in a manner that is easy to read. After an intensive discussion with a very active 70 year old lady, who told us she uses only Google as her Internet, she finished the conversation with the words: "You made my day!" She was so thankful that we were there to explain to her basics on search and other tools, as her children don´t have or take the time to explain information she finds too complicated. Another lady told me that she came to the event just to see us, as she needs more information on how to use the Internet.
Our next step of the project is the launch of a competition to find “Germany`s most digital senior citizen” on June 1st. The award winning ceremony will be held on October 29th at the Google offices in Berlin.
Posted by Sabine Frank, Media Literacy Policy Counsel, Berlin
Launching Street View in e-Estonia
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Estonia is an e-leader. The Baltic nation boasts one of the world’s highest broadband penetration rates and has carved out a pioneering role in promoting e-government and online freedom. About 94 per cent of tax returns last year were made online. Estonians
vote on their laptops
and sign legal documents on a smartphone. Cabinet meetings are paperless. It’s all quite impressive in a country where, only two decades ago population, it was difficult to obtain a phone line.
Most important, Estonians know firsthand about the need to keep networks open. The country suffered a massive cyberattack three years ago. Instead of imposing draconian plans to control the net, however, its reaction has been to embrace the Internet has become a symbol of progress and freedom.
For all these reasons, we take particular pleasure today to announce the launch of our popular Google Maps
Street View
feature in Estonia. From now on, anyone, anywhere, will, with the click of a computer mouse, be able to stroll in the cobbled medieval streets of of the capital Tallinn, the university town of Tartu, the colorful wooden houses of Pärnu. Or enjoy Estonia’s pristine nature, strolling down the sandy white beaches of the country’s Baltic coast, deep forests, picturesque lakes and rivers, mysterious swamps and rich flora and fauna.
Grotere kaart weergeven
Our users have told us that this ability to view a location as if they were actually there helps them find information about the places they live and visit. Street View permits us to preview holiday accommodation and look at nearby amenities such as parks, roads, bus stops, shopping areas and parking when planning your move. Can't remember the name of that amazing restaurant or clothes store you visited a few months ago? Walk the streets and find it. And then use the driving directions in Google Maps, with Street View images of intersections and landmarks, to get there.
Grotere kaart weergeven
Street View is educational. It encourages study of the geography, vegetation and landscape of different parts of the world. Teachers can incorporate Street View, Google Maps and Google Earth into geography or history lesson plans or arrange a virtual field trips. StreetView also promotes business, allowing potential customers to view your store or office, and find out how to get there.
We’re delighted to add Estonia to our Street View family and we look forward to working with Estonians as they pursue their bright e-future.
Posted by Simon Meehan, Senior Policy Analyst, Southern and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa
Supporting innovation in the African news industry
Thursday, May 10, 2012
We’re eager to see journalism flourish in the digital age, in all forms and on all continents. Today, with half a dozen other generous sponsors, we’re taking a big step forward with a new $1 million
African News Innovation Challenge
.
This initiative is the latest in a series of projects to spur innovation in African journalism. Since 2010 we’ve been working with newsrooms across the continent to show journalists how the Internet can help them be better reporter. In Ghana we’re helping journalists produce evidence-based reporting on the country’s new oil wealth; in Senegal we gave journalists training on
election reporting
, and in Kenya we helped pioneer Africa’s first data journalism boot camp. Participants produced eight separate data-driven stories or news apps, including a
TV documentary
that exposed the plight of rural schools and an
analysis of government spending at county level
that has been nominated for an international award.
Now, we’re looking for even more innovations aimed at strengthening and transforming African news media. The News Innovation Challenge will provide grants ranging from $12,500 to $100,000 for project proposals falling into four categories: news gathering, storytelling, audience engagement and the business of news. Proposals can include ideas that improve everything from data-based investigative journalism and crowdsourced citizen reporting, to new ways of distributing news on mobile platforms, or new revenue models that help wean media off a reliance on advertising. In addition to cash grants, winners will receive technical, business development and marketing advice.
The
African Media Initiative
, Africa’s largest association of media owners and operators, is running the Challenge. Other partners include
Omidyar Network
, the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
, the
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
, the
U.S. State Department,
the
Konrad Adenhauer Stiftung
and the
World Association of Newspapers & News Producers
.
Entries must be submitted to this
website
by midnight Central African Time on July 10, 2012. While news pioneers from anywhere in the world are welcome, all entries must have an African partner that will help develop and test the innovation. Entries will be judged by an international jury, and finalists will get a chance to refine their proposals during one-on-one mentoring sessions at a “tech camp” in Zanzibar in August 2012.
The winners will be announced at the Africa’s largest gathering of media owners and executives, at the
Africa Media Leaders Forum
, in Ivory Coast in November 2012.
We’re also active in promoting digital journalism outside of Africa, such as supporting the
Nordic News Hacker
, the
Global Editor Network’s data journalism prize
and
International Press Institute media innovation prizes
. As media organizations continue to adapt to the new digital world, we’re committed to working with journalists to help them use technologies to gather and tell important stories.
Posted by Julie Taylor, Head of Communications, Sub Saharan Africa
Launching the Tony Sale Award for Computer Conservation
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Computers are now an everyday part of life for many, yet most people know little about their history. At Google we’re keen to help celebrate and preserve the stories of computing’s past. We’ve
blogged
, made
short films
and
partnered
with
museums
-- now it’s time to shine the spotlight on the efforts of others.
To that end, we are delighted to support this week’s launch of an international award recognising those who have made an outstanding engineering achievement in computing conservation. Named in honour of the late
Tony Sale
, acclaimed for his work
rebuilding Colossus
, the award will be managed by the UK’s
Computing Conservation Society
(CCS).
Tony Sale led the team that rebuilt the Colossus computer. He also helped start the campaign to save Bletchley Park, found The National Museum of Computing and establish the Computer Conservation Society.(Photo thanks to The National Museum of Computing)
Entries are invited from any individual or group worldwide who has made a demonstrable contribution to preserving the world’s computing heritage, and whose work is (or could be put) on public display. Nominations close at end-July. Further details and application forms can be found at the
CCS’s website
.
Posted by Lynette Webb, Senior Manager, External Relations
Championing Free Expression - The Hay Festival in Hungary
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Her father was tortured and her mother was made to kneel on broken glass. Jung Chang, the author of the global sensation
Wild Swans
, which at the last count has sold 13 million copies, talked with passion and humanity about human rights during the Cultural Revolution in China at the first ever
Budapest Hay Festival
this past weekend.
Google has been working with the
Hay Literary Festival
for more than a year, helping it grow from its origins in Wales into an international organisation that now hosts festivals around the globe. This was the first festival ever held in Central Europe.
In Budapest, Chang described how she cornered the late Zairean dictator,
Mobutu Sese Sosuku
, under a hairdryer at a salon in Hong Kong, to persuade him to give details of his friendship with
Mao Tse-tung
. She also revealed how
Imelda Marcos
had a soft spot for
Richard Nixon
.
Another who tackled issues of free speech and technology was rock star turned global activist,
Bob Geldof
. He pointed to strong growth rates in Africa and warned policy makers in Europe and the United States that they ignored the economic potential of Africa, driven in large part by the opening up of the Internet. Other speakers at the two festival included
Tibor Fischer
, the Hungarian-born writer whose parents, both basketball players, fled the country after the Soviet suppression of the 1956 uprising, and Nigerian author
Ben Okri
.
One of the attractions of the Hay festival is the quality of speakers and the diversity of subject matter. Taking its name from a picturesque village on the border of England and Wales, made famous by its bookshops, the Hay Festival has been described as the "Woodstock of the mind.” It attracts tens of thousands of people per day during the 10 days of readings, speeches and interviews. We will unveil our
Big Tent
concept to a Hay audience at this year’s
event
, opening on May 31.
Later in the year, we will participate in four Hay gatherings that come within the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. Beirut takes place in early July, while the autumn will see festivals in Istanbul, Nairobi and Segovia, Spain.
Posted by Richard Schuster, Communications Manager, Google, Hungary
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