Facebook, India Battle Over Free Internet; China’s Tech Transformation

Posted December 29th, 2015 at 11:03 am (UTC-4)
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Today’s Tech Sightings:

FILE - A staff member stands next to a display screen during a joint news conference by Reliance Communications Ltd. and Facebook Inc. in Mumbai, India, Feb. 10, 2015. (Reuters)

FILE – A staff member stands next to a display screen during a joint news conference by Reliance Communications and Facebook in Mumbai, India, Feb. 10, 2015. (Reuters)

Battle Over Facebook’s Free Basics Internet Service Intensifies in India

India’s net neutrality activists are on the war path as Facebook launches a new app that offers free internet service to users of the Reliance network in six Indian states. Save the Internet (STI) members argue that there are many ways to provide free internet access without discrimination between web services and without violating net neutrality. Both sides have been battling it out in the media.

How a Nation of Tech Copycats Transformed Into a Hub for Innovation

A decade ago, technology observers complained China did not produce enough innovators. Its tech companies tended to duplicate Western leaders like Google or Yahoo or Amazon. But all that is changing as a new generation of young, urban techies, more confident with risk-taking and bold moves, climbs up China’s social and corporate ladders.

Massive Trove of US Voter Data Discovered on Web

According to security researcher Chris Vickery, more than 191 million U.S. voting records and personal data have been exposed. The information has been publicly available on a Web server due to a misconfigured database and includes personal contacts, addresses, dates of birth and voting records going back to 2000. It is unclear who owns the server.

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Aida Akl
Aida Akl is a journalist working on VOA's English Webdesk. She has written on a wide range of topics, although her more recent contributions have focused on technology. She has covered both domestic and international events since the mid-1980s as a VOA reporter and international broadcaster.

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