Last month, I was a poll watcher for the mayoral primary in Washington, DC. My duties were to monitor several polling places to confirm that each Precinct Captain was ensuring that the City’s election laws were being followed on site; in particular, that everyone who believed that they were qualified to vote was able to […]
Increasing Civic Engagement Requires Understanding Why People Have Chosen Not to Participate
May 29, 2014 by
Historic E.U. Net Neutrality Win Shows Maturing Digital Rights Advocacy
April 3, 2014 by
After a 5-year long campaign by European and U.S. digital rights NGOs, today the European Parliament turned a dubious Commission proposal on its head to safeguard the principle of net neutrality. It’s a historic win, and all over the news. It also shows how digital rights advocacy is maturing.
Is There a Future for Net Neutrality after Verizon v. FCC?
January 14, 2014 by
In a decision that was widely predicted by those who have been following the case, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has invalidated the FCC’s Open Internet Rules (so-called net neutrality regulations), which imposed non-discrimination and anti-blocking requirements on broadband Internet access providers. The rules were challenged by Verizon as soon as they […]
The Internet “Access Trap” in Developing Countries
January 4, 2014 by
Three of five people in the world still do not have access to the Internet. From the perspective of standard economic models, this is puzzling. The supply of international connectivity has expanded dramatically since 2009, when several submarine fiber cables came online connecting even the poorest countries in Africa to the global Internet. Also, with […]
Improve Connectivity in Rural Communities – Principle #9 for Fostering Civic Engagement Through Digital Technologies
November 21, 2013 by
In my recent blog posts, I have been discussing ways that citizens can communicate with government officials through the Internet, social media, and wireless technology to solve problems in their communities and to effect public policy. Using technology for civic engagement, however, should not be limited to communications with elected or appointed government officials. One […]
