For technology that was supposed to ignore borders, bring the world closer together, and sidestep the influence of national governments the Internet is fostering an awful lot of nationalism right now. We’ve started to see increased concern about the country of origin of IT products and services; U.S

Many governments around the globe have stepped in to limit the internet content available to their citizens and to police internet users.  Certainly, the internet poses crime risks for all countries—hackers trying to slip into people’s bank accounts abound.  Like anywhere, the potential for committing crime exists on the internet.  On the other hand, many countries deem speech a crime if it is critical of the government.   Censorship exists at the national level of many nations and they each have some compelling methods for tamping down on what people can say or see on the internet. RussiaIn November 2012, Russia made headlines by enacting censorship laws aimed at “journalists and bloggers,” according to Forbes.  The Russian government has stated that these new laws target “extremist” sites that may include content on drugs or suicide or worse.  However, critics point out that this is merely the latest batch of restrictions imposed by Russia’s government; many other limits already exist beyond the new ones that seek to “blacklist” websites.  The Guardian reports that the “vaguely worded law could be manipulated to crack down on the Russian internet.”  In a country where Orwellian Big Brothers reigned supreme merely a few decades ago, few people seemed surprised by the passing of these new laws

By Scott C. Salii Fiber Optic Technology Can Boost Internet Speed x 3000 The Australia News Network reports that the island nation of Vanuatu will be getting a major upgrade in their connection to the rest of the world with the construction of a new fiber-optic data connection. Port Vila based Interchange Cable Network along with French telecom giant Alcatel are beginning a $31 million dollar project to create a fiber optic connection between Vanuatu and the world.