Page 6 - Internet

Pakistan among world's worst performers in internet access: Report

Pakistan in 2022 remained among the world's worst performers in terms of internet access and digital governance, according to a report released on Monday. Titled "Pakistan's Internet Landscape 2022", the report was released by Bytes For All -- a human rights and advocacy organisation -- which explores in detail the relationship between human rights and information and communication technologies in Pakistan last year. In terms of internet access and overall governance, Pakistan made some gains, but in the context of the world, the country remains among the worst performers, even within just Asia, according to the report. It highlights that despite an increase in internet penetration, approximately 15 per cent of the population still lacked access to the internet and mobile or telecom services. Add to this a lack of inclusivity and digital literacy, one of the biggest global gender gaps in access and a struggle to stay online due to load-shedding and blackouts brought on by an energy

Every village to be connected with 4G by 2024, says MoS Telecom Chauhan

All uncovered villages will be covered with 4G network by 2024, minister of state for telecom Devusinh Chauhan said on Saturday. Speaking to PTI, Chauhan said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi continuously motivates everyone to do more and his 'Mann Ki Baat' episodes further inspires to take government projects and services to people at the last mile. "If we talk about 4G saturation project, about 38,000-40,000 villages don't have signal. Prime Minister says that you have done good work but reach out to every home. We have kept target to complete 4G saturation by 2024," Chauhan said. He was speaking to mark the celebration of 100th episode of 'Mann Ki Baat' scheduled for broadcast on Sunday. The minister said that 4G network in all uncovered villages will lead to socio-economic transformation and bridge digital divides. "It will bring a lot of socio-economic transformation in villages where 4G signals will reach. Citizen standing at last mile will be able to check accountability o

Internet ban in Bharatpur as Mali community continue protest for 12% quota

Mobile internet service remained suspended in parts of Bharatpur as members of the Mali community continued to block the Jaipur-Agra National Highway here for the third consecutive day demanding a separate 12 per cent reservation in government jobs and educational institutions. On Sunday, a large number of demonstrators started gathering at the protest site and demanded the release of their leader Murari Lal Saini, who along with six other people was detained ahead of the agitation, police said. President of Phule Aarakshan Sangarsh Samiti CP Saini said if the state government fails to fulfil their demands, they will block the Jaipur-Delhi highway. We can also do a 'Chakka Jam' in the entire state, he said. Mali community comes under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot also belongs to the same community. On Friday, the protesters blocked the key Jaipur-Agra National Highway in Bharatpur and pelted stones at police personnel who retaliated by firi

Sambalpur violence: Govt extends suspension of internet till April 22

The Odisha government on Thursday further extended the suspension of internet services in Sambalpur district by another 48 hours even as the normalcy was fast returning in the violence-hit western Odisha city. A fresh order issued by the state Home Department said internet services will remain suspended till 10 am on April 22. However, the broadband and leased lines will be operational in the western Odisha district including Sambalpur city from 10 am to 5 pm from Thursday. The administration suspended internet service across the district following a violent clash between two communities in Sambalpur city on April 12 during a bike rally and Hanuman Jayanti celebration on April 14. The internet service is suspended in the district in order to stop the spread of rumours. Many people including 10 cops were injured in the two back to back clashes in the city. One tribal youth was allegedly killed during the clash. However, police claim the murder of the tribal youth was not linked to t

Sambalpur violence: Internet to remain shut for another day; 6 more held

As violence incidents again took place in the western Odisha town, six police station areas of Sambalpur were put under curfew since April 14 mid-night

OpenAI rolls out ChatGPT plugins that let chatbot browse internet

The company said that it will start providing access to plugins with a small set of users and plan to gradually roll out larger-scale access as they learn more

Women, villages and the less affluent drive internet growth in rural India

The message from Nielsen's latest India Internet Report is that media planners need to get out of the reach game and get more creative to leverage the new type of audiences coming online

Inclusive internet must for bringing on board next 1 bn users: Experts

The next one billion Internet users are likely to come from countries that speak and write in languages other than English, putting in focus the need to develop a more inclusive and multilingual online space for individuals and organisations, experts said. Two global organisations The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the Universal Acceptance Steering Group (UASG) have been working to make the Internet more unified that supports a broad range of languages and scripts, they said. The first major step of this objective is the Universal Acceptance of Internet (commonly referred to as UA'). It is a technical requirement that ensures all valid domain names and e-mail addresses can be used by all Internet-enabled applications, devices, and systems, UA Ambassador Sushanta Sinha told PTI. ICANN and UASG are observing the Universal Acceptance Day on March 28, seeking participation from the global Internet community. Nearly 50 UA Day events are expected to be

India now has 600 mn open Internet users, 62 mn more than walled gardens

Based on the research, half (52 per cent) of the 307 hours that the average consumer spends on digital media per month is on the open internet

Real heroes of web revolution

The tech creators, or the ones who made billions?

Let's talk about crime

If there's a spotlight focussed on crime -- or even on issues like poor public transport, or air pollution -- politicians feel impelled to do something about it

Rules for invasive gadgets likely under Digital India Act, says MoS IT

In the past, the government has cautioned social media platforms that they could lose safe harbours for not complying with Indian laws

8 of 10 urban Indian women use internet; harassment key concern: Survey

As many as 8 in 10 urban Indian women are now using internet for a range of activities, but many struggle with online harassment, abuse, trolling, and want action to be taken for making internet safer, according to a survey by LocalCircles. The survey revealed that 76 per cent of urban Indian women are using internet to stay in touch with family and friends, while 57 per cent are using it for finding information, and for entertainment. Nearly 83 per cent of those surveyed believe more actions need to be taken to make it safer for women to use the internet without being trolled, harassed, abused, facing extortion and fraud, LocalCircles release said detailing the findings of the survey. "Key concerns of urban Indian women when using the internet include online sexual harassment, trolling, abuse, extortion and fraud," the survey said. The survey received over 23,000 responses from citizens located in 301 urban districts of India, the release said, adding that 61 per cent respondents

Unable to connect

Internet shutdowns must be minimised

MoS IT launches Grievance Appellate Committee to ensure safe internet

"The move is to make sure that the internet remains open and safe for users in the country. These are early days for the committee and it will keep evolving as days progress," the minister said

India scores on innovation, internet use, modest on cybersecurity: Report

India fares well on parametres such as innovation and harnessing benefits of internet, but still has ground to cover when it comes to protection against cybercrime and invasion of privacy, according to a latest report. Without an exclusive cybersecurity law, Indians have to rely on "anachronistic" and sectoral regulations, making "protect" the weakest link in India's otherwise remarkable digital transformation, said the State of India's Digital Economy (SIDE) report. The report traces digital transformation thorugh four stages of connect, harness, innovate and protect framework. The report by ICRIER Prosus Centre for Internet and the Digital Economy (IPCIDE) gives a thumbs up to India's performance on "innovation" and harnessing the power of digital services. The 'harness' pillar measures how India is using the internet to generate growth, create jobs and improve governance. "Despite being a lower-middle income country compared to its G20 peers, India's performance is significantly

Cyber security breaches are up multiple times as Internet penetration grows

Data accessed by IANS said that cyber security incidents related to government institutions have increased significantly, particularly in 2022

Internet's most expensive domain gets just 88,800 monthly visitors

Call it bizarre but the most expensive domain ever on Web, that was bought for $30 million, receives only 88,800 visitors per month

Wikimedia Foundation urges Pakistan to restore access to Wikipedia

The Foundation received a notification from the PTA on February 1, 2023, stating "the services of Wikipedia have been degraded for 48 hours" for failure to remove content from site deemed "unlawful"

Wikipedia blocked in Pakistan on account of blasphemous content: Report

Pakistan has blocked Wikipedia after the website refused to remove offensive or blasphemous material, according to a media report on Saturday. The blacklisting of Wikipedia comes days after the Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) degraded Wikipedia services for 48 hours, threatening to block it if the content deemed blasphemous' was not deleted, The News newspaper reported. When a PTA spokesperson was contacted late on Friday night and inquired about the blocking of Wikipedia, the official confirmed that yes it had been blocked, it reported. On the instruction of the high court, the PTA degraded disrupting and slowing access to the encyclopedia website for 48 hours because there was blasphemous content on it. Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia, created and edited by volunteers around the world and hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation. The PTA spokesperson stated that Wikipedia was approached for blocking/removal of the said content by issuing a notice. An opportunity for a hear