State Department

Will Secretary of State Clinton's "Internet Freedom Agenda" Finally Get Traction?

Kara Swisher in News on February 16, 2011 at 7:09 am PT

Yesterday, in a major policy speech in Washington, D.C., Secretary of State Hillary Clinton jumped on the Internet bandwagon again, unveiling a $25 million government investment for entrepreneurs to allow dissidents to thwart “thugs, hackers and censors.” Since that’s about the amount a third-string social photo-sharing site gets while walking down University Avenue in Palo Alto, Calif., from venture capitalists with bags of money to spend, let me just say the money is, well, underwhelming. Clinton’s speech, thankfully, was much better.

Voices

Clinton Calls for Global Standards for Internet Use

Jay Solomon, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on February 15, 2011 at 12:35 pm PT

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for common global standards to guide the use of the Internet, while increasing pressure on countries like Iran, Syria and China to allow the free flow of information in their societies.

2010 Was the Year the Internet Got Scary. Get Used to It.

Arik Hesseldahl in Enterprise on December 30, 2010 at 7:00 am PT

The year just ending started with an attack on Google by China and ended with the WikiLeaks affair. In the meantime, the Stuxnet worm showed the way toward a world where skilled hackers can cause serious real-world damage. Scared yet?

Is the State Department's Tweeter-in-Chief Headed to Google?

Kara Swisher in News on July 23, 2010 at 8:54 am PT

Jared Cohen, who has gained fame as the State Department’s social networking phenom and the youngest member of its policy planning staff, is considering taking a job at Google in a strategic policy role, said several sources close to the situation. Cohen has been in discussions with Google recently about going there, those sources said, although it is not a done deal. In other words, the revolving door between D.C. and Silicon Valley keeps on turning, especially Googlers.

Skype on a Plane? Please Don’t.

Peter Kafka in Media on March 11, 2010 at 1:46 pm PT

More and more airlines are adding wireless, which means you can now turn your seat into a flying videoconference room. But you shouldn’t.

Another Googler Joins the Obama Administration–Now We've Got a Foursome!

Kara Swisher in News on February 3, 2010 at 5:01 am PT

It will be like they never left the Googleplex in Silicon Valley if this Washington, D.C., invasion of execs from the search giant keeps up. The fourth new geek in town is Sumit Agarwal, who was head of Google’s mobile product management and has become the deputy assistant secretary of defense for outreach and social media in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense. It’s interesting to see so many key appointments in the tech arena going to one company, especially one so immersed now in national and international policy issues.

Voices

Web Access Is New Clinton Doctrine

Siobhan Gorman, National Security Correspondent, The Wall Street Journal in News on January 20, 2010 at 11:23 pm PT

The U.S. plans to make unrestricted access to the Internet a top foreign-policy priority, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton plans to announce Thursday. The announcement, which has been scheduled for weeks, comes in the wake of accusations last week that Chinese hackers penetrated Google Inc.’s computer networks.