Internet Use in Households and by Individuals in 2012

Seybert, Heidi. "Internet Use in Households and by Individuals in 2012." Eurostat, December 13, 2012.  

From the report: "The percentage of individuals in the EU who used the internet in 2012 was 73 %. About one third of individuals used the internet on mobile devices away from home or work. There were significant differences in mobile internet usage between countries. The shares for individuals who used portable computers or handheld devices through a mobile phone network or wireless connection away from home or work were above 50 % in six Member States: Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Finland and Sweden. The shares were below 20 % in five Member States: Bulgaria, Italy, Hungary, Lithuania and Romania.

The proportion of households in the EU with access to the internet was 76 % in 2012, an increase of 6 percentage points compared with 2010. Broadband access enables higher speed when browsing and performing activities. It has now reached a level close to saturation among households with internet access. In the EU27, 72 % of households have access to broadband at home, an increase of 11 percentage points compared with 2010." Read more

U.N. Must Lead Internet Regulation Effort

Toure, Hamadoun I. "U.N. Must Lead Internet Regulation Effort ." Wired, November 7, 2012. 

From the article: "With over 90 percent of the world’s people now within reach of mobile phones, the challenge today is bringing internet access to the two-thirds of the world’s population that is still offline. This challenge is compounded by the need to ensure connectivity is affordable and safe for all.

If we can achieve this, all the world’s citizens will have the potential to access unlimited knowledge, to express themselves freely, and to contribute to and enjoy the benefits of the knowledge society.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which is the United Nations specialized agency charged with coordinating global information and communication technology (ICT) resources such as satellite slots and international wireless spectrum, will host the World Conference onInternational Telecommunications (WCIT-12) in Dubai next month ...

The conference will chart a globally agreed-upon roadmap that offers future connectivity to all, and ensures sufficient communications capacity to cope with the exponential growth in voice, video, and data. The sole focus of the event is making regulations valuable to all stakeholders, creating a robust pillar to support future growth in global communications." Read more

GAO Report Dings Location-Tracking Privacy Policies

Smith, Josh. "GAO Report Dings Location-Tracking Privacy Policies." National Journal, October 11, 2012.

From the article: "Vague privacy policies are making it hard for consumers to protect their location and other information collected by mobile devices, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Thursday.

"Companies GAO examined disclosed in their privacy policies that the companies were collecting consumers' location data, but did not clearly state how the companies were using these data or what third parties they may share them with," GAO investigators wrote. "Furthermore, although policies stated that companies shared location data with third parties, they were sometimes vague about which types of companies these were and why they were sharing the data."" Read more

See also
U.S. Government Accountability Office, "Mobile Device Location Data," Report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law, Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate, September 2012.