U.S. and more than 55 other countries pledge to keep an open internet

The document, which isn’t legally binding, aims to be a reference “for public policymakers, as well as citizens, businesses and civil society organizations.”

By David McCabe

April 28, 2022

The United States and more than 55 other governments have pledged to reinforce democracy online by agreeing not to shut down access to the internet, use algorithms to illegally spy on citizens or run misinformation campaigns to undermine elections, the White House said on Thursday.

The governments said they would not block or limit the reach of legal content or illegally gain access to an individual’s personal data. The countries also pledged to promote access to the internet and protect the safety of its users, especially young people and women.

The pledge is not legally binding, but the countries, including Ukraine, Argentina and New Zealand, said in the document that it should “be used as a reference for public policymakers, as well as citizens, businesses and civil society organizations.”

Governments that have aggressively regulated American tech giants, like the European Commission, Britain and Australia, endorsed the pledge as well. Brazil and India, two of the most important markets for technology in the world, did not.

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Senior Biden administration officials said the pledge — called the Declaration for the Future of the Internet — helped to serve as a counterpoint to countries, like China and Russia, that try to wall off the internet from the rest of the world. One item in the pledge says countries won’t create “social score cards,” seemingly a reference to China’s “social credit” system.

American officials have grown especially worried in recent years about Beijing’s efforts to extend its influence over global technology. China has promoted its telecommunications equipment to use in 5G wireless networks and invested in domestic production of products like microchips. Biden administration officials spent months developing the pledge; their efforts initially faced some resistance from activists and experts who worried that measures included in a draft proposal last year would be difficult for smaller countries to sign on to.

WarnerMedia, Discovery complete merger, become Warner Bros. Discovery

AT&T’s WarnerMedia unit and Discovery have completed their merger, the companies said on Friday.

The combined company, Warner Bros Discovery Inc, will start trading on the Nasdaq on Monday under the ticker symbol “WBD”.

In May last year, the companies set out to merge and become a standalone media business, with AT&T aiming to focus more on its wireless ambitions and Discovery looking to beef up its content library.

“With the close of this transaction, we expect to invest at record levels in our growth areas of 5G and fiber, where we have strong momentum,” AT&T Chief Executive Officer John Stankey said in a statement.

Warner Bros Discovery’s portfolio includes Discovery Channel, Warner Bros. Entertainment, CNN, HBO, Cartoon Network; streaming services Discovery+ and HBO Max; and franchises like “Batman” and “Harry Potter”.

A top priority for David Zaslav, the long-time Discovery veteran leading the combined entity, is to make streaming video as profitable as the old TV business, analysts said.

Discovery On Thursday announced the executive team to lead the new Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), leaning heavily on a trusted group of lieutenants, many of whom have worked with its chief executive since his days at NBC.

Nine high-level WarnerMedia executives, including Chief Executive Jason Kilar and Studios and Network chief Ann Sarnoff, announced their exits ahead of the formation of the combined company earlier this week.

Elon Musk to join Twitter board after taking $2.9bn stake

Tesla and SpaceX boss becomes social media platform’s biggest shareholder with 9.2%

Twitter has announced it is appointing Elon Musk to its board the day after the world’s richest person was revealed to be the social media platform’s biggest shareholder with a 9.2% stake.

Parag Agrawal, the Twitter chief executive, said on Tuesday that he was “excited” to announce that Musk was joining the company’s board of directors. “Through conversations with Elon in recent weeks, it became clear to us that he would bring great value to our board,” he said in a tweet.

Agrawal said Musk was both a “passionate believer and intense critic” of the service and that was “exactly what we need on @Twitter, and in the boardroom, to make us stronger in the long term”.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/apr/05/elon-musk-join-twitter-board-stake-tesla-spacex?utm_source=meio&utm_medium=email