Cuba, an Internet laggard, opens Wi-Fi hotspots across country

By Jaime Hamre Havana (Reuters) – Cuba has opened 35 Wi-Fi access points nationwide, offering unprecedented online access in a country that until now has restricted use of the Internet to an elite few. Before the Wi-Fi signals became available on Wednesday, broadband Internet access had been limited to largely to desktops at state Internet parlors and pricey hotels

Read more

California cancer patient with amnesia identified by sister: NBC

(Reuters) – A woman with amnesia who has been undergoing cancer treatments since she was found semiconscious in Southern California has been identified by her sister after turning to social media in a bid to rekindle her memory and find her family, an NBC affiliate in San Diego reported on Thursday.

Read more

Charter lists consumer benefits to win merger approval

(Reuters) – Charter Communications Inc formally argued for regulatory approval for its Time Warner Cable Inc and Bright House Networks deals, saying consumers would benefit as Internet services would become cheaper and faster.

Read more

HBO offers premiere episodes of two series on Facebook

(Reuters) – Television network HBO said it would offer the premiere episodes of two new comedy series on Facebook, underlining the growing popularity of the social networking site as a video platform. With about 1.44 billion monthly active users, Facebook has become a sough-after outlet for companies looking to market their products via online videos, the fastest growing category of Internet ads

Read more

Facebook gaining ground on YouTube in video ads, report says

By Eric Auchard and Leila Abboud FRANKFURT/PARIS (Reuters) – Facebook is gaining ground on Google's YouTube as an outlet for big companies to market their products via online videos, the fastest growing category of Internet ads, a report published on Monday said. The competition for video viewers opens up a new front in the clash between the two web giants that already compete in other types of advertising given their appeal to young and international consumers, Ampere Analysis said in a study.

Read more

China detains nine for spreading rumors about the military

Chinese authorities have detained nine people for spreading rumors on the Internet that several military officers were involved in protests and for damaging the military's image, the military's official newspaper said on Friday. Some of them also “demonized the military's image”, it said.

Read more

Court declines to suspend U.S. net neutrality rules

By Alina Selyukh WASHINGTON (Reuters) – New U.S. Internet traffic regulations, known as net neutrality rules, will go into effect on Friday after a federal appeals court rejected the telecommunications industry's request to partly suspend their implementation while they are being litigated

Read more

Cyber security measure blocked in Senate

The Senate failed on Thursday to advance legislation to strengthen protections against cyber attacks, as Democrats banded together to oppose the measure's inclusion in a defense policy bill President Barack Obama has threatened to veto. By a 56-40 vote, lawmakers decided largely along party lines not to move ahead with the measure as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. It was the third time in three years that the Senate has failed to advance bipartisan cyber security legislation.

Read more