My Way News - Berlusconi moves to impose Internet regulation
My Way News reports: "Going beyond other European countries, the premier's government has drafted a decree that would mandate the vetting of videos for pornographic or violent content uploaded by users onto such sites as YouTube, owned by Google, and the France-based Dailymotion, as well as blogs and online newsmedia."

Comment: This is extraordinary, coming only days after U.S. Secretary of State Clinton encouraged China to become more open and lessen internet censorship, one of the core countries of Western Europe is going in the other direction. Rule by decree? Have the fascists returned to Rome?

My Way News - China slams US criticism of Internet controls
My Way News reports: "Beijing issued a stinging response Friday to Hillary Rodham Clinton's criticism that it is jamming the free flow of words and ideas on the Internet, accusing the United States of damaging relations between the two countries by imposing its 'information imperialism' on China. [...] In her speech in Washington, Clinton cited China as among a number of countries where there has been "a spike in threats to the free flow of information" over the past year. She also named Tunisia, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam."

My Way News - China tells Web companies to obey controls
My Way News reports: "In China's first official response to Google's threat to leave the country, the government Thursday said foreign Internet companies are welcome but must obey the law and gave no hint of a possible compromise over Web censorship."

Google reports China-based attack, says pullout possible - CNN.com
CNN reports: "Google said Tuesday the company and at least 20 others were victims of a 'highly sophisticated and targeted attack' originating in China in mid-December, evidently to gain access to the e-mail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. [...] as a result of the attacks, Google has decided it is no longer willing to consider censorship of its Google site in China and may have to shut down its site and its offices in that nation."

Skilled foreigners must get UK identity cards - BusinessWeek
Business Week reports: "New regulations that took effect Wednesday require skilled foreign workers who extend their stay in Britain to obtain identity cards containing biometric data, including finger prints and photographs."

My Way News - UK privacy concerns likely to impede body scanners
My Way News reports: "Britain's government wants to quickly deploy full body scanners at U.K. airports to fight an expanded terrorist threat, but privacy concerns - and fears that children may be exploited - seem likely to slow the plan."