My Way News - In Sweden, cash is king no more
My Way News reports: "Bills and coins represent only 3 percent of Sweden's economy, compared to an average of 9 percent in the eurozone and 7 percent in the U.S., according to the Bank for International Settlements, an umbrella organization for the world's central banks [...] Internet startups in Sweden and elsewhere are now hard at work developing payment and banking services for smartphones [...] Most experts don't expect cash to disappear anytime soon, but that its proportion of the economy will continue to decline as such payment options become available."

NYTimes.com - Bain Capital Tied to Surveillance Push in China
The New York Times reports: "Such surveillance systems are often used to combat crime and the manufacturer has no control over whether they are used for other purposes. But human rights advocates say in China they are also used to intimidate and monitor political and religious dissidents. 'There are video cameras all over our monastery, and their only purpose is to make us feel fear,' said Loksag, a Tibetan Buddhist monk in Gansu Province. He said the cameras helped the authorities identify and detain nearly 200 monks who participated in a protest at his monastery in 2008."

Comment: It's sad when companies born in American freedom export technology to repressive countries. It's even worse when that technology is used to persecute Christians and other minorities.

My Way News - Obama administration seeks online privacy rules
My Way News reports: "Administration officials outlined a proposed 'Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights' on Thursday and urged technology companies, consumer groups and others to jointly craft new protections. Such guidelines will initially be voluntary for companies, but those that agree to abide by them could be subject to sanctions for any violations [...] The effort comes as companies have found more sophisticated ways to collect and combine data on your interests and habits."

My Way News - Eastern Europeans fuel fight for Internet freedoms
My Way News reports: "In a region where people remember being spied upon and controlled by oppressive communist regimes, the treaty has provoked fears of a new surveillance regime. The pact aims to fight intellectual property theft - like fake Gucci handbags and violations of pharmaceutical patents. But it also targets online piracy - illegal downloads of music, films and software - and calls for measures that critics say would bring surveillance of Internet users."

My Way News - Thailand welcomes Twitter;s new censorship policy
My Way News reports: "Thailand is welcoming Twitter's new policy to censor tweets in specific nations where the content might break laws. Technology minister Anudith Nakornthap said Monday the new policy was a 'constructive' development. The Southeast Asian country routinely blocks websites with content deemed offensive to the Thai monarchy."

CBS News - "Electronic tattoo" moving out of sci-fi realm
CBS News reports: "The National Science Foundation today released a video giving the latest news from researchers trying to develop flexible electronics that can be placed on the skin or embedded in the body. The hope is that these devices can be used to diagnose or provide care to patients. The group is testing prototype circuits that can detect muscle, heart, and brain activity with a skin-attached temporary 'tattoo.' These devices, made from small curly wires embedded in flexible membranes, perform as well as rigid electrodes, according to the NSF."

Comment: This is an interesting development. This tech is a bit different than the RFID tattoo we noted a few years ago, but it's still an interesting combination of useful technology with a skin (or below skin) based application.

My Way News - Twitter may censor tweets in individual countries
My Way News reports: "Twitter has refined its technology so it can censor messages on a country-by-country basis [...] Twitter will post a censorship notice whenever a tweet is removed. That's similar to what Internet search leader Google Inc. has been doing for years when a law in a country where its service operates requires a search result to be removed. Like Google, Twitter also plans to the share the removal requests it receives from governments, companies and individuals at the chillingeffects.org website."

New Scientist - FBI releases plans to monitor social networks
New Scientist reports: "The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has quietly released details of plans to continuously monitor the global output of Facebook, Twitter and other social networks, offering a rare glimpse into an activity that the FBI and other government agencies are reluctant to discuss publicly. The plans show that the bureau believes it can use information pulled from social media sites to better respond to crises, and maybe even to foresee them."

The Economist - India’s UID scheme: Reform by numbers
The Economist reports: "FOR a country that fails to meet its most basic challenges— feeding the hungry, piping clean water, fixing roads—it seems incredible that India is rapidly building the world’s biggest, most advanced, biometric database of personal identities. Launched in 2010, under a genial ex-tycoon, Nandan Nilekani, the 'unique identity' (UID) scheme is supposed to roll out trustworthy, unduplicated identity numbers based on biometric and other data."

My Way News - Protest exposes Silicon Valley-Hollywood rivalry
My Way News reports: "In a move that heightens the growing tension between Silicon Valley and Hollywood, Wikipedia and other websites went dark Wednesday in protest of two congressional proposals intended to thwart the online piracy of copyrighted movies and TV programs [...] Critics believe such tinkering with core Internet technology treads into dangerous territory that could lead to online censorship."