Last week, the European Commission laid out its position on sovereign wealth funds, saying that EU nations should avoid ‘uncoordinated responses’ that could scare off investors.  In spite of this, Germany said on Wednesday it would push ahead with its own legislation aimed at shielding companies from unwanted foreign takeovers.  [...]

According to the International Herald Tribune, “[a] Japanese government panel is proposing to govern ‘influential, widely read news-related sites as newspapers and broadcasting are now regulated.’  The government is also seeking to rein in some of the more unsavory aspects of the Internet, leaving in its wake, critics say, the [...]

The Mercury News reveals that “[o]nline advertising revenues exceeded $21 billion for the first time in 2007, although preliminary data compiled by an industry trade group also suggests growth is slowing. The Interactive Advertising Bureau said its estimates show ad revenues grew 25 percent last year from nearly $17 billion [...]

I’m here in Geneva at the Open Forum Europe conference, listening to discussions about the problem with standards bodies today. More specifically, listening to IBM’s take on the problem with any standards body that would approve Open XML (like ECMA). […]

AFP reveals that “Pakistan has ordered all Internet service providers to block the YouTube website for containing ‘blasphemous’ content and material considered offensive to Islam.  […]  An inter-ministerial committee has decided to block YouTube because it contained ‘blasphemous content, videos and documents,’ a government official told AFP.  ‘The site will [...]