New telecom rules would give Internet users more rights

STRASBOURG, France – The European Parliament has endorsed new telecom rules that would give phone and Internet users more rights and allow them to appeal to national courts if they are cut off for illegal file-sharing.

The rules endorsed Tuesday are part of a broad telecommunications package that also aims to boost competition for Internet and phone services. As a last resort, telecom companies could be required to separate their infrastructure and services businesses, giving other companies a shot at providing rival services on the same networks.

A new EU-wide telecoms authority also would be set up to ensure fair competition.

U.S. online ad revenue down 5.4 percent

Online advertising revenue in the U.S. fell 5.4 percent in the third quarter from a year ago, as the sputtering economy kept its tight grip on even the fastest-growing segment of the industry, according to a report released Wednesday.

But there’s a glimmer of hope: Revenue was up 1.7 percent from the second quarter, the first sequential increase since late 2008, the industry trade group Interactive Advertising Bureau said in a report prepared by PriceWaterHouseCoopers LLP.

Activists push Internet as democracy tool

BARCELONA, Spain – The Internet can be a powerful medium for politicians to get their message across but it is also a vital means for civilians to have a say in what politicians do, participants in a political conference say.

Andrew Rasiej, founder of the Personal Democracy Forum series, said tools such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube help people organize “in order to have an impact on the political process and to petition governments to be more responsive to their everyday needs.”