RIP AIM, the instant messaging service that shaped our teenage lives

Dec 15, 2017
AOL's service primed a generation for the 24-7 social media world we have today.
A Brazilian woman logs onto AOL at a cybercafe in Sao Paulo in 1999.
MARIE HIPPENMEYER/AFP/Getty Images

Net neutrality is gone, so now what for consumers?

Dec 14, 2017
The FCC vote lifts many restrictions on internet service providers.

What tech companies are saying about the repeal of net neutrality rules

Dec 14, 2017
In a 3-to-2 vote, the FCC ruled to roll back net neutrality policy established under the Obama administration.
A small group of protestors supporting net neutrality protest against a plan by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) head Ajit Pai, during a protest outside a Verizon store on December 7, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. 
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Could municipal broadband provide another way online if net neutrality rules go away?

Dec 12, 2017
What would city-provided internet look like? And how much would it cost?
Protesters gather on Boylston Street in front of a Verizon store during a Net neutrality rally on Dec. 7 in Boston, Massachusetts.
RYAN MCBRIDE/AFP/Getty Images

Is it worth commenting on a federal rule?

Nov 22, 2017
The Federal Communications Commission is planning to repeal rules on net neutrality that say internet providers can’t choose to load some websites faster than others. But before the agency could make that announcement, it had to go through what’s called a comment period to release its proposal to the public and then give people a […]

Time to pay attention to net neutrality again

Nov 21, 2017
The Federal Communications Commission will not uphold Obama-era net neutrality rules. Today, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai asked the commission to adopt a more free-market approach to regulating the internet. Net neutrality is the idea that all data transmitted over the internet be treated equally and companies can’t slow down or charge different rates for different […]

FCC targets net neutrality

Nov 21, 2017
The next target of the Trump administration’s regulatory rollback appears to be net neutrality. The Obama-era rule that says all internet traffic has to be treated equally. The Federal Communications Commission is expected to release a new net neutrality rule this week reversing that decision. Here’s how net neutrality works. Think of the web as […]

For public good, not for profit.

How consumers hold businesses accountable

Nov 3, 2017
Boycotts and protests can have a big effect when it comes to regulating businesses.
American Airlines joins the ranks of companies faced with consumer boycotts.
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Can technology make the census more accurate?

Oct 31, 2017
The census influences how hundreds of billions of dollars are spent. Will reaching out online improve the response rate?
Forms for Census 2010 are displayed during an event April 1, 2010 in Washington, DC.
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Why is the internet so sick?

Oct 30, 2017
The head of the Mozilla Foundation warns that the internet is "sick" and needs treatment.
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