Stories from Abroad

Since 2010, the Benton Foundation and the New America Foundation have partnered to highlight telecommunications debates from countries outside the U.S.

Apple Terminated Epic’s Developer Account

We recently announced that Apple approved our Epic Games Sweden AB developer account. We intended to use that account to bring the Epic Games Store and Fortnite to iOS devices in Europe thanks to the Digital Markets Act (DMA). To our surprise, Apple has terminated that account and now we cannot develop the Epic Games Store for iOS.

Forced to Change: Tech Giants Bow to Global Onslaught of Rules

Soon, Google will have changed how it displays certain search results. Microsoft will no longer have Windows customers use its Bing internet search tool by default. And Apple will give iPhone and iPad users access to rival app stores and payment systems for the first time. The tech giants have been preparing ahead of a March 6 deadline to comply with a new European Union law intended to increase competition in the digital economy.

How Antarctica’s history of isolation is ending—thanks to Starlink

“This is one of the least visited places on planet Earth and I got to open the door,” Matty Jordan, a construction specialist at New Zealand’s Scott Base in Antarctica, wrote in the caption to the video he posted to Instagram and TikTok in October 2023. In the video, he guides viewers through an empty, echoing hut, pointing out where the men of Ernest Shackleton’s 1907 expedition lived and worked—the socks still hung up to dry and the provisions still stacked neatly in place, preserved by the cold. Jordan, who started making TikToks to keep family and friends up to date with his life in Ant

Breaking Barriers: Examining the digital exclusion of women and online gender-based violence in Sudan

In a globalised world where the internet transformed our earth into a small village, the global South is left lagging. Internet accessibility remains a major hurdle facing a large proportion of people in the global South. The situation in Sudan is no exception. In the light of the economic instability, political turmoil and the United States-led economic sanctions imposed on Sudan, internet accessibility and making beneficial use of the internet are a real challenge, especially for women. This research explores the barriers to women’s access to and use of the internet in Sudan.

Yes, remote learning can work for preschoolers

The other day some preschoolers were pretending to be one of their favorite Sesame Street characters, a baby goat named Ma’zooza who likes round things. They played with tomatoes—counting up to five, hiding one, and putting it back. A totally ordinary moment exploring shapes, numbers, and imagination.

Federal Communications Commissioner Carr in India for Bilateral Meetings

Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr is in New Delhi, India, for a series of bilateral meetings focused on security, supply chain, and connectivity matters. Over the course of two days, Carr will meet with his Indian counterparts, including officials at the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, the Department of Telecommunications, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, and the National Cyber Coordination Centre.

A Tech Accord to Combat Deceptive Use of AI in 2024 Elections

At the Munich Security Conference, leading technology companies pledged to help prevent deceptive AI content from interfering with the 2024 global elections in which more than four billion people in over 40 countries will vote. The “Tech Accord to Combat Deceptive Use of AI in 2024 Elections” is a set of commitments to deploy technology countering harmful AI-generated content meant to deceive voters.

The United States, Austria, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom Announce Extension of Agreement on the Transition from Existing Digital Services Taxes to New Multilateral Solution Agreed by the G20/OECD Inclusive Framework

On October 8, 2021, a historic agreement was reached between over 130 countries of the G20/OECD Inclusive Framework on a two Pillar package of reforms to the international tax framework.In support of that agreement, in a joint statement on October 21, 2021, the United States, Austria, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom announced the terms of a political compromise on the transition from existing Digital Services Taxes to the new multilateral solution and to continuing discussions on this matter through constructive dialogue. In light of the continuing multilateral negotiations at

Ukraine Says Russia Is Using Starlink at the Front Line, Prompting Pushback From Elon Musk

Russian forces are using SpaceX’s satellite internet system near the front line in occupied parts of Ukraine, Kyiv’s military intelligence agency said, potentially undercutting a major battlefield advantage for Ukraine’s army.

Tech rivals hound Apple over EU App Store plans

There's one thing uniting big and small tech companies operating in Europe: they can't stand Apple's approach to complying with the European Union's new Digital Markets Act (DMA). The DMA designates six big tech companies as online gatekeepers—Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft—and obligates them to open their platforms to competition. Apple's DMA compliance plan allows developers to set up alternative app stores and avoid Apple's in-app payment system.