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In the battle for control of the Internet, the US holds most of the cards. Now Russia and China are calling for greater individual state power, while others argue the UN is best placed to manage the global network.

In China, the popularity of DIY hacking is on the rise, with the state now funding new hackerspaces in the hope of encouraging innovation. But can the hacker ethic flourish in a country with a poor record of protecting freedoms?

Last week 22 EU member states signed up to the ACTA treaty. The rapporteur of the treaty for the EU Parliament, Kader Arif, immediately resigned, describing the agreement as a “farce”. OWNI spoke to him shortly afterwards.

In China, workers in factories producing popular toys this Christmas face long hours for poor pay in dangerous conditions lacking in basic human rights. Two NGO’s have spoken out against companies such as Mattel and Disney.

A crisis-stricken Europe is looking towards China’s funds to keep the economy floating. But does China have a vested interest in fostering Europe’s dependency on emerging industries?

In China, WikiLeaks’ unredacted diplomatic cables caused named individuals to be labeled as traitors – even though most of them merely work in government jobs requiring regular contact with the US.

Nations have traditionally used people’s names to organize civilization, yet these systems are not homogeneous throughout the world. As the “cyber sovereigns” begin to organize social media, people’s identities are forced to adapt.

The word “revolutionary”, when used these days regarding Africa, is less likely to be referring to a ‘revolutionary guard’ than an expression of people power, or technological innovation.

China is notorious for obstructing the work of foreign correspondents, using methods of intimidation towards journalists and their sources. As reporter Melissa Chan from Al Jazeera summarizes “You develop a level of paranoia sometimes, engrossed in the mission of filming enough footage before getting stopped.”

Author Alexis Madrigal examines the history of green technologies in America, illuminating how they have been entangled with our culture, ethics, and government policy.

Jan Muehlfeit, director of Microsoft France, shares his vision on the future between economic crises and the rise of Asian power.

With the rise of nationalistic sentiment in China, a majority of mainland Chinese support the government’s policy in restricting the export of rare earths to Japan and other western countries.