Google Awards Georgia Tech $1 Million to Create More Internet Transparency, Minimize Censorship

By

Clearly frustrated with the recent episodes in Egypt and Libya, Google is fighting back against government-inspired Internet censorship. On Tuesday, the search engine giant awarded a $1 million research grant to Georgia Tech to create a more "transparent" global Web experience.

The Atlanta-based institution will receive the two-year unrestricted Google Research Focused Award with a third-year option for an additional $500,000 if the company believes that more work needs to be done.

Specifically, the team of researchers will work to build a suite of "Web-based, Internet-scale measurement tools" that will enable users from across the globe to identify whether their Web data is being corrupted by governments or Internet service providers. The free set of tools should also allow users to find out if their ISP is providing the level of service that they are paying for.

Wenke Lee, a professor in the School of Computer Science and a principal investigator for the research, said that the project is designed to enable a more "transparency ecosystem."

"For example, say something happens again like what happened in Egypt recently, when the Internet was essentially shut down," Lee said. "If we have a community of Internet user-participants in that country, we will know instantly when a government or ISP starts to block traffic, tamper with search results, even alter web-based information in order to spread propaganda."

The grant is not just to keep governments from tampering with or shutting down the Internet, however. Lee and colleagues will use the grant to analyze the performance of user networks and compare them to the performance that was originally pledged by the ISP. The researchers will also evaluate the "reachability" of the Internet from various access networks as well as the integrity of the data that travels along them.

Fellow principal investigator Nick Feamster said the team will be looking at both traditional and cellular-based Web connections.


Beecher Tuttle is a TechZone360 contributor. He has extensive experience writing and editing for print publications and online news websites. He has specialized in a variety of industries, including health care technology, politics and education. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Tammy Wolf

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. [Free eNews Subscription]

TechZone360 Contributor

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Related Articles

Can Science Outsmart Deepfake Deceivers? Klick Labs Proposes an Emerging Solution

By: Alex Passett    3/25/2024

Researchers at Klick Labs were able to identify audio deepfakes from authentic audio recordings via new vocal biomarker technology (alongside AI model…

Read More

Top 5 Best Ways to Integrate Technology for Successful Project-Based Learning

By: Contributing Writer    3/19/2024

Project-based learning, also popularly known as the PBL curriculum, emphasizes using and integrating technology with classroom teaching. This approach…

Read More

How to Protect Your Website From LDAP Injection Attacks

By: Contributing Writer    3/12/2024

Prevent LDAP injection attacks with regular testing, limiting access privileges, sanitizing user input, and applying the proper encoding functions.

Read More

Azure Cost Optimization: 5 Things You Can Do to Save on Azure

By: Contributing Writer    3/7/2024

Azure cost optimization is the process of managing and reducing the overall cost of using Azure. It involves understanding the resources you're using,…

Read More

Massive Meta Apps and Services Outage Impacts Users Worldwide

By: Alex Passett    3/5/2024

Meta's suite of apps and services are experiencing major global outages on Super Tuesday 2024.

Read More