Finland is set to become the first country to give every citizen the right to access broadband services. It’s just announced a 1Mb minimum will apply from next July, ahead of a target of a 100Mb minimum by 2015.

Users of Twitter appear to have played a major role in overturning an unprecedented attempt to silence the press. A British court has now overturned its decision to ban a national newspaper from reporting a question scheduled to be asked in the country’s parliament.

One of the most mocked elements of Facebook from non-users is the ability to “poke” other users. But it’s serious business… especially if you are subject to a restraining order.

A man accused of unlawfully hacking into NASA’s computer systems has been refused permission to appeal to Britain’s supreme court against extradition to the United States. Gary McKinnon’s only remaining option, an appeal to European courts, appears unlikely to succeed.

A total of 101 people have been arrested and charged over their alleged involvement in phishing scams. The suspects, from the US and Egypt, are accused of tricking users into handing over online bank passwords which may have led to the theft of up to $2 million.

Analysis of the list of Hotmail passwords recently published online suggests they may have been gathered by phishing attacks aimed at the Latino community. It also suggests many people are either unimaginative or lazy when it comes to choosing a password.

Scammers who put together a list of 10,000 stolen Hotmail passwords may also be responsible for collecting 20,000 passwords from other e-mail providers. AOL, Comcast, Earthlink, Gmail and Yahoo are all said to be affected.

The crew behind the Pirate Bay filesharing site have so far defied a barrage of lawsuits and court orders aimed at taking them offline. But they were no match for a group of Big Butt Latin Maids.

When Amazon remotely deleted copies of 1984 from its Kindle readers, it may have expected to take a hit in its public image. But it surely won’t have expected to take a $150,000 dent in its wallet.

Forty years after the creation of the Internet’s forerunner, the body which now controls it has gained its independence. The United States has agreed to give up some of its controls over the net’s governing body, ICANN.

The Internet still has some way to go to replace television as the main form of entertainment, particularly when it comes to shared experiences. But in one country advertisers clearly believe it’s now the most effective media for marketing.

Google is celebrating another landmark in online video having become the first organization to chalk up 10 billion clip views in the United States a single month. The figures come as the firm appears close to ending a nine-month standoff which has kept Warner music videos off YouTube.

Google has launched a new feature to make it easier to find the precise information you want from lengthier Web pages. At the moment it appears to work most prominently with Wikipedia, but the search giant says it could theoretically work with most sites.

The judge tasked with approving or rejecting Google’s proposed copyright settlement with authors and publishers has delayed a public hearing into the case. His announcement has led to rumors that Google is planning to rewrite the settlement to quell critics.

Google is launching a new feature allowing users to post comments on any Web site in the world. The firm believes it can make SideWiki into a genuinely useful conversation tool, though it’s not clear if or how it will make money from the tool.

The British government says it plans to impose a “broadband tax” before next May. If approved by parliament, as seems near certain, it would mean everyone with a phone line would pay £6 (approximately $10) a year towards expanding the broadband network.

Facebook and Nielsen Media have agreed to a deal which will see site users polled about their attitudes to adverts placed on Facebook. It’s another sign that firms may find social media better as a source of consumer data than a means of promotion in itself.