Skyway Recommended July 22nd to August 4th

Each Monday (except last week — away for summer rest) we’ll pass on links to articles we thought were well worth reading from the previous week, for those who live where we do (British Columbia, Canada), work like we do (high speed business internet), and think about things we do (internet trends, internet privacy, internet censorship, cutting-edge technology, etc.). If you don’t want to wait ’til Monday, we usually tweet and link to these as we come across them

The GuardianHow low-paid workers at ‘click farms’ create appearance of online popularity

How much do you like courgettes? According to one Facebook page devoted to them, hundreds of people find them delightful enough to click the “like” button – even with dozens of other pages about courgettes to choose from. There’s just one problem: the liking was fake, done by a team of low-paid workers in Dhaka, Bangladesh, whose boss demanded just $15 per thousand “likes” at his “click farm”. Workers punching the keys might be on a three-shift system, and be paid as little as $120 a year. Read More…

IT World Canada | Ottawa stands firm on giving Verizon cellular advantages over Telus, Bell, Rogers

Industry Minister James Moore says the government will “continue to stay the course” despite pleas for a level playing field if Verizon enters the market. The Harper government has made it clear it won’t change any wireless policy despire pressure from the big three incumbent carriers. Read More…

The Guardian | Facebook plans to woo big budget brands with 15-second video ads

Facebook’s plan to launch 15-second video ads into users news feeds at a cost to advertisers of up to $2.5m (£1.6m) a day marks an aggressive step-change in the company’s bid to take advantage of its huge user base and attract big budget brands. Read More…

IT World Canada | Telus taking Ottawa to court over wireless policy

Telus Corp. is making good on its promise to take the Harper government to court over its refusal to allow incumbent wireless carriers to buy startups, another way of ratcheting pressure on Ottawa to change policies it says tilt in favour of Verizon Communications and other foreign carriers who may want to come here. Read More…

The Globe and Mail | 150 Leading Canadian CEOs assail wireless rules that give edge to Verizon

A group of 150 leading Canadian CEOs is appealing to Stephen Harper to alter course on a wireless competition policy they say would hobble domestic companies while giving privileged treatment to a deep-pocketed foreign wireless player such as Verizon Communications Inc. Read More…

NY Times | Congress Defeats Effort to Rein In N.S.A. Data Gathering

A deeply divided House defeated legislation Wednesday that would have blocked the National Security Agency from collecting vast amounts of phone records, handing the Obama administration a hard-fought victory in the first Congressional showdown over the N.S.A.’s surveillance activities since Edward J. Snowden’s security breaches last month. Read More…

CBC News | Manitoba Conservative MP plans bill that would preemptively block pornography

A Tory MP from Winnipeg wants to see Canadians “opt in” before they’re allowed to view pornography online. Conservative MP Joy Smith says she wants to see Canada adopt legislation that requires residents to request access to pornography from their internet service providers or have all pornographic material preemptively blocked. Read More…