Congressman Bob Goodlatte

An update to the Video Privacy Protection Act, instated in 1988, will allow Netflix subscribers in the U.S. to automatically share account activity on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Netflix has pushed for the legislation, which they say will lead to an increase in business; such social sharing has proved beneficial in other places throughout the world.

Over the course of the year, social media experienced its fair share of "firsts." Marked by major events like the Summer Olympics, the presidential election, Hurricane Sandy, and turmoil abroad, 2012 saw innovations in social media that far exceeded our expectations. And with the year coming to an end, the Internet is flooded with speculation about what will come next.

The Year in Review

The Year 2012 in Review

With 2012 coming to an end, time has come to evaluate the year we just lived. On the surface, not much changed in 2012 with respect to the partisan political culture that dominates the broad public dialogue.
The Year in Review

The Year 2012 in Review

With 2012 coming to an end, time has come to evaluate the year we just lived. On the surface, not much changed in 2012 with respect to the partisan political culture that dominates the broad public dialogue.

2012 was a big year for IVN. It was a year of significant expansion and accomplishments. IVN reached out to an audience of over seven million people with content written by independent contributors for independent-minded voters.

Below is a list of the top ten most popular articles from the last year:

(Credit: rferl.org)

From the Syrian war to sanctions on Iran, Russia is playing a visible role in the world. With new legislation passed by the Duma, the lower parliamentary chamber, Russia is also asserting itself in what continues to be a chilly relations with the United States.

As reports slowly trickle in disclosing the money spent the week leading up to 2012’s presidential election, the identities of the spenders are coming into focus. Yet, even the most avid researcher won’t see the whole picture given current campaign finance disclosure requirements.