Susan Crawford’s new book, Captive Audience, details a host of challenges for the Internet and its users as this network enters middle age. Many of its recent growing pains come at the hands of network providers like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon that sell access to the global network.

Who controls the Internet?

That question rests uneasily at the center of debates this week at the World Conference on International Telecommunications in Dubai.

The 12-day wonkfest has brought together representatives from more than 150 U.N. member states to craft global rules for the Internet. And that's where the trouble begins.

Lost in the media frenzy of last Tuesday’s elections was one broadcaster’s 11th-hour attempt to bias voters against President Barack Obama.

Just hours before Americans went to the polls on Tuesday, Sinclair Broadcast Group — which owns more than 70 TV stations nationwide — forced newscasters in battleground states to air a “special” that attacked President Obama’s positions on health care, jobs and foreign policy.

In 2012, politics are all about spreading lies and making money.

And we’re not talking nickels and dimes. Campaigns and Super PACs are raising billions of dollars to win over voters. A large chunk of that money ends up in the pockets of local broadcasters who are selling off the airwaves to place political ads. And way too many of these ads are dishonest.

If you're a television viewer in a battleground market that means having to endure a relentless stream of misinformation. Best estimates are that more than half a million political ads will air nationwide by Election Day.