My 2008 book, The Blogging Revolution, documented the rise of web censorship across the world and those fighting against it. Tragically, the problem is only getting worse in Asia and rest assured many Western web multinationals are involved: Governments across south-east Asia are following China‘s authoritarian censorship of the digital world to keep political dissent…
Showing all posts tagged censorship
Censoring millions of Chinese posts daily
A revealing insight into the world of Chinese internet censorship. Massive and growing: According to the report at tech.163 on 13 of October 2010, the head of Baidu Tieba, an automatically generated forum through keyword search, Shu Xun said that the forum on average deleted 1 million posts every day. The report said: “During a…
Failing to take responsibility for what Zionism has created
Following the publication of the Independent Australian Jewish Voices advertisement across the Australian media yesterday, Zionist columnist Mark Baker writes in the Australian Jewish News that debate over “Jewish” issues should be wider but he still wants to proscribe certain boundaries. He condemns the lack of “balance” in the IAJV statement, implying somehow that both…
Yet more signs of an insecure Islamic leadership
Why does Tehran continue playing into America and Israel’s hands? Repression is a bad look, politically and morally repulsive: Reporters Without Borders is outraged that the Iranian government is reinforcing and extending its online censorship and repression of netizens. Several news and information websites have been blocked in the past few days including those of…
The curious relationship between Wikileaks and everybody else
What a story: Where do you draw the line between free speech and national security? At what point do issues of justice trump potential threats to soldiers, translators and informants? Last Thursday, Julian Assange answered these questions and more in a debate pitting him against the Times columnist David Aaronovitch at London’s City University that…
Countless Iranian names whose lives are changed forever
A moving tribute to “Iran’s interrupted lives”, the countless young Iranians imprisoned, beaten, tortured and killed in the name of a perverse Islam.
Hoder sees the darkest side of Ahmadinejad’s brutality
The outrage of imprisoning Iranian blogger Hossein Derakhshan for 19.5 years, the longest sentence ever given for anybody in his position. A profoundly insecure and undemocratic regime has shamed itself before the world.
Hearing the calls from Hoder deep inside Iran
Years ago, in Budapest, I briefly spent time with Iranian blogger Hoder, currently held in Iran and facing the death penalty. It’s a tragic case and highlights the immorality of large sections of the Islamic Republic elite. I was sent the following information via Facebook yesterday and it adds some details to a story that…
Listen to the lessons from Haystack or lives may be lost
The ongoing scandal over the faulty Haystack web censorship circumvention tool – aka web gurus being far too quick to praise something without proper testing – brings an important statement from Electronic Frontier Foundation: Writing software to protect political activists against censorship and surveillance is a tricky business. If those activists are living under the…