The news that Google is leaving China is causing headlines around the world. I was interviewed about the ramifications of the decision on yesterday’s current affairs program Hack on ABC’s Triple J:
Showing all posts tagged censorship
Google should be praised for taking on China
The decision of Google to essentially withdraw from China is highly significant and a (better late than never) acknowledgement that Beijing treats its citizens with contempt: Google shut down its search service in the Chinese mainland last night after a two-month standoff with Beijing over online freedom and an alleged intrusion by hackers. But Chinese…
A rare example of a web firm saying ‘no’ to China
A positive sign in many ways and shows that not all Western firms will always bow to Beijing’s demands. Of course, the flip argument is that the departure of Google will leave one… less non-Chinese company in the country, a group that may sometimes challenge strict web censorship: Google will today set out plans to close…
Where the search for web freedom burns strongest
“Internet freedom” at Google Trends: Washington, Toronto, Beijing – cities with the most searches (via Evgeny Morozov).
Web liberation in the Islamic Republic needs more than lip service
Iranian dissidents clearly need more global support but surely backing from the US government is sending the completely wrong message? At a time when the Obama administration is pressing for harsher sanctions against Iran for its nuclear program, democracy advocates in Iran have been celebrating the recent decision by the United States to lift sanctions…
Wikileaks is the wonderful site that upsets the powerful
The undeniable power of the Wikileaks website – releasing supposedly classified documents to allow transparency in the public domain – now makes a rather comical story in the New York Times: To the list of the enemies threatening the security of the United States, the Pentagon has added WikiLeaks.org, a tiny online source of information…
Our fine Saudi mates
The charming behaviour of a reliable American ally: A Saudi man who was arrested in January on charges of homosexuality, a “general security” offence, and impersonation of a police officer has been sentenced to 1,000 lashes, plus a fine of 5,000 rials (US $1,333) and a year in prison. Authorities say their attention was drawn…
How the Iranian blogosphere fights back
I’ve written extensively over the years about Iranian web censorship. My following piece was commissioned by BBC Persian on the role of the web in Iran’s current political troubles (yes, it’s in Farsi). Here’s the English version: The face of murdered Iranian woman Neda Agha Soltan by a sniper’s bullet echoed around the world. Murdered…
Why Washington is scared of a website that doesn’t care about its secrets
The ground-breaking website Wikileaks – unafraid to publish pretty much any information that comes its way – is clearly a threat to the empire: This document is a classifed (SECRET/NOFORN) 32 page U.S. counterintelligence investigation into WikiLeaks. “The possibility that current employees or moles within DoD or elsewhere in the U.S. government are providing sensitive…
How many more online addicts will we soon find in Havana?
What is the effect of Washington’s recent decision to allow web companies such as Google and Yahoo to operate in closed societies, such as Cuba and Iran?