Fact of the week: The OpenNet Initiative estimates that at the end of 2009, 32% of all Internet users [globally] were accessing a filtered version of the Internet.
Showing all posts tagged censorship
What Egypt could like look when free
Egyptian blogger Wael Abbas, a brave soul and long-time enemy of the US-backed client state, speaks out on what he dreams for his country:
Wikileaks must survive for the sake of transparency
A black day for the crusading website Wikileaks: The anonymous whistleblower website Wikileaks, which has been a thorn in the side of governments and big business for three years, has shut down temporarily because it has run out of money. The document repository, founded by an Australian living in East Africa, has been the catalyst…
Colombo has no understanding what democracy means
Sri Lanka’s past, present and future continues to be clouded by the foul air of corruption and authoritarianism: The newly re-elected government of Mahinda Rajapaksa has been accused of orchestrating a fresh crackdown on the media after a series of websites were blocked and at least one reporter detained after raising questions about the conduct…
Memo to Jews close to God; porn and online gambling are your friends
The intention of ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel to ban access to an open internet in Israel isn’t going too well: Are Israel’s Haredi religious authorities losing control of their followers? In December, leading Israeli rabbis launched a new push to curtail Internet use among ultra-Orthodox Jews, emphasizing that their longstanding ban on Web surfing applied…
Is the internet actually helping authoritarianism in Iran?
Web contrarian Evgeny Morozov (I use that term with affection) argues that web tools such as Twitter and blogging are not really assisting dissidents in Iran but are in fact making it far easier for the regime to crack down.
“Very limited” web blocking in China, says a clueless Bill Gates
Microsoft founder Bill Gates seems a little too keen to keep the Chinese authorities as friends by grossly ignoring the Communist state’s sophisticated censorship program: You’ve got to decide: do you want to obey the laws of the countries you’re in or not? If not, you may not end up doing business there. Chinese efforts…
China’s future isn’t a place we should emulate
A new book about China set in 2013, mirroring George Orwell’s 1984, imagines a set of national strategies: 1. Democratic dictatorship under one-party rule; 2. Rule-of-law with stability as top priority; 3. An authoritarian government which rules for the people; 4. A state-controlled market economy; 5. Fair competition dominated by state-owned enterprises; 6. Scientific development…
Religious Jews fear sex, violence, drugs and liberalism online
Here’s a catchy opening paragraph to a story: Ultra-orthodox rabbis in Israel have launched what they claim is a ”divinely ordained war” against use of the internet among their followers.
Life on the streets in Iran, an eyewitness perspective
On the ground reports from Iran are hard to obtain these days. Western journalists are largely writing stories about the political chaos in the country. So I’m publishing this exclusive report from a friend currently in Tehran. He’s an Australian traveling around the country. Names and identifiable places have been removed to protect all concerned:…