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By: alexeyDate: 25 Feb 2009Not a single porn site can be found on Belorussian servers, according to the country's Ministry of Internal Affairs.0 comment(s)
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By: Helmi NomanDate: 24 Feb 2009Categories: Egypt, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Legislation, Arrests and legal action, Human rights, Surveillance, Privacy, Data retentionShould we expect companies to give clear and timely information when users’ privacy and freedom of speech have been jeopardized, especially if this is due to government restrictions which may conflict with the internationally recognized human rights of freedom of expression and privacy?
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By: Jillian C. YorkDate: 17 Feb 2009In May 2008, it was reported that the Arabic language version of Wikipedia had been filtered by Syrian authorities. The site remained blocked until last week, when it was reported that the site had become accessible on all Syrian ISPs. Recent reports to Herdict Web corroborate that fact.
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By: charlesDate: 12 Feb 2009The recent launch of Measurement Lab (M-Lab) provides consumers, regulators, and content providers with the details about their network’s performance, according to CNET. Backed by Google, the New America Foundation (affiliated with the Democratic Party), and the PlanetLab consortium, M-Lab aims to increase network transparency by allowing researchers to share data relating to network performance and regulation.
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By: charlesDate: 10 Feb 2009According to reports in the New York Times, four Google executives are on trial in Milan for charges of defamation and privacy violation regarding a video posted on Google’s Italian website.
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By: charlesDate: 08 Feb 2009In early December 2008, an Indian court was convened to ban Google Earth amid suggestions that the online satellite imaging was used to aid terrorists in planning the November terror attacks in Mumbai. According to late January reports in the Times of London, Google has dismissed concerns that terrorists are using its mapping technology to aid them in plotting and carrying out attacks.
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By: Jillian C. YorkDate: 08 Feb 2009According to one user of Qatar Living, popular site "Tagged" has been blocked by QTEL, which operates in 17 countries and is currently Qatar's only Internet service provider (Vodafone has also been given a license and will begin service soon, according to ictQatar, the country's regulatory body).
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By: Jillian C. YorkDate: 04 Feb 2009Categories: United States of America, United States/Canada, Overblocking, Filtering tech and softwareIt is the right of private companies to block access to certain sites for their employees or customers, certainly. But in the United States, some customers of Panera Bread, a popular nationwide chain restaurant that offers free wifi, are frustrated. It seems that Panera practices what is popularly known as overblocking: the unintentional filtering of harmless web sites.
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By: charlesDate: 25 Jan 2009A new government crackdown by Bahrain’s Ministry of Information has led to the blocking of over 60 websites ranging from Google Translate to social, political, religious, and human rights sites, according to the Bahrain Human Rights Society and Global Voices Online, a network dedicated to defending free speech worldwide.
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By: charlesDate: 23 Jan 2009According to German news publication Der Spiegel, German officials are calling for ISP censorship of offensive cites in order to quell the spread of child pornography, CNET and The Inquisitr report.
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By: Jillian C. YorkDate: 19 Jan 2009Syrian authorities have blocked access to the personal blog of the 26-year-old Syrian Human rights activist and blogger Mohammad Al-Abdallah who is blogging at Raye7wmishRaj3 (I’m Leaving and I’m Not Coming Back). Syrian Netizens can access the blocked blog via HTTPS or simply by visiting the mirror blog at http://rwmr.wordpress.com/.
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By: charlesDate: 14 Jan 2009According to reports in the Register, three of China’s most popular search engines, including Google China and Baidu, have apologized for being slow to remove links to pornographic websites.
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By: Jillian C. YorkDate: 07 Jan 2009Seven different government agencies, including the Ministry of Public Security and the State Council Information Office declared war on Internet smut today. 19 Internet companies, including Google, Baidu, Sina, and others, were cited for "violating public morality and harming the physical and mental health of youth and young people." This guest post by Rebecca MacKinnon analyzes China's latest crackdown on Internet freedoms.
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By: Jillian C. YorkDate: 06 Jan 2009Categories: Pakistan, Political filteringThe Pakistan Communication Authority has issued directives to ISPs for the blocking of six web sites. Activist groups are speaking out against the filtering.
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By: charlesDate: 30 Dec 2008Categories: United Kingdom, Europe, Non-filtering content restrictions, ONI, Political filtering, Social filtering, Internet tools filteringAccording to the BBC, the UK government is evaluating a number of new Internet safeguards to protect children from content perceived as harmful or offensive.