Threats to the Open Net: February 17, 2012

By: Qichen Zhang on 17 February 2012
Posted in Iran, United States of America, United States/Canada, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Europe, Threats to the Open Net
  • Iran's government blocked a number of foreign-based websites right before the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The government also blocked encrypted traffic, causing Tor users to drop offline on Friday. After a concerted effort by Tor to mask encrypted traffic, however, most of these users are back online.
  • Anonymous hacked into several websites belong to the United States Federal Trade Commission. Online content was replaced with a violent German-language video satirizing the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.
  • Boing Boing reported that the entertainment industry is still fighting to keep SOPA and PIPA on the congressional table. HuffPo writer Art Brodsky also commented on the continued support for SOPA/PIPA, asking whether the public interest to keep SOPA/PIPA from censoring Internet content will be sustained for the long term.

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