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By: Jillian C. York
Date: 27 Oct 2009
In what most consider to be a politically motivated trial to stifle dissent in Azerbaijan, video blogging youth activists Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli once again appeared in court today.
The two youth activists, exemplary in their use of new media in the region, were unexpectedly detained in the early hours of 8 July after they were attacked at a restaurant in the center of Baku, the Azerbaijani capital.
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By: Jillian C. York
Date: 23 Oct 2009
According to this article published on a Russian news-site Inbox.ru, Russia has moved one inch closer to the China-style system of filtering the Web. Russia's Ministry of Communications has urged ISPs to start filtering "negative" Internet content in places that provide public access to the Internet (think cafes, libraries, etc). Such filters have already been planned to be installed in Russian schools.
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By: Jillian C. York
Date: 23 Oct 2009
A technology whitepaper by ISP Watchdog, which specialises in supplying filtered internet access, is pointing to several problems with official Net censorship trials in Australia and New Zealand.
The whitepaper was published on whistleblower site Wikileaks and contains Watchdog’s recommendations for managing URL (Uniform Resource Locator) lists to block sites containing images of child sexual abuse.
Among the issues that affected the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) trial were URLs with question marks or ones that were longer than 200 characters. The first problem blocked all YouTube URLs in the ACMA trial.
The question mark problem was solved with a firmware upgrade, the document says, and the long URLs one with a redirect to shorter links.
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By: Jillian C. York
Date: 23 Oct 2009
Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has largely avoided the debate on Internet filtering during a live Web chat, despite several direct questions and comments by participants.
During a discussion dominated by climate change and bullying, the topic of Internet filtering raised strong opinions in the final minutes.
“It’s anti-democratic in my view. The Internet is probably the greatest democratic body to arise in our time! China realises this, that’s why they attempt in rein to censor billions of pages,” participant, jamincanberra, said. “In my view, Internet censorship at that level should probably be made illegal. Definitely not endorsed and funded by the govt… Money should be spent on improving our online security, not on censorship.”
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By: Jillian C. York
Date: 16 Oct 2009
Yesterday's report from the Australian Computer Society's Filtering and E-Security Task Force, the drab-named Technical Observations on ISP Based Filtering of the Internet, will be a handy weapon in Communications Minister Senator Stephen Conroy's battle over internet censorship.
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By: Jillian C. York
Date: 16 Oct 2009
As reported, Tor was partially blocked by China on September 25th or so in anticipation of the CCP October 1, 2009 60th anniversary.
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By: Jillian C. York
Date: 16 Oct 2009
The government has abandoned its long-standing pledge to force 100 per cent of internet providers to block access to a list of child pornography websites.
The decision to drop the policy will be finalised at a meeting on Monday to be attended by internet industry representatives, children's charities and Alun Michael MP.
The former minister had aimed to pressurise small ISPs to implement the Internet Watch Foundation's (IWF) blacklist with the threat of legislation, but the Home Office has now backed down. A lobbying campaign argued costs were too high for small companies to bear and that the blocking technology can be easily circumvented by determined paedophiles.
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By: Jillian C. York
Date: 14 Oct 2009
Before the June presidential election, the Iranian government blocked access to more than a dozen social networking sites and online news sources perceived as favoring opposition candidates. Hours before polls opened, SMS, or short message service for mobile phones, was disrupted and remained offline for weeks. The day after the election, the government shut down mobile phone service for an entire day.
Security agents in Tehran beat a demonstrator in the aftermath of the contested June elections. (AFP)
Security agents in Tehran beat a demonstrator in the aftermath of the contested June elections. (AFP)
The government’s pre- and post-election crackdown on digital communication illustrates the extent to which it views electronic discourse as a formidable threat to its grip on power. Alongside students, lawyers, and traditional journalists, bloggers have been targeted and arrested in the post-election roundups. At least seven bloggers were among the several dozen journalists rounded up and jailed for their reporting and commentary.
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By: Jillian C. York
Date: 14 Oct 2009
Yesterday's report from the Australian Computer Society's Filtering and E-Security Task Force, the drab-named Technical Observations on ISP Based Filtering of the Internet, will be a handy weapon in Communications Minister Senator Stephen Conroy's battle over internet censorship.
Stilgherrian
(Credit: Stilgherrian.com)
Here's Conroy's dilemma — and none of this will be changed by the forthcoming results of internet filtering trials, whatever those results are. This is a political issue, not a technical one.
Labor came into government with a plan for cyber-safety (PDF) that included "a mandatory 'clean feed' internet service for all homes, schools and public computers that are used by Australian children".
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By: Jillian C. York
Date: 13 Oct 2009
China has launched a campaign to crack down on online games operating illegally and featuring content deemed to be unhealthy, state media reported Friday, in the nation's latest Internet clean-up effort.
The crackdown has so far led to the shutdown of 45 online games, which authorities said encouraged players to engage in illegal activities such as drug trafficking and prostitution, the Beijing News said.
