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By: Sarah Hamdi
Date: 29 Jun 2010
Media watchers FACT Thailand said that the number of blocked and blacklisted websites had passed 100,000, making Thailand the first country in the world to hit that goal; since April alone, said a FACT study, the Ministry of Internet Censorship of Thailand (MICT) and the emergency authorities have blocked 65,000 websites, bringing the total of blacklisted sites to 113,000 by June 15, with sites being added every day; the Orwellian Bureau of Prevention and Eradication of Computer Crime has added another layer of Net censoring, supposedly in the name of protecting the monarchy; one new tactic is to censor any site that mentions actual names such as former PM's office minister Jak***ob Pe***ir or the Marxist professor G***s Ung***orn - two of 200 such blacklisted names that are to be wiped from Thai memory like a Russian encyclopaedia on Josef Stalin.
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By: Jillian C. York
Date: 29 Jun 2010
Google has announced a "new approach" in its ongoing battle with China over censorship.
Until recently, the firm automatically redirected Chinese users to its unfiltered search site in Hong Kong to get round censorship issues.
Google has said it will now stop this after Beijing warned it could lose its licence to operate in the country.
Instead, Chinese users will be sent to a "landing page". Clicking anywhere on it sends them to the Hong Kong site.
Google said it was hopeful that this subtle change - where users have to actively click on a link to access unfiltered search results rather than being automatically redirected - would allow it to continue operating in China.
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By: Rebekah Heacock
Date: 28 Jun 2010
China has banned its 2.3 million soldiers from internet blogging, state media report.
A new regulation prohibits the People's Liberation Army (PLA) from creating websites or blogs, citing confidentiality concerns, the official Xinhua news agency says.
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By: Rebekah Heacock
Date: 28 Jun 2010
Yet another country has decided to shut down key parts the Internet. Kathleen Reen at Internews reports that, as of this past Thursday, the Afghan Ministry of Communications mandated that all Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Afghanistan filter websites falling under the following categories:
* Alcohol
* Dating/Social Networking
* Gambling
* Pornography
Reen reports countrywide blockages of Facebook, Gmail, YouTube, and Twitter. The Afghan Wireless Communication Company (AWCC), one of Afghanistan’s two largest telecommunication companies, is referring people with questions to the Ministry of Communications.
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By: Jillian C. York
Date: 25 Jun 2010
Earlier this month, Turkey announced it would ban access to some Google services and web pages. The ban is the result of a clash between Google and the Turkish government.
In the past, Google has been reluctant to set up a presence in Turkey because analysts say that would mean opening itself up to prosecution over the content shown on its site.
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By: Rebekah Heacock
Date: 25 Jun 2010
A controversial cybersecurity bill passed a key Senate committee on Thursday after backers made concessions aimed at blunting widespread criticism the measure would give the US president broad authority to shut down key parts of the internet.
The bill, known as the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act (PDF), has been pushed hard by Senator Joe Lieberman, who argues the internet is so crucial to banking, utilities and other infrastructure that attacks on it are key to national defense. It would establish a White House Office for Cyberspace Policy and a National Center for Cybersecurity and Communications, which would work with the private sector to harden critical networks against attacks.
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By: Rebekah Heacock
Date: 25 Jun 2010
Changes are afoot.
Australia has its first ever female Prime Minister and a government looking to move on from all the unpopular policies that have been driving down the Labour party’s popularity over the past couple of months.
A lot of attention related to the fallout of the leadership change is focused on the Broadband, Communications, and Digital Economy portfolio. Rumours are rife that current Minister, Senator Stephen Conroy, the driving force behind the Australian Government’s Internet Filtering plan (and of the “Spams coming through the Portal” fame) will be replaced by Senator Kate Lundy.
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By: Rebekah Heacock
Date: 25 Jun 2010
Paris-based media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders on Thursday launched a virtual "anti-censorship shelter" to protect bloggers around the world from repressive authorities.
The group (RSF) unveiled a room in its Paris headquarters set aside for fugitive journalists or bloggers from abroad to drop in and blog with secure Internet connections using software that masks their online identity.
The project also offers to provide carefully selected bloggers in other countries with free access to secure, anonymous online connections to make it harder for authorities to pursue them for their work.
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By: Jillian C. York
Date: 24 Jun 2010
Eugene Kaspersky, CEO of the Russian antivirus company Kaspersky Lab, admits it crossed his mind last year that he might die in a plane crash caused by a cyber attack. Kaspersky is a man of eclectic tastes and boyish humor; when we met in his office on the outskirts of Moscow, he was munching a snack of sweetened, freeze-dried whole baby crabs from Japan, and at one point he showed me a pair of men's undergarments, bought on a Moscow street, that had been stamped "Protected by Kaspersky Anti-Virus." But he grew quite serious when the subject turned to the days leading up to April 1, 2009.
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By: Rebekah Heacock
Date: 24 Jun 2010
Speculation was rife this morning (or evening, over in Australia) that controversial Communications Minister and architect of Australia’s great firewall project, Stephen Conroy may shortly be for the chop.
In his place, it is suggested, Australia’s new PM Julia Gillard might prefer the more conciliatory – and also better-informed - approach of Senator Kate Lundy.
If so, this is likely to prove a victory for those opposed to Conroy’s hard line on internet censorship, as Ms Lundy has made it clear over the last few months that she prefers to win support from Australia’s voters for an opt-in filter – instead of imposing a mandatory filter from the centre, which is the hardline stance favoured by the present Communications Minister.
