Threats to the Open Net: September 2, 2011

By: Matt Lavigueur on 2 September 2011
Posted in China, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Asia, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Non-filtering content restrictions, Privacy, Geolocational Filtering, Threats to the Open Net

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* In the wake of the Arab Spring and UK riots, Uzbekistan launches its own state-run social network in an attempt to monitor social media more closely.

* China cracks down on Sina Weibo, China's main microblogging service, urging it to moderate its content more closely. Users have experienced content blocking, stalling on their Weibo accounts, and account termination since the Chinese government began its movement to eliminate "toxic rumors" online.

* The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) has banned encrypted virtual private networks (EVPNs) and virtual private networks (VPNs), essentially disallowing private browsing in the country.