Threat to the Open Net: March 30, 2012

By: Qichen Zhang on 30 March 2012
Posted in China, Egypt, Iran, Asia, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Threats to the Open Net
  • China removed all mentions of Bo Xilai on China's microblogging sites. After the CCP member was removed from his position as secretary of Chongqing municipality, Chinese microblogs blew up with discussions about the politician as well as rumors of unrest in Beijing. To get around the ban, Weibo users have been using codes involving Chinese character wordplay.
  • Egypt's Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology will begin banning all pornography from the country's Internet. Parliament members claim that the problem is becoming increasingly worrisome for families.
  • Mr. Taster, an Iranian food critic who reports on his gastronomic travels, spoke at the Reykjavik Marketing Conference about building a personal brand on Facebook and circumventing the rigid infrastructure of the country's online network.

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