Threats to the Open Net: March 23, 2012

By: Qichen Zhang on 23 March 2012
Posted in Iran, United States of America, Pakistan, United Kingdom, United States/Canada, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Europe, Political filtering
  • Pakistan halts its plans to implement a firewall against a list of objectionable URLs. The Ministry of Information Technology reversed its decision after the National Assembly withdrew due to stakeholder concerns.
  • PayPal eased up on its policy on companies using their payment system to sell e-books with pornographic content. The new policy will allow sellers to distribute books with text-based erotic content after writer organizations criticized that PayPal was restricting freedom of expression.
  • The UK's Foreign Secretary William Hague speaks out against Iran's block of the British website "UK for Iranians." Aimed at clarifying the UK's foreign policy toward Iran and the Middle East in general, the site was blocked immediately in Tehran after it was launched.
  • Reporters Without Borders released its 2011 report "Enemies of the Internet." Bahrain and Belarus were both added to the list. Both countries arrested bloggers, along with Bahrain blocking certain sites during major political demonstrations and Bahrain blocking Internet access. The report also stated that 2011 was the most dangerous year for netizens in history.

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