Threats to the Open Net: April 27, 2012

By: Qichen Zhang on 27 April 2012
Posted in China, Ethiopia, Russia, Asia, Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, Threats to the Open Net, Political filtering, Social filtering
  • ONI releases its annual "Year in Review" report, which details all the most significant cases of Internet censorship and surveillance around the world. Among the most high-profile controversies were the SOPA/PIPA debates in the US Congress and European software firms' cooperation with restrictive regimes in providing them with surveillance and monitoring equipment.
  • Outgoing Russian President Dmitry Medvedev calls Internet censorship "senseless" and "impossible" in a videocast posted on the Kremlin's website. In striving for a more connected Russia, Medvedev has made recent attempts to embrace the Internet.
  • Eight Chinese writers in New York have accused Baidu of censoring their pro-democratic writing in China. They have filed a lawsuit at Manhattan's US District Court judge and have asked for a $17 million default. The Chinese government has responded that they cannot respond to the lawsuit due to infringement of their sovereignty.
  • The Reporter, a leading Ethiopian independent news website that receives 30,000 hits per day, has been blocked in the country for the past week. Reporters Without Borders has demanded that the government restore access to the website, but Ethio-Telecom and other government authorities have yet to respond to the demands.

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