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Tunisia's Internet agency reveals at the Arab Bloggers Meeting that western companies have been offering discounts in order to test censorship software. This comes as a contradiction to the agency's new mantra of seeking to improve online free speech.
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Large ISPs file legal challenges to Congress's approval of FCC's new rules on net neutrality; Susan Crawford calls for reassessment of the Bay Area public transportation system's decision to terminate cell phone service; governments react to social media usage as more than "just a fad"; hackers break into digital certificate companies.
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Categories: Indonesia,
Asia
Indonesia's Ministry of Information and Communication recently announced plans to ban 300 websites containing extremist religious views on the basis that they fuel terrorism in the country.
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Westcoastcloud, an Internet security software company, released their survey of 2,000 UK parents revealing the Internet access available to their children, including smartphones and iPads. This comes on the heels of their new filtering software targeted at people who seek greater parental control over online access.
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Yahoo censors emails related to the Occupy Wall Street demonstration; the SecDev Group criticizes US tech firms for bending too easily to the will of the Chinese government; NRB and the American Center for Law and Justice report that social media sites are actively blocking religious content; China's government tightens its grip over Weibo.
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Known for its authoritarian control over the Internet, the Burmese government recently allowed access to popular foreign websites including Reuters, Radio Free Asia, and YouTube. Although some herald this move as pro-democratic progress, others remain doubtful of its actual implications given that only 0.3 percent of Burmese citizens currently have Internet access.
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Multinational Internet companies including Google and Yahoo recently criticized Thailand's online regulation practices, remarking that the strict policing of political content may be harming e-commerce in the nation.
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Indexing site Newzbin2 releases a new version to circumvent its blockage in the UK; global Internet companies voice their concern over Thailand's increased restrictions on Internet; Tor developers work around Iran's ban of the anonymous-browsing software; Burma's government allows access to YouTube and other foreign news sites.
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Three people have been arrested in Morocco under claims of drug trafficking and assault. As the anti-government February 20 movement continues, measures to combat the youth demonstrations are surfacing as the regime cracks down.
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The Chinese government recently renewed Google's ICP license for another year, allowing them to continue operating their services in the country. This comes in light of the 10th annual China Internet Conference, where the government presented initiatives to enforce stronger controls over online activity.
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In August, the Kazakhstani government banned 51 websites that they claimed to contain extremist behavior and promote acts of terrorism. This comes three years after the first ban on LiveJournal.ru and two months after Google redirected its Kazakh users to its international portal.
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After a few weeks of debate, the UK government drops plans to block social media services during times of civil disturbance.
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After six months of a government-imposed Internet blackout, signs are showing that Internet connectivity has been restored to the country.
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China's Ministry of Culture recently released a list of 100 songs to be banned on Chinese music downloading websites. Claiming the ban as an attempt to preserve cultural security, the government has included several popular American songs by artists including Lady Gaga and Katy Perry.
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Last week, the Guardian UK reported that the U.S. State Department would be granting a six-figure fund to help the BBC World Service combat Internet censorship around the world. Although the State Department has denied this, the proposed funding for the UK media company has already elicited negative feedback across the pond.
Indexing site Newzbin2 releases a new version to circumvent its blockage in the UK; global Internet companies voice their concern over Thailand's increased restrictions on Internet; Tor developers work around Iran's ban of the anonymous-browsing software; Burma's government allows access to YouTube and other foreign news sites.
Last week, the Guardian UK reported that the U.S. State Department would be granting a six-figure fund to help the BBC World Service combat Internet censorship around the world. Although the State Department has denied this, the proposed funding for the UK media company has already elicited negative feedback across the pond.
