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By: Simon ColumbusDate: 12 Aug 2011Categories: United Kingdom, Europe, Arrests and legal action, Surveillance, Anonymity, Conflict and security filteringThe suspicion that social networks such as Twitter and Facebook as well as BlackBerry Messenger helped incite riots that gripped England earlier this week has led politicians to demand their shutdown.0 comment(s)
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By: Simon ColumbusDate: 10 Aug 2011Categories: Egypt, Tunisia, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Sub-Saharan Africa, ONI, Political filtering, Social filtering
The OpenNet Initiative is excited to announce the addition of a full year of new data to its Social Media Filtering Map. The map gives users a visual overview of where Facebook, Flickr, Orkut, Twitter, and Youtube have been blocked since 2004. This update covers the last 12 months, bringing the map up to date with the latest information on social media censorship around the world. -
By: Simon ColumbusDate: 05 Aug 2011Categories: United Kingdom, United States/Canada, Asia, Europe, Copyright, Cybercrime and security, Political filtering
The United Kingdom abandons its plans to block illegal filesharing websites; in China, the censorship regime is probed by the anger of millions of microbloggers; a series of computer system intrusions has targeted dozens of international organizations over five years; and Europe reacts with filtering plans to attacks in Norway -
By: Simon ColumbusDate: 03 Aug 2011Throughout Europe, calls for increased Internet surveillance have emerged in response to the July 22 terrorist attacks in Norway. Police and security forces hope that by keeping a closer eye on online activities, they will be able to spot any "weak signals" that indicate potential threats.
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By: Simon ColumbusDate: 27 Jul 2011A high school teacher who claims not to know how to download music and movies is among the first ten people in France who face disconnection from the Internet over alleged illegal file-sharing.
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By: Simon ColumbusDate: 07 Jul 2011Despite protests, the Italian Communications Authority (AgCom) yesterday approved a draft regulation that would give it powers to take down websites and filter the Internet over alleged copyright infringement without prior judicial oversight. The draft will now enter a 60 day period of public consultation.
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By: Simon ColumbusDate: 27 Jun 2011Categories: Europe, LegislationThe European Commission, Council, and Parliament have come to an agreement regarding controversial plans to mandate Internet filtering as a means to fight the circulation of child abuse images. The provisional compromise backs away from mandatory Internet filters that had initially been proposed by the Commissioner of Home Affairs, Cecilia Malmström.
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By: Simon ColumbusDate: 27 Jun 2011Exactly one year after the murder of independent newspaper Umuvugizi’s deputy editor, the paper's website is again inaccessible in Rwanda. Its editor has just re-launched the paper as an online-only publication.
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By: Simon ColumbusDate: 22 Jun 2011With a vote this Tuesday, the Dutch Parliament has become the second in the world to introduce the principles of net neutrality into law. A mistake by the Labour Party (PvdA), however, means that the bill includes an unintended loop hole.
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By: Simon ColumbusDate: 21 Jun 2011Categories: Europe, LegislationA draft executive order would give various French government agencies the power to take down or block Internet content they deem harmful. Critics see a vast censorship scheme that would allow for “arbitrary” take-downs.
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By: Simon ColumbusDate: 14 Jun 2011The Dutch parliament has discussed an amendment to the telecommunications law that would ban network operators from discriminating against specific contents. If it is enacted, the Netherlands would become the second country worldwide to put net neutrality into law.
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By: Simon ColumbusDate: 09 Jun 2011An inter-state treaty that will overhaul Germany’s gambling regulation could prove a threat to the open net. Should a recent draft be adopted, ISPs would be obliged to prevent users from accessing unauthorized gambling websites. Activists fear the establishment of a censorship infrastructure that would breach constitutional rights.
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By: Simon ColumbusDate: 08 Jun 2011As Google announced on its blog yesterday afternoon, it will start redirecting users of its customized Kazakh search engine, google.kz, to the international version. The move follows an order by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Communications and Information that all .kz domain names are to be run on local servers. Google’s reaction means that its Kazakh users will no longer have access to a customized version of the search engine.
