• T?B's 'forbidden words list' inconsistent with law, say Turkish web providers
    By: Rebekah Heacock
    Date: 02 May 2011
    A request made Thursday by the Turkish Telecommunications Directorate, or TİB, to ban a total of 138 words from Turkish Internet domain names has no legal basis and has left companies unsure of what action to take, according to experts.
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  • 138 Words Banned From The Turkish Internet
    By: Rebekah Heacock
    Date: 02 May 2011
    The Telecommunication Communication Presidency banned 138 words and terms from the internet. The list also includes words used in everyday life. The number of access bans is expected to increase; also food home delivery sites or football supporters' clubs will be affected. The list of "banned words" is the latest outcome of a series of oppressive applications that day by day restrict internet freedom in Turkey more and more. In a notification sent to all service providers and hosting companies in Turkey on Thursday (28 April), the Telecommunication Communication Presidency (TİB) forwarded a list of banned words and terms. Yet, this list also includes a number of "ordinary" words that can be deemed indispensible in usual everyday life.
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  • Facebook shoots first, ignores questions later; account lock-out attack works (Update X)
    By: Rebekah Heacock
    Date: 29 Apr 2011
    Got enemies on Facebook? Facebook is so eager to protect copyright that the mere accusation of copyright infringement is enough to get an account locked. Ars found this out the hard way Thursday morning when our own Facebook page became inaccessible, with no warning, no explanation, and no clear appeal process. To make matters worse, Facebook is not responsive to inquiries about account lockout, and the company provides absolutely zero useful direction on how to rectify a complaint.
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  • British firm offered spying software to Egyptian regime – documents
    By: Rebekah Heacock
    Date: 28 Apr 2011
    A British company offered to sell a program to the Egyptian security services that experts say could infect computers, hack into web-based email and communications tools such as Skype and even take control of other groups' systems remotely, according to documents seen by the Guardian.
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  • India Puts a Tight Leash on Internet Free Speech
    By: Rebekah Heacock
    Date: 27 Apr 2011
    ree speech advocates and Internet users are protesting new Indian regulations restricting Web content that, among other things, can be considered “disparaging,” “harassing,” “blasphemous” or “hateful.” The new rules, quietly issued by the country’s Department of Information Technology earlier this month and only now attracting attention, allow officials and private citizens to demand that Internet sites and service providers remove content they consider objectionable on the basis of a long list of criteria.
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  • Critics Challenge New Internet Controls in Turkey
    By: Rebekah Heacock
    Date: 27 Apr 2011
    Turkey already bans more websites than any other European country. Now the government is set to introduce new controls that officials say are needed to protect children. Critics fear they represent an effort control the web.
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  • China internet market should not be treated differently: Exec
    By: Rebekah Heacock
    Date: 26 Apr 2011
    China's massive internet market should not be singled out and treated differently from other internet markets in the world, a Google China executive said on Tuesday. Google, which partially pulled out of China last year after a tussle with the government over censorship and a serious hacking episode, has suffered market share losses in the world's largest Internet market by users since then.
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  • Japanese government attempting to censor earthquake-related information online
    By: Rebekah Heacock
    Date: 25 Apr 2011
    The government charges that the damage caused by earthquakes and by the nuclear accident are being magnified by irresponsible rumors, and the government must take action for the sake of the public good. The project team has begun to send “letters of request” to such organizations as telephone companies, internet providers, cable television stations, and others, demanding that they “take adequate measures based on the guidelines in response to illegal information. ”The measures include erasing any information from internet sites that the authorities deem harmful to public order and morality.
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  • Najib promises Malaysia will not censor Internet
    By: Rebekah Heacock
    Date: 25 Apr 2011
    Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak promised Malaysians yesterday that his administration would never censor the Internet. Twice in recent years, the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition government has explored introducing Internet-filtering software like China's infamous "Green Dam Youth Escort" programme, saying it was necessary to combat child pornography, before backing off after public outcry.
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  • Beijing Censors Take Aim at Music
    By: Rebekah Heacock
    Date: 25 Apr 2011
    China's Ministry of Culture will "hand down punishments" to 14 websites, including one run by Internet search provider Baidu Inc., for providing downloads of songs not approved or registered with the country's content regulators, in what appeared to be part of a renewed effort to block explicit and politically sensitive online content.
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