Two Russian journalists and an environmental activist have been beaten up within a week. It's easy to blame it on the Russian government, but the problem runs deeper. Contrary to what Western coverage suggests, Russian internet remains a relatively censorship-free zone. Yes, NGOs and opposition papers and websites have had their servers and computers confiscated – mostly under charges of copyright infringement on behalf of Microsoft, which was being used so often it issued a statement condemning the practice and granted all advocacy groups absolution from piracy – but to portray Russia as a bloodthirsty dictatorship where journalists are little more than target practice is just not fair. Reporters Without Borders, whose rating puts Russia only eight places above the human rights nightmare that is the Democratic Republic of Congo, isn't without controversies of its own, and its methodology far from perfect. Moreover, you'll have to dig deep to find a story in Russian press (TV is different) that's not in one way or another critical of the government, local authorities or big business.

HUA HIN, Thailand - The battle between Google's video-sharing YouTube website and the Turkish authorities raged on this week when the country blocked the service only days after releasing it from a two-and-a-half-year blackout within Turkey's borders. A Turkish court flipped the switch on the site following the republication of a number of old videos that it deemed insulting to the republic's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. During the original ban, which was the result of a May 2008 court order, a Turkish group of self-described "volunteers" working closely with the government managed to get the clips removed by using Google's automated copyright infringement system. Noting that the offensive material had been removed, the courts lifted the ban and Turks last weekend were able to use YouTube for the first time in over two years. Google apparently did not agree with this and reinstated the videos, claiming that they were not copyright infringing, hence the reinforcement of the ban. Many observers claim that the group's actions in attempting to remove the clips were a precursor to censorship on a wider scale. Turkey's restrictive Internet laws have been responsible for the blocking of more than 5,000 websites within the country. However, its net-savvy population is quite adept at using proxy servers to circumnavigate government-imposed website outages.

HONG KONG — The tentacles of government censors are creeping ever further across the web in the Asia-Pacific region as officials from Thailand to Australia try to control what people say and do online. Aside from China, which has a vast army of censors operating behind what has been dubbed the "Great Firewall", other countries are also taking steps to restrict access to the Internet. A massive cyber attack has crippled the web in military-ruled Myanmar ahead of Sunday's controversial election, IT experts say, raising fears of a deliberate communications blackout for the vote. But moves to rein in Internet freedoms in other countries in the region are often presented as being well intentioned. Australia proposes introducing an Internet filter to block sites containing material such as rape, drug use, bestiality and child sex abuse. Prime Minister Julia Gillard has defended the plan as a moral move which will bring the web into line with TV and film which have long been censored by the state.

Jakarta. The government should allow people to use their own judgment in avoiding Web sites deemed offensive, rather than impose curbs that threaten free speech, media experts say. The Communications and Information Technology Ministry claimed earlier this year that it had blocked access to 90 percent of pornographic sites for Indonesian Web users. It also said it was beefing up efforts to block other “undesirable content,” including gambling, blasphemy and violence. But Donny BU, a senior researcher at ICT Watch, which campaigns for the safe use of the Internet, said shielding users would leave them in the dark about online threats. As a result, he added, it would put teachers, parents and other adults responsible for supervising children’s online usage “off their guard.”