Internet censorship

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China Blocks NY Times Site for 'Smearing' Leader

Report on Wen Jiabao's wealth angers Beijing

(Newser) - China has blocked the New York Times' website and all searches for "New York Times" on microblogs, accusing it of smearing Wen Jiabao with a story about the immense wealth his family has amassed during his reign as prime minister. A foreign ministry spokesman said the report "blackens...

British Police Investigate Lawmaker's Anti-Gay Tweets

Calls discrimination a 'fundamental' right

(Newser) - Police in England are investigating controversial tweets posted by the head of a small, far-right conservative party, reports the BBC . The postings from British National Party leader Nick Griffin listed the address of a gay couple who recently won a court case against a Bed and Breakfast that refused to...

Twitter Suspends Neo-Nazi Account in Germany

It's the first time Twitter has used its new censorship policy

(Newser) - Twitter has blocked the account of a German neo-Nazi group known as Besseres Hannover, prompted by a request from Berlin. Their tweets will still be visible in other countries, but not within Germany, reports the BBC . The move is the first time Twitter has enacted its local-censorship policy , which it...

After Gmail Ban, Iran Focuses on Own Internet

Block on email service lifted following complaints

(Newser) - Iran's ban on Gmail, launched in response to the anti-Islam video that sparked worldwide protests, has prompted a wave of complaints, including some from lawmakers themselves. Now, Iran has lifted the ban —and it's still working furiously to roll out its new version of the Internet in...

Ron, Rand Paul Push Internet Freedom

They want the government to keep its hands off

(Newser) - Ron Paul and his son Rand are backing a libertarian manifesto seeking to defend the Internet from government regulation. "Around the world, the real threat to Internet freedom comes not from bad people or inefficient markets ... but from governments' foolish attempts to manage and control innovation," says the...

Google: Censor Requests Surging—Even From West

It sees 'alarming rise' in governments trying to stifle political speech

(Newser) - Google says it is seeing an alarming rise in government censor requests—often from "Western democracies not typically associated with censorship." In its latest biannual report, the company says it received a total of 1,007 such requests from governments around the world and complied with just over...

Google Provokes China With Tool to Skirt Censorship

Typing bad term brings Google message warning user

(Newser) - Google and China have long had a rocky relationship over the software company's overly thorough search engine and refusal to filter search results, and for many years searching for a forbidden or even a sensitive word could cause a China user's Google connection to be cut off for...

Pakistan Blocks Twitter
 Pakistan Blocks Twitter 

Pakistan Blocks Twitter

(Newser) - Pakistan has decided it's had about 139 characters too many of Twitter, yanking the microblogging site over material it says is offensive to Islam, reports al-Jazeera . The material in question was promoting a Facebook contest to post images of the prophet Mohammed—which are considered blasphemous, even those framed...

UK Considers Blocking All Porn Sites

David Cameron wants you to have to 'opt in' with your ISP

(Newser) - British Prime Minister David Cameron is considering a move forcing Internet service providers to block all porn unless users specifically request it, the Guardian reports, in a move likely to be vigorously opposed by the ISPs, free speech groups, and teenagers sneaking onto their parents' computers. Cameron will consult on...

Google's Brin: Free Internet in Serious Danger

Sergey Brin sees threat from governments, Hollywood, Facebook

(Newser) - Internet freedom is under attack, says Google's co-founder. "It's scary," Sergey Brin tells the Guardian , saying he's "more worried" than ever about "very powerful forces that have lined up against the open Internet on all sides and around the world." Once, Brin...

Ai Weiwei: China Will Never Beat Internet

Censorship only builds pressure in Internet age, warns famous artist

(Newser) - Authoritarian societies are all about propaganda and control, but the Internet has destroyed both of those pillars, writes the famous Chinese artist Ai Weiwei in the Guardian . Unlike Russia's glasnost, China never really opened ideologically to the West, only practically. Then came the Internet, and thanks to blogs and...

10 Places Blurred on Google Maps


 10 Places 
 Blurred on 
 Google Maps 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

10 Places Blurred on Google Maps

What is that weird blob in Siberia?

(Newser) - Google Maps provides a vast photographic atlas of the planet, but many locales are blurred out and hidden from the public because of security concerns by the country in question. Mashable rounds up 10 such spots you are forbidden to see with clarity:

Facebook, Google on Trial in India

Firms accused of failing to remove blasphemous content

(Newser) - Facebook and Google are on trial in India for failing to yank objectionable content from their websites quickly enough. A criminal complaint alleges that sites including Facebook and Google's YouTube didn't remove content mocking religious figures, despite Indian laws against "blasphemous" and "ethnically objectionable" material online....

Glitch Lets Thrilled Chinese Access Facebook, YouTube

Great Firewall cracks, users urge Obama to push for China human rights

(Newser) - An apparent glitch in China's "Great Firewall" this week allowed the country's Internet users to enjoy the rest of the world's favorite websites without having to rely on expensive virtual private networks. Large numbers of Chinese flocked to Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Google+ while the crack...

Iran Disrupts Internet as Elections Loom

Authorities take early steps to prevent protests, say experts

(Newser) - With parliamentary elections looming in Iran next month, authorities are ramping up censorship of the opposition, disrupting much of the country's Internet in the process, reports Reuters . Millions are having trouble accessing their email and social networking sites, which played an important role in the protests that followed the...

Google, Facebook Yank Content as India Cracks Down

Court threatens to come down on firms 'like China'

(Newser) - A strongly-worded directive from an Indian court, threatening to crack down on websites "like China," has pushed Google and Facebook to bar some content on Indian domains, Reuters reports. Some 19 other companies have also been asked to block material considered offensive to Hindus, Muslims, and Christians following...

China, Thailand Applaud Twitter Censorship

Dissidents fear losing free-speech tool

(Newser) - Twitter's controversial decision to allow censorship of tweets on a country-by-country basis has won praise from two of the countries with the busiest censors. In Thailand—ranked 153rd in the world for press freedom because of its strict laws against offending the monarchy—the country's information minister called...

Chinese Bloggers Mock US' SOPA Outrage

Even as some say they support the protesters

(Newser) - Chinese Internet users were just a wee bit amused by American protests over the Stop Online Privacy Act . "Don't understand the hoopla over Wikipedia blackout in the US today," one microblogger wrote, according to the LA Times . "We blacked it out here years ago. Where are...

Marco Rubio Drops PIPA Sponsorship

Says he's worried about unintended consequences

(Newser) - Internet, you have been heard—by a couple of influential senators at least. Marco Rubio says he's dropping his support of the Protect Intellectual Property Act, of which he is a co-sponsor, Politico reports. In a Facebook post , the Florida senator says he's heard "legitimate concerns about...

Iran to Kill Internet Within Weeks

Will launch a 'halal' domestic intranet in its place

(Newser) - As fresh sanctions and economic turmoil loom, Iran has launched its harshest crackdown on the Internet yet, the Wall Street Journal finds. Internet cafes have been told they have 15 days to install security cameras and begin collecting information on users. Many sites have been blocked and Iranians may soon...

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