Stories about Freedom of Speech from March, 2010
Russia: Role of Social Media in Coverage of Recent Metro Bombings in Moscow
Paul Globe writes on his blog “Window on Eurasia” about increasing role of the Internet and social media in the coverage of the recent terrorist attacks in Moscow.
China: Google.cn search blocked
Several twitterers, including @williamlong @geekinmedia @aHexie @terryxxy and @mranti, confirmed the blocking of google.cn's search in major cities, such as Beijing and Shenzhen in China. According to @mranti: Google search is blocked in Beijing. Any search will trigger reset.
China’s Top IT Enterprenuers Call For Internet Special Zone
CTD translated a local news about top IT enterprenuers’ call for the setting up of Internet Special Zone free from censorship in Shenzhen.
China: The potential of Microblogging
Toadi from interlocals.net has translated a Beijing News’ interview with Hu Yong on the potential of micro-bogging in China.
Russia: Two Video Scandals
In Russia this week it has been hard to miss the two scandals that, at first, appear to have only one thing in common: both are centered around amateur videos published online. Heated discussions in the blogosphere and in other online venues are taking place on quite different orbits - which nevertheless do have one or two overlap points.
France/Spain: Blog censorship
The Quemando Iglesias [Burning Churches] blog reports [es] on the forced shut down of the zer egin duzue jonekin [What they did to Jon?], a blog that had gathered support for the investigation of the death of the ETA militant Jon Anza, supposedly in the hands of the Spanish State Security Forces in...
Russia: Top Blogger's Account Hacked
Livejournal account of Igor Bigdanov (aka LJ user ibigdan), one of the top RuNet bloggers, has been hacked, Bigdanov reported. The most common version of the motives of the hack – commercial. This one and several similar attacks were allegedly carried out by the so called the “Brigade of Hell”,...
Barbados, Jamaica: Dancehall Show Cancelled
Barbados’ Boyce Voice blogs about “the On again, Off again, On again, Off again Show AKA Vybz Kartel Movado Show”, saying: “I feel for the event promoters…they were…bullied by the authorities”; while Barbados Free Press is proud of the “unequivocal message” delivered by the Prime Minister: “We the people of...
Russia: Website Closed By Police Order
20marta.ru, an opposition website dedicated to the “Day of Anger” held on March 20, was closed by police after just one day of functioning, kasparov.ru reported. According to the source, the police have sent the letter informing that the website is closed due to inciting anti-government sentiment.
China: Characters in leaders’ names made sensitive search terms on Google
Beginning Wednesday and continuing today, Chinese Internet users have discovered that Google searches containing the Chinese characters for the surnames of China's top leaders (ie. the ‘hu’ [jintao] in carrot, ‘huluobo’) are resulting in a reset connection to the website. Isaac Mao has made a screencast showing how this works.
France: What would you do in The Game of Death?
A controversial French documentary sparked worldwide scandal on March 17 by televising a fake game show in which contestants were willingly led to torture others. Bloggers in France discuss the morals and meaning.
Russia: “Drugs and Hookers Scandal”
At The Daily Beast, author Michael Idov chronicles “Russia's amazing drugs and hookers scandal,” which involves opposition activist Ilya Yashin, political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin, and the Russian Newsweek‘s editor-in-chief Mikhail Fishman: “‘Let me get this straight,’ wrote Ilya Krasilschik, the editor of Afisha magazine, commenting on a Facebook status update...
Estonia: Blank pages of press freedom protest
Paul Becker of GUS News comments on [GER] Estonia's four leading newspapers publishing issues with blank pages in protest against a government proposal that could curtail journalists’ ability to protect their sources.
The Trials of Being a Chinese Reporter
C. Custer from ChinaGeeks translated a telephone recording in which a Hong Kong reporter trying to confirm Google’s retreat from China with Chinese government officials.
China and the U.S: Testimony on Internet control
Rebecca MacKinnon posts her testimony for the U.S Congressional Executive China Commission on Google and Internet Control in China: A Nexus Between Human Rights and Trade.
Is Russia an Enemy of Internet?
The degree of freedom on the Russian Internet is an issue for debates. Some put Russia on the same list of "Internet enemies" with China and Iran. Others strongly oppose this kind of generalization and claim that Russian Internet is the most liberal and unrestricted public sphere in the country.
China: Google.cn migrated to Hong Kong
Finally Google has decided to leave China. Soon after the announcement, Google stopped censoring the search result of google.cn by redirecting the site to google.com.hk. In Google's official blog, David Drummond, the corporate's chief legal officer explains that its decision is due to the Chinese government's “non-negotiable legal requirement” in...
China: Singing farewell to Google
Google has formally closed its mainland Chinese search engine and rival Baidu will not need long to pick up the slack; nonetheless, former users of Google.cn search braved the cold air to show their support outside the company's Beijing headquarters, singing an anti-Internet censorship protest song while they were at it.
Venezuela: Concerns About Controls on the Internet
Debate is heating up in Venezuela after decrees and statements from President Hugo Chávez, who questioned how the Internet is being used in the country. Many are interpreting these statements and policy proposals that the government wants control the Internet in Venezuela.
Iran: New wave of blogger arrests
Another wave of blogger arrests has been reported in Iran but the details are murky. The leader of an anti-censorship group named Iran Proxy, and the founder of blog hosting service Persian Blog have both been arrested.
Chinese netizens’ open letter to the Chinese Government and Google
Rebecca MacKinnon has summarized the viewpoints of some Chinese netizens who have issued an open letter to express their stand in censorship.
