Following the censorship of Fatma Arabicca and Sofiene Chourabi's blogs, two other blogs had been censored. One of them is the Free Jailed Tunisian students , seen in the following screen shot:

The second blog blocked is Nocturnal Thoughts . The censorship of the latter created a wave of protests on the Tunisian blogosphere.

Ghodwa Nahrek(Tomorrow I will illegally immigrate) wrote:

Matrka(Hammer) blogged saying:

Samsoum blogged under the title Ammar does not like thoughts and thinkers especially those who blog about their nocturnal thoughts saying:

The Philippines was hit by a powerful tropical storm last September which displaced half a million people in Luzon Island alone. The DSWD was the major government agency in charge of coordinating relief efforts throughout the country. Responding to the appeal of the government for more volunteers, Ella went to a DSWD warehouse to help in the repacking of relief goods.

Ella’s expose was picked up by the mainstream media. DSWD officials denied that the agency was hoarding relief goods but they admitted that the agency lacked volunteers. DSWD Secretary Esperanza Cabral (now the Secretary of the Department of Health) issued this statement in response to the blog report of Ella:

We would like to assure all of you that the relief goods will reach the intended beneficiaries as they become necessary and will be used only to assist them. However, the relief goods don’t all go out at the same time and an empty warehouse is not proof that the goods were used properly just as a full warehouse is not evidence that the goods are being hoarded.

Three months after reporting what she witnessed in the DSWD compound, Ella was charged with libel by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). This was requested by Secretary Cabral who said that her reputation was maligned by Ella. Secretary Cabral and the NBI have been trying to identify the real name of Ella. They want Ella to answer the charges and to take some polygraph tests.

This is not the first time that a blogger was charged with libel in the Philippines. But this is the first time that a Cabinet member, in cooperation with the NBI, has charged an anonymous blogger with a libel suit.

What are the reactions of Filipino bloggers? Most are supportive of Ella.

FOO Law and Economics believes the case is weak

I would volunteer a common-sense opinion. I believe that Ella’s postings are fully within the definition of “fair commentary” in the jurisprudence on libel. In the jurisprudence, fair comment is a sufficient defense if the subject matter of the libel case is a matter of public concern.

Resurgence 2.0 warns that the libel suit sends a chilling effect on bloggers

I saw the blog during its height. There’s nothing libelous about it. The blogger stood with nothing to gain — other than the unsolicited fame the blog resulted from. If there was anything Ella was about during that time, she was sincerely bothered by the fact that people were hungry and homeless and without clothes and the government doesn’t seem to care.

This sends a chilling effect on bloggers. Blogging — and social networks — as we now know, is the future of media. It may not be as formal as the print or even TV, but I will argue that it’s the fastest and even more accurate source of information nowadays

Carlo's Think Pieces insists: “It is not libel, it is free speech.”

What I found was a proper blog by a concerned citizen re the relief goods which apparently were not being distributed promptly to the typhoon victims. Nowhere in that blog post did she say that relief goods were “rotting” – the word she used was “inaalikabok” (which means “gathering dust”). She was decrying the lack of volunteers to do the repacking work, and even suggested that NGOs or the military could help in this work. She in no way accused the Secretary or the DSWD of corruption.

I think that Secretary Cabral is overstepping her authority and being arrogant, by trying to silence Ella and her blog. Her libel suit is totally without merit. Ella’s blog told the truth, and it was done without any malicious intent. It is not libel, it is free speech.

Barrio Siete shares a similar point

First, the blog article in question, as we can find in most blogs, is a matter of opinion. If a person makes a statement that is, as Cabral said, contrary to the facts, it may not necessarily be libelous. On the other hand, a statement can be seen as an expression of fact or opinion depends on whether or not the person making such statement would be in a position to know such facts.

Reacting to the Ella libel case, Technograph urges bloggers to be ready to back up their statements in their blogs, and apologize if proven wrong

Personally, I now find the accusations of “Ella Rose” less credible. If the NBI is to be believed, she never took steps to back up her statements, including requesting “an investigation from the Office of the Ombudsman or any law enforcement agency.” Whether or not “Ella Rose” fights the charges off or not, remember bloggers, be prepared to back up what you say, and to apologize if you’re wrong!

Journalist Jigs Arquiza advises Ella to face the charges.

to all the rest who really don’t get my point and who think that ella is being treated unfairly: it’s your right to side with ella. i am not saying all of you are wrong. all i am saying is that there is always more than one side to a story. ella did not disclose all the facts, did not try to get certain information, did not practice responsible blogging, and is now hiding behind the defense of “freedom of speech”.

a lot of bloggers feel they can say anything in their blogs because they can remain anonymous. and like i said, if ella feels that what she posted was not malicious, then she should come out and face the charges

that is the thing most bloggers don’t understand, that when you make your thoughts public, then these are not personal anymore, rather, these become remarks that cause reactions.

that is what happened. ella posted, cabral got pissed, ella should face the consequences. anyway, it’s up to cabral to prove malice, right? so what is ella afraid of?

If Google were a state-owned company…

- Search requests would have to be submitted in written form, on a special application, on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 to 11 AM, at [the location where you're registered as a resident]. To do this, you'd have to stand in a line of 30 people.

- The written application would include the search request, as well as your date of birth, address at which you are registered, address of your actual place of residence, the number of children, your ID number, your passport data. With your request, you'd have to attach a color photo taken within the past three months (same type as the one on your travel passport). Three original copies of the written request would have to be submitted.

- The following documents would have to be additionally submitted along with your written request:

* a certificate confirming the absence of a criminal record;
* a certificate confirming the absence of debts for communal services [utilities], including a certificate confirming the absence of debts for heating since 2002;
* a certificate from a narcologist and a psychiatrist confirming competency;
* [military service certificate];
* a written consent note from parents […] and adult children, certifying that they are not opposed to your internet search request; if you have underage children, guardian board permission is needed;
* a decision from an expert commission of the Interior Affairs Ministry, certifying that your search would not lead to revealing state secrets (documents are accepted every third Saturday of every odd month from 4 to 4:30 PM);
* a decision of the regional department of the National Commission on the Issues of Morality, certifying that your search does not contain curses and pornography (documents are temporarily not accepted at the place of your registration, due to repairs);
* a certificate from the hospital confirming that you have had all the scheduled vaccinations and no harmful viruses would get into internet via your search;
* a certificate confirming the absence of other search requests that are currently being considered by [state company] “Googl'.”

- The following payments would have to be made before you submit your search request:

* the cost of the search (450 hryvnias) [approx. $56];
* insurance payment (8.50 hryvnias) [approx. $1];
* obligatory voluntary contribution to the Googl' of the Future Fund (93.11 hryvnias [$11.63], PLEASE HAVE THE EXACT AMOUNT READY, WE DON'T HAVE CHANGE!);

- Search request would be accepted only after you sign an Additional Agreement, by which you ascertain that you will not use other internet search services for three years since the day you sign the agreement. The agreement is signed in the presence of a notary public (the notary public service fee is 150 hryvnias [$18.75]).

- You should come no earlier than in 20 work days to pick up your “Quotation from the Internet” (the official name of the search results), and you'll have to stand in yet another line for that. You'll receive the quotation in printed form (printed on a dot matrix printer). Due to the lack of state budget funding, graphics that show up in the results of the search will not be printed.

- If the results aren't there yet, you should wait 20 work days more, after which you have the right to repeat your search request.

- If you own a website and provide free access to information, then, according to the Law #666-66 from February 38, 2010, due to the need to have state regulation of the information politics on the web, and in order to unify search services and allow more convenient access to information on the web for Ukrainian citizens, you are obliged:

* to urgently pass all the information from your website to the state company “Ukrainian Googl'” on 3.5-inch floppy disks (only disks produced by the private company “Disketa-Googl'” are allowed, the price of a single item is 25 hryvnias [$3.10]);
* once you receive the confirmation, [you have] to delete all the information from your website within five days.

Mohammad N. Khatib was one of the first Palestinian bloggers to write about the subject, on his blog 3X-W=WWW. In his article “Internet in Palestine - It just keep getting worse!” Khatib says:

“It turned out that the rumors are true! Hadara (Paltel) the Palestinian main Internet Service Provider (ISP) is trying their best to make their internet suck more and more. It's already expensive, slow and now the biggest surprise it is limited!
Yes you now will have a monthly limit on your Downloads! If you have 512KB ADSL connection, you will have 10GB download limitation per month. Once you've exceeded the 10GB, your connection will turn into a 64KB connection till the end of the month! The user then can buy extra up to 6 GB (by a package 2, 4 or 6 GB) for 12NIS (about 3.5$) for each 2GB!“

Ibrahim Jabour in his blog clickontech has published a report about this hot topic in Palestine:

On Facebook, many groups have been created by angry Palestinians users who have started a movement objecting to the new Paltel policy.

All are Facebook groups that represent online campaigns against the Paltel decision; the wall pages of these groups are full of expressions of dissatisfaction written by Palestinian members, and they have lists of signatures against the decision. They also have discussion boards about the subject. In these discussions many people have threatened to launch demonstrations in the streets, and to boycott Paltel services. Some of them even go farther and suggest that Palestinian customers should change their contracts from Paltel to Israeli communication companies.

We've collected our findings on a Future of ICT for Development special coverage page.

So what's being said?

After several months of dedicated analysis and writing about how ICT for development is covered on the web, here are some thoughts about the online availability of information about ICT4D – from academic articles, to conversation, commentary, and citizen media reflections on what works, what’s difficult and what is worth sharing.

It has been six years since the IDRC and Harvard held their first groundbreaking forum on ICTs and poverty. Since then there have been a great many zeros and ones spilled about practice and scholarship of ICT4D online. Much of this takes the form of research papers, books, and presentations produced by scholars or practitioners affiliated with institutions and nonprofit organizations.

It is, however, relatively more difficult to find blogs and citizen media content from unaffiliated individuals, and from those who experience the benefits, and sometimes challenges of internet technologies in developing-world contexts. While there are scattered discussions and commentaries, sustained, community-driven dialogue is not easy to find. This is perhaps not surprising, given the often complex and technical nature of the field.

Phone charging station in Uganda, 2008, by Ken Banks - kiwanja.net

There has been tremendous improvements in internet access and  explosive growth of cell phones in developing world, as Matthew Smith outlines in his essay for IDRC/Harvard’s latest conference, Communication and Human Development: The Freedom Connection? in September 2009.

However, GV’s research (led by Aparna Ray and John Liebhardt) has found ambiguous evidence of online discussion of these themes that advances beyond well-worn anecdotes of fishermen with mobile phones. Those discussions surely exist, if not online; a look at the Manthan Awards in South Asia, for example, gives us a window into communities of practitioners in this field, and the focus of their work.

In general, we observed that there are several categories of people writing online about ICT4D:

1. People who both understand grassroots development needs and are proficient in ICT. A very small percentage of online writers fall in this category. These people have the skills to develop tools/ techniques, speak the language of ICT4D, and are able to get exposure for their projects.
2. Academics who are interested in the field. They are able to develop concepts in ICT4D, and mostly run small research projects to prove/ disprove their hypotheses, build concepts, and make predictions. There is a lot of energy here - perhaps why we saw so many research papers in our web searches. These people explore and predict trends, but are not often in contact with grassroots folks, and rarely implement projects.
3. Everyone else either comes from the ICT community, and open to designing tools for development/ social projects, or people working in the  development sector who need ICT solutions but have relatively low/ no knowledge of ICT. These two sets of people do not usually speak the same language.

Broadly speaking, many development experts seem hesitant to learn technical skills and languages. They may want a ICT solutions, but there are numerous obstacles to engagement, including expertise, time, resources, and organizational culture. Hence ICT experts sense that development practitioners are rarely clear about helpful solutions.

Likewise, ICT tool developers may not involve development communities in the need analysis/ development phase, producing many solutions that are top-down, and without user support.

Solutions and strategies:

ICT4D is a vibrant theme, but also quite complex, and with little awareness outside of specialist communities. Our first months of coverage have captured some of the best of existing citizen media writing. A next step would be to fill the gaps in coverage and language that we found. Some approaches:

Continued engagement: Much more can be written, with a focus on clarifying who the audiences are for content.

Popularizing complex ideas: much of the content of the GV posts is news for those who are not in the ICT space; for ICT experts, it has less to offer. How stories are reported is key. Strategies include:

• Conducting interviews with experts and practitioners to simplify language and concepts for target audiences.
• Finding a common language and platform for dialogue among people both in grassroots development and in ICT technology development.
• Including writers from different perspectives and parts of the world.
• Highlighting the work of interesting ICT projects.
• Focusing on user experience and feedback.