This week in #imweekly, new publication laws in Jordan lead to a shuttering of more than 200 websites, Turkish protestors are downloading VPNs to access the net in large numbers and stringent anti-defemation laws have attracted cricitism from civil society groups in Mexico.
Singapore recently passed a measure that requires online news websites to obtain licenses, pay a $40,000 bond, and agree to remove "prohibited content" within one day. Netizens protest, saying the measure's vague language could force bloggers and grassroots journalism out of business and chill their speech.
This year marks the 24th anniversary of China's Tiananmen Square massacre. In what has become an "Internet maintenance" ritual, the popular microblogging site Weibo blocked terms relating to the event but could not keep up with the memes netizens circulated to memorialize the event.
Two weeks before Iran's presidential elections, the US government has lifted sanctions preventing the export of communications technology services to Iranian Internet users.