The Shifting Landscape of Global Internet Censorship, released today, documents the practice of Internet censorship around the world through empirical testing in 45 countries of the availability of 2,046 of the world’s most-trafficked and influential websites, plus additional country-specific websites. The study finds evidence of filtering in 26 countries across four broad content themes: political, social, topics related to conflict and security, and Internet tools (a term that includes censorship circumvention tools as well as social media platforms). The majority of countries that censor content do so across all four themes, although the depth of the filtering varies.
Berkman Klein fellow Grace Mutung'u shares insights into the transformative role of the Internet in her home country, and the various societal implications that come with becoming a more Internet-centered society.
This week, the Internet Monitor finds ways to delete oneself from the Internet, discusses Facebook’s fake news solutions, reports Internet bans during the election in Gambia, and covers the global attack launched by the Mirai botnet.
This week, the Internet Monitor covers the October DDoS attack and the growing threat of unsecure IoT devices, the new cybersecurity law in China that will reduce security and potentially expose personal information of users, the risk of hacking the U.S. presidential election, and the FCC privacy laws that protect user data from broadband providers.
Iran's elections in February saw voters decisively sweep away one of the most conservative parliaments in the Islamic Republic's history, and deliver a fresh legislature far friendlier to President Rouhani's political agenda. But how was this victory won?
This week Internet Monitor examines the "world's first list of terrorist journalists," arrests in both Laos and Iran, new custom Emojis from Twitter and the Anti-Defamation League's decision to place a new anii-Semitic symbol on its list of hate symbols.
New Russian system to monitor social media and predict political protests; radio and Internet under attack in Burundi; South Korea mandates spyware on teens' phones; and more, in our Week in Review.
In late September 2014, the people of Hong Kong embarked on a civil disobedience movement demanding genuine democracy and universal suffrage for the 2017 Chief Executive election. Recently dubbed the “Umbrella Revolution” for its use of umbrellas to counteract pepper spray and tear gas from the police, the Occupy Central movement has captured worldwide attention. Since the Occupy Central movement started, much information has been circulating regarding the various aspects of the protest. This post is an attempt to provide and overview of the major trends relating to Internet and media freedom.
Devu Chodankar, a 31 year-old resident of Goa, could land himself in jail after posting comments critical of India's newest Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Facebook. The case highlights a trend towards curbing online free expression in the country following Modi's widely-celebrated victory.