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Burma, Irrawaddy and the unintended consequences of digital free speech

by adrienne debigare

Last month, Burmese media company Irrawaddy suffered a transmedia attack in response to their coverage of controversial and ultra-nationalist Burmese Buddhist monk, Wirathu. The Blink Hacker Collective, who took responsibility for the attack, brought the site down on October 2, through what Irrawaddy believes was an attack on their servers.

Internet.org in Zambia: Altruism or Corporate Lip Service?

by mayukh sen

Internet.org, a partnership between Facebook and six mobile phone companies around the world, recently launched its first initiatives in Zambia. The project aims to give Internet access to those living in remote, underserved areas of the globe. That said, its launch has attracted heavy criticism – is this seemingly selfless move towards facilitating wider Internet access as idyllic as it sounds?

One Person’s Terrorist, Another Person’s Freedom Fighter: Ronan Farrow, #twitterpurge, and The Moral Responsibility of Corporations

by mayukh sen

Calls for corporate monitoring of social media – on the grounds that some netizens may be inciting emotional, physical, or terroristic violence – have resurfaced among Ronan Farrow, critics of the #twitterpurge campaign, and #IAmJada advocates. Some journalists and media freedom activists fear that these pleas for corporate responsibility edge eerily close to censorship.