Snowden’s flight to Hong Kong in late May stirred a wide and active response on the Chinese Internet. Snowden’s name was one of the top-ranked topics on China’s Twitter-like microblogging website Sina Weibo in June.
Tougher Internet filtering policies are being applied throughout Southeast Asia. The Gambia House of Representatives has enacted a new law banning criticism of government officials online. Russia has been pushing new legislation that allows copyright holders to ask courts to block access not only to allegedly pirated content, but also to hyperlinks to such content.
This week in #imweekly: examining content control in China, Nigerian officials announce plans to heighten internet monitoring in the country, and Russia's Kremlin resorts to using typewriters to skirt foreign internet surveillance. Meanwhile, a push to heighten information control in Turkey.
Hundreds of protesters gathered in cities across the United States and Europe last week as part of the "Resore the Fourth" rallies aimed to call attention to government surveillance. What comes next for the movement?
Videos of a man filming people in public draw the ire of those on camera but raise questions about expectations of privacy in an age where institutions and individuals can easily and legally record others. Removal of the videos on various sites also highlights free speech and copyright concerns.
Circumventing digital surveillance, breaking through firewalls, and sharing data doesn't have to be high-tech. In fact, as the rate at which we produce and share data eclipses rate of Internet speed increases, many are experimenting with old-school alternatives. Will sneakernets and pigeons make the Internet obsolete?
As people share more about their thoughts and actions on social media and as algorithms grow more sophisticated, law enforcement’s ability to mine such information for clues into how to prevent crimes raises concerns of profiling and questions of oversight.