The Blog — Censorship
From Flickr user Youssef Hanna
Reactions to Saudi Arabia’s New Restrictive Laws for Bloggers
Despite a rising Internet penetration rate, Saudi Arabia continues to be one of the most repressive countries when it comes to net freedom. The most recent actions taken by the government do nothing to change that opinion. On January 1, 2011, the Saudi Ministry of Information and Culture issued new laws--formally known as the Executive Regulation for Electronic Publishing Activity--for web publishing, redefining how online content is controlled. How have Saudi bloggers and international rights organizations reacted to the new law?
From ammar404.tumblr.com/
Country Spotlight: Tunisia
Tunisia has one of the most well-developed telecommunications markets in Africa, relatively low broadband prices, and one of the fastest internet connection speeds on the continent. At the same time, the country is known for its pervasive internet monitoring and filtering, which threatens the work of activists and community organizers. What are Tunisian netizens doing to protest the government's policies and actions?
From Flickr User CurrentNews
China: Censors Versus Citizens
With more than 420 million web users, the internet in China has unleashed an unprecedented growth in online consumerism, information dissemination, and digital activism.
A growing number of Chinese citizens are logging on to speak out about issues affecting their daily lives, from corruption to pollution to land dispossession. China reported some 120,000 public protests in 2008. In 2009, Global Voices reports, protests in China became more varied, volatile, and increasingly internet based.
As online protest swells, the Chinese government struggles to maintain control. Here’s an update on how it's faring.
From Flickr user visionshare
State Run Search Engines—Should We Be Worried?
The governments of China, Iran, Russia, and Turkey have announced plans to develop and run national search engines. Is this a move to further control the information seen and read by citizens or an attempt to make searching easier? Will national search engines leave those already using circumvention tactics unscathed while harming those netizens without the skills or time to circumvent filters? And should we be more worried about the driving force of this trend—the increasing politicization of technology companies like Google—than the trend itself?
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