I am pleased to announce that we have finished the Citizen Lab’s latest output, Everyone’s Guide to By-Passing Internet Censorship for Citizens Worldwide.
This guide, which is intended for the non-technical user, provides tips and strategies on how to by-pass content filters worldwide. It is now in English but we are busy making translations into multiple languages. Stay tuned!
Congrats to the Citizen Lab team.
The “Great Firewall of China,” used by the government of the People’s Republic of China to block users from reaching content it finds objectionable, is actually a “panopticon” that encourages self-censorship through the perception that users are being watched, rather than a true firewall, according to researchers at UC Davis and the University of New Mexico. Read the rest of this entry »
Abstract:
Based on content analysis of global media and interviews with many diplomats and journalists, this paper describes the trajectory of the media from objective observer to fiery advocate, becoming in fact a weapon of modern warfare. The paper also shows how an open society, Israel, is victimized by its own openness and how a closed sect, Hezbollah, can retain almost total control of the daily message of journalism and propaganda. From Harvard University – John F. Kennedy School of Government by Marvin Kalb
The unrest paralyzing Tallinn and other Estonian cities for two nights running has spilled over into cyberspace. We’re now seeing large attacks against websites run by Estonian goverment. Some of the sites are unreachable. Others are up, but do not allow any traffic from foreign IP addresses. Read the rest of this entry »
Net Neutrality has been getting more attention in the Canadian media this year, and so The Citizen Hacktivist has decided to lend its hand by highlighting the cause and spreading the word. I have compiled a list of links to some excellent stories, discussions, video interviews on the issue of Net Neutrality in Canada.
Canada Sleeps Through War to ‘Save the Internet’ – Excellent article by Bryan Zandberg of The Tyee. Snippet: net neutrality in Canada hovers in a state of legal limbo; the threadbare language of the Telecommunications Act means that two-tier Internet is more than a distant possibility; it’s already here. Some Canadian providers are already engaged in some of these kinds of activities i.e. (Packet-shaping, or prioritizing the kinds of information being sent through the pipes, limiting bandwidth) , with little transparency and considerable uncertainty as to whether or not the legal system prohibits it.”
What the Canadian Government Really Thinks About Net Neutrality – By Michael Geist – An excellent discussion by Geist who discusses the issue of Net Neutrality in light of recent government documents that shed light on how the Tory government views the net neutrality issue and suggests that they are not too nervous about ISPs interfering with the Internet.
The Canadian Net Neutrality Debate – also By Michael Geist
Net Neutrality Canada – Sign the Petition. Get Informed. Kevin McArthur’s site.
Amber Mac On Net Neutrality in Canada – Excellent video interview by journalist Amber Mac with Andrew Clement, Professor of Information Studies at the University of Toronto. The interview is a good discussion of where Net Neutrality stands in Canada.
Canadians for Net Neutrality Facebook group – For my fellow cyber-activists, Hacktivists, cyber-warriors (*you need to log in). It’s a spot to try to educate people about why fighting for net neutrality is a good thing and also engage in some good discussion on the issue. After all, Facebook isn’t just for poking.
By James Nicholas Tay, March 25 2007
Let’s set the record straight. 30,000 Chinese Internet police? wow, really? That’s a big number, and a magically manufactured one.
What started out as rumour with Ethan Gutmann’s article in The Weekly Standard 15 february 2002, turned into “reportedly” 12 days later in an Amnesty International report. By August, and November “reportedly” had been dropped by U.S. newspapers such as the L.A. Times and Washingtion Post, and there you have it, rumour was no longer rumour, and reportedly was no longer reportedly. The rumours and reportedly had magically “like a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly”, turned into fact.
And that is the problem which continues till today with the BBC only last week continuing this myth. Furthermore, the ‘resourceful’ writers at The New York Times on March 4, 2005 have thought it necessary to increase and inflate the figure to 50,000 taking into account the rise of Internet users in China.
Many reporters and publications continue to repeatedly cite and reference the 30,000 number even though this has already been proven false by Nart Villeneuve and Ben Walker. In addition according to Nart Villeneuve EastSouthWestNorth, makes an interesting point that is: “Media reports seem to merge together the self-censorship practices by forums, portals, blog hosting companies and so forth with the Internet police.”
That said, I am not disputing the fact that there are Internet police in China. It is the exaggerated ‘magical’ 30,000 number that I take issue with. On the contrary, they do exist, and are active. They operate their own websites and often engage in law enforcement duties such as detaining suspects and shutting down their websites. They also reportedly, although it is safe to accept as true, often investigate, detain, and arrest dissidents.
In addition, they allow the public to submit reports (reportedly through SMS) against people who according to Nart Villeneuve “want to split the nation, or attack the party and the government, and people with “wrong doctrines opinion”/ falungong. (babelfish).” It is safe to deduce that the mandate of the Chinese Internet police is to investigate reports of people who criticize the government and members of Falun Gong.
I am not saying that Chinese Internet police do not exist. As I have shown above they do, rather it is the inflated, and exaggerated ‘magical’ 30,000 number that I have a problem with. It is clearly untrue, yet is constantly bandied around by the media. Reporting rumour as fact is definitely not helping the issue of Internet censorship in China which is bad enough as it is. Instead, it is contributing and negatively re-inforcing a climate of self-censorship in China. A climate that is detrimental to the cause of a free press in China, a cause in which many reporters and publications champion yet are slowing down with their “magical” 30,000 Internet police.
In an unprecedented move, an Alexandria court sentenced Egyptian blogger Abdel Kareem Soliman to 4 years‘ imprisonment, for using his blog to criticize Egypt’s top Islamic institution, al-Azhar university, and for insulting the country’s president Hosni Mubarak.
Abdel Kareem Soliman is the first blogger in Egpyt to be prosecuted, sending a spine tingling chill throughout the Egyptian blogosphere. It’s an unprecedent move that is threatening the internet, and blogs as a forum for social, political, and religious thoughts, and opinions in Egypt. The Internet, and blogs are a very important forum and crucially vital in a country where there is virtually no independent media.
Furthermore, as the BBC notes , “not only do Egptian blogs provide a platform for users to discuss political, social, and religious issues freely, but the ability to contribute anonymously is valued in a country where many people are afraid to express political dissent and where there is strong pressure to conform to social and religious norms.”
Egyptian blogger Abdel Kareem Soliman’s imprisonment however, is sadly, but one more voice in the global cacophony of voices that has been silenced. Across the Middle East, as blogs have become increasingly popular as a window of free expression, Governments have responded by increasingly cracking down on them, and often, threatening, and jailing bloggers. A fellow Egyptian blogger who runs the blog “Rantings of a sand monkey” remarked “It’s a dangerous precedent because it will impact the only free speace available now, which is the internet.”
Personally, I am very saddened by this, as I passionately believe in the Internet and blogs as a wonderful global forum for free expression, discussion, information, and communication. And this is just another example of the Government’s intrusion and attempt to control and regulate cyberspace.
Rather than attempt to crack down on blogs and the internet, I wonder if maybe the Egyptian government might see the benefit of allowing them to flourish. Afterall, blogs can provide an interesting insight into the minds of a country’s citizenry, and what people are thinking about, or discussing. If the authorities listened, they would learn much.
As i sign off, I would like to send a message to my fellow bloggers and netizens in Egypt and the Middle East, Do Not Give Up! Do Not Despair, Keep doing what you are doing, but be safe. There are also many tools and ways to do that (be safe) such as blogging anonymously and using hacktivist tactics to do so. Feel free to email me for assistance, i will be more than glad to help out.
No surprise here, as the Americans continue to pursue their doctrine of full spectrum dominace, by increasing the militarization of Cyberspace, with the establishment of a Cyberspace Command.
Cyberspace isn’t just for computer geeks anymore.
It is an emerging battleground crucial for ensuring that American wins the wars of the future, said top Air Force leaders speaking Feb. 8 and 9 at the Air Force Association’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Fla. From NavyTimes Read the rest of this entry »
From
February 15, 2007
Belarussian authorities have imposed tougher restrictions on internet use, obliging owners of internet cafes and computer clubs to keep logs of websites accessed by customers and report them to security services.
The country’s government said that the measures were needed to counter crimes committed online, but critics said authorities were imposing further limitations on freedom of speech in this tightly controlled ex-Soviet republic.
Under the new government order, cybercafes and computer clubs will have to block access to games and websites containing scenes considered pornographic or violent.
Users will also be banned from disseminating what a cabinet statement on the restrictions referred to as forbidden information. Criticising President Alexander Lukashenko is a criminal offence in Belarus.
Internet use is already subject to restrictions: Belarussians must present identification documents to use internet cafes, and web access for offices and private users is controlled by a state monopoly. From Times Online
Isaac Mao, a Shanghai-based blogger, has written a bold and very important open letter to Google, specifically to Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, advising them “to save Google in China and save the Internet in China.” He says he is writing “on behalf of many Internet users in China to have some suggestions in order to resolve the current dilemma for Google in China, from both a business and social perspective.” Read the rest of this entry »
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