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Category Archives: Censorship

Reporters Without Borders unblocks access to censored websites

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Online censorship is rife. In many countries, notably China, citizens are prevented from accessing certain websites at the behest of their government. To help provide access to information and unbiased news, freedom of information organization Reporters Without Borders has set up mirrors to nine censored websites so they can be accessed from 11 countries that blocked them.

As part of Operation Collateral Freedom, Reporters Without Borders is mirroring the likes of The Tibet Post International which is blocked in China, and Gooya News which is blocked in Iran. Mirrored sites are hosted on Amazon, Microsoft and Google servers which are unlikely to be blocked by a censoring country.

While it would still be possible to block access to the mirrored sites, the fact that they are hosted on such popular servers means that there would be massive knock-on effects for other much-used services. Encryption is also in use to help prevent the risk of blocking by keyword.

Reporters Without Borders is waging war on the "Enemies of the Internet" which includes Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, China, Cuba, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. The full list of sites that make up Operation Collateral Freedom are:

Explaining how access has been opened up, Reporters Without Borders says:

To prevent this blocking, Operation Collateral Freedom is using techniques similar to those developed by GreatFire, an NGO that has carried out several operations of this kind designed to circumvent Chinese censorship.

Access to blocked sites can be restored by using a "website copier" (which copies the content of the censored site to an uncensored server and then keeps updating this "mirror") or by using a proxy.

In Operation Collateral Freedom, we are using both methods, with the mirror site being placed on a strategic server run by a major service provider such as Amazon, Microsoft and Google. The censoring country would be unlikely to block one of these servers because the collateral disruption and damage would outweigh the benefits to be gained from restoring censorship.

The organization is currently renting bandwidth to host the mirrored sites, and is calling for people to spread the word through social media using the hashtag#CollateralFreedom. Donations are being sought to keep the operation running for as long as possible.

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Reporters Without Borders unblocks access to censored websites

MEP Barekov with 1 Lawmaker with Bulgaria Parliament after 2 Quit His Party

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Two lawmakers of Bulgaria without Censorship, the party of MEP Nikolay Barekov in Bulgaria's Parliament, have left his entity.

Svetlin Tanchev and Georgi Kovachev, the former having been one of Barekov's most important MPs, have chosen to quit Bulgaria without Censorship, stating this in an open letter.

The two, however, will not leave Parliament and will remain part of the coalition Bulgarian Democratic Center, which was initially formed around Barekov's party.

It was Bulgaria without Censorship that in 2013 emerged as a rising political force, coming fourth in the 2014 European Parliament elections and sending Barekov and his one-time coalition partner Angel Dzhambazki to Brussels.

But Dzhambazki's party quit its coalition with Bulgaria without Censorship last summer to join the Patriotic Front (now supporting Bulgaria's government), and most other entities that had pledged alliance to Barekov are not out of his coalition.

Svetlin Tachev was also among those who split from their parties in Parliament last year to adopt a key position in the new political structure.

In October the Bulgaria without Censorship-led coalition sent 14 MPs to the Bulgarian Parliament. A parliamentary group called Bulgarian Democratic Center was formed then to stress that Barekov's partners were put on equal footing. However, as of March 12, 13 lawmakers have turned on Barekov, quitting Bulgaria without Censorship but remaining in the Bulgarian Democratic Center.

BDC lawmakers have made clear their voting in Parliament will not be in line with Barekov's statements.

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MEP Barekov with 1 Lawmaker with Bulgaria Parliament after 2 Quit His Party

Comedian Kurt Metzger on Scumbag Jamie Kilstein and Censorship – Video

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Comedian Kurt Metzger on Scumbag Jamie Kilstein and Censorship
Kurt Metzger and Sherrod Small on Opie with Jim Norton (11/11/2014) Discussion continues here: http://youtu.be/LrNz5u2PUow?t=57m43s https://twitter.com/OpieRadio https://twitter.com/JimNorton...

By: CheekyTwat

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Comedian Kurt Metzger on Scumbag Jamie Kilstein and Censorship - Video

Mukesh Bhatt Breaks His Silence Over The Censorship Issues Faced By Anushka Sharma’s NH10 – Video

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Mukesh Bhatt Breaks His Silence Over The Censorship Issues Faced By Anushka Sharma #39;s NH10
Producer Mukesh Bhatt voices his opinion over the censorship issues that have been going on currently. Watch the video to know more. For more Bollywood, log ...

By: businessofcinema

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Mukesh Bhatt Breaks His Silence Over The Censorship Issues Faced By Anushka Sharma's NH10 - Video

Internet Censorship in China: Well Sing it for You

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One Chinese government agency is so proud of how well they censor the Internet that they put their feelings to music.

One Chinese government agency is so proud of how well they censor the Internet that they put their feelings to music.

by Sisi Wei and Yue Qiu ProPublica, Feb. 12, 2015, 4:31 p.m.

ProPublica investigates the threats to privacy in an era of cellphones, data mining and cyberwar.

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Chinas Internet censorship agency now has its own choral anthem, a song titled The Mind and Spirit of Cyberspace Security. The New York Times reported Thursday that the lyrics to the song whichpraises the agencys commitment to the global village, evolving it into its most beautiful form were written by Wang Pingjiu, who also wrote the lyrics for the opening song to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

ProPublica watched, translated and subtitled the video.

Although the Times reported that copies of the video are being deleted quickly, ProPublica found copies easily via the popular Chinese social media site Sina Weibo.

In the song, employees proudly declare not only loyalty to their work, but that it is transforming the world into a better place. Lyrics include:

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Internet Censorship in China: Well Sing it for You

Concerns Grow Over Censorship in Hong Kong

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HONG KONG

In Hong Kong, where last years pro-democracy protests ended in a stalemate with the Beijing-backed government, there are signs of increasing state censorship.

A new report has found that Hong Kong police have requested more web posts to be taken down during the last four months than in the previous four years combined.

That data, plus recently revealed rules regarding Executive Council members interviews with the media, have added to the concerns of democracy activists, who say the citys history of freedom of expression is gradually eroding under Chinese rule.

Darcy Christ, a researcher with the Hong Kong Transparency Report at the University of Hong Kong, has seen an increase in the number of web sites being taken down.

"There is definitely a spike, but like I say, its mostly in the case of take down requests. That's not to discount that, but definitely user requests are one other important issue especially after the occupy protests," said Christ.

Since October, Hong Kong police have made 101 requests to websites and service providers to delete content. That figure compares with 29 requests in the preceding nine months of last year and a total of 65 requests in the previous three years combined. Last year police also made more than 4,000 requests for online user information, such as email and IP addresses.

Lawmaker and Internet entrepreneur Charles Mok has called for greater independent scrutiny and oversight of such police requests.

"My concern is that the police is stepping up and using its power whether or not it is invested in law, but at least they have the execution of power and they seem to be telling these social media sites to take down messages," said Mok.

Last month the PEN American Center, a New York-based writers group, wrote a report warning that Hong Kongs more open media was showing signs of increased self-censorship, and coverage more tailored toward the business interests of their financial backers.

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Concerns Grow Over Censorship in Hong Kong


  1. Censorship