Category Archives: Censorship

Fijis brand of post-coup media censorship and other Pacific political curbs have been challenged in the latest Pacific Journalism Review published today.

"Even if the Fiji media are shackled, conferences in 2010 and 2012 provided opportunity and space to engage in some open dialogue, including criticism of the regime authorities," the AUT-published international journal says.

"The proceedings were not confined to the Suva conference venue, or within Fijis borders - this is the digital age after all."

Many of the papers by Pacific journalists and media analysts were presented at a Media and Democracy in the South Pacific conference hosted at the University of the South Pacific last September.

Other articles, in the edition, co-edited by USPs Shailendra Singh and AUTs Pacific Media Centre director Professor David Robie, feature New Caledonia, West Papua and climate change reporting in the region.

Canadian communications professor and author Robert A. Hackett warns of significant democratic shortcomings in the medias watchdog, public sphere, community-building and communication equity roles.

He advocates "critical selectivity" over "wholesale adoption" of Western media models in the South Pacific to avoid some "entrenched shortcomings".

Such shortcomings have been highlighted in Shazia Usmans study on the Fiji print medias coverage of female candidates in the countrys 2006 elections.

Reflecting international trends, the Fiji daily newspapers "lavished attention" on male candidates while "cold-shouldering" female candidates.

The Fiji Times quoted female candidates 20 times and male candidates 218 times, while the Fiji Sun quoted females 29 times, and males 292 times.

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New PJR challenges Pacific censorship

Dallas, Texas (PRWEB) May 26, 2013

With its launch of an SSL proxy list this week, idcloak has armed netizens in internet censorship countries with an effective tool for bypassing blocks. The thousand-strong list of proxies from around the world not only enables users to reroute their internet to another country but also to encrypt the internet data they request from there. This encryption allows restricted internet users to unblock US sites like Facebook, Google and Twitter without fear of detection by government censors.

idcloaks specialist on censorship circumvention, Gill-Chris Welles, sees this release as a milestone in the companys efforts to promote web freedom, We fundamentally believe in geographically unrestricted access to the global web, but without a concerted push in that direction, the internet will inevitably be pulled the other way: towards control, personalization and localization. Our SSL proxy list offers a means of how to access blocked sites in a way that is invisible and safe. As a global and free public service, thats very valuable.

idcloaks growing suite of anti-censorship services are mostly geared towards countries where internet access is heavily regulated by the state. Welles, however, insists that such services can play an equally important role in free countries, We think about internet censorship as a problem in other parts of the world where freedom of speech is limited, but its happening here too, albeit in different ways. The monetization of the internet is rapidly making our web experience more regionalized and personalized the adverts, the search results, the recommendations it is all about where you are and who you are and is a form of censorship too. We are breeding our own culture for web censorship under the guise of usefulness. I personally feel we should have the choice and means to resist: to stay global and anonymous if we choose.

idcloak Technologies is a Dallas provider of security and privacy web services. For more information on web circumvention, anonymity or security, visit http://www.idcloak.com.

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SSL Proxy List Launched as Anti-censorship Tool

Asghar Farhadi made it into the Academy Awards record books when he won the best foreign-language honor for A Separation last year, becoming the first Iranian honoree. The 41-year-old this year created more buzz with his Cannes competition entry The Past, which on Sunday won Berenice Bejo the award for best actress at the 66th annual film festival. Farhadi talked to The Hollywood Reporter's international business editor Georg Szalai about censorship in Iran, possible future projects, awards season hopes and Iran's condemnation of Oscar winner Argo.

THR: You became the first Iranian filmmaker to win an Oscar for A Separation last year. How did you feel about that?

Farhadi: It was very pleasant. It was a great experience, because as an Iranian director, I knew that would bring a lot of joy to my people, the Iranian audience, that it would mean a lot to them. Even now, I think that the joy it gave to my people makes it one of the greatest memories of my career and life. Also, the film had the same kind of reaction from the audiences in Iran, the U.S. and all over the world. That also had a very specific meaning for me. That was very comforting.

PHOTOS: Star-Studded Jury Lands in Cannes

THR: Your new film The Past, which was part of the Cannes competition lineup, is already drawing buzz. Any Oscar hopes?

Farhadi: I try to avoid thinking about it. Not that it is not important. I think every human being in the world appreciates being encouraged and acknowledged. But I try not to have any expectations. So, if it happens, it's for the best. And if it doesn't, I am not losing anything.

THR: You made The Past in France and with a well-known star, Berenice Bejo. Can we expect to see you working with other international stars or maybe even doing a Hollywood film in the future?

Farhadi: I always try not to answer this question too clearly, because you are never sure. But I must tell you that there is a project that is a very important project with important stars and important actors that I would like to do, but I don't know yet if it is going to be my next film or the one after. I am still thinking about it and I am still thinking about the story to write and tell. This is the first step of it.

THR: Anything you can tell us about the stories of the next two films you just mentioned you hope to do?

Farhadi: All I can say is that it will be the continuation of the path that has been mine until now. I won't go in any different directions. But if you don't mind, I won't say more, so that the way you find out about it is still interesting.

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Cannes: 'The Past' Director Asghar Farhadi on Censorship in Iran, Future Projects

Not content with a 30-minute delay on broadcasts of foreign television channels, communist Vietnam has introduced a brazen new law which observers say could force media outlets such as the BBC and CNN to pay for their own censorship.

The law, known as Decision 20, requires channels to apply for an editing license with a government-approved local partner who will "prepare" -- subtitle and edit -- their content for a local audience, for an undisclosed fee.

The authoritarian nation already bans private media and all newspapers and television channels are state-run.

It has also long-censored foreign television channels, which are broadcast with a delay of up to 30 minutes to allow sensitive content to be cut.

But critics say the new law goes further by making the channels pay for -- in collusion with the government -- their own censorship.

Decision 20, which came into force last week, briefly saw dozens of foreign channels taken off air, as confusion over licensing requirements left local broadcasters fearing they would be penalised for breaking the law.

As subscribers grumbled at the loss of favourite shows, experts pondered whether the move signalled a new campaign to control information in the authoritarian country or if it was some kind of commercial ploy.

One bemused Hanoi-based diplomat from a country with an affected national broadcaster, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Vietnam's motives were as "clear as mud".

Although the government has previously said news content does not have to be subtitled, foreign channels fear they are the target of the new law.

"The channels are concerned that (the law) appears to force them to contract somebody to censor their content," John Medeiros, Chief Policy Officer at pay-tv industry body CASBAA told AFP.

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TV channels balk at 'paying for censorship' in Vietnam

Two international photographers have withdrawn their works from an exhibition in Sydney in protest over what one has described as censorship.

The photographers' works are being displayed on a screen near the Museum of Contemporary Art as part of the annual Vivid festival.

But several photographers say they have been asked to restrict the use of some images.

They have told the ABC that Vivid organisers said several photos were considered inappropriate and should not be displayed.

Photographer Jodi Beiber is one of them.

Ms Beiber is known for her photo of an Afghan woman with her nose cut off, which featured on the cover of Time magazine.

She says one of her photos of a bare-breasted woman was removed from the exhibition and she has decided to withdraw her feature in protest.

"If I look at all the photographs that are not allowed to be shown, I feel that there's a huge censorship," she said.

"I come from South Africa which is a country that's not perfect.

"But when you have such protection of a society, how are your children going to be when they go out into the real world, if they're not allowed to experience or see or make up their own mind about what happens in the world?"

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Photographers withdraw from Vivid over censorship claims

Censorship! Video Removed In Less Than 24 Hours!
Wow I made this clip on family guy and it got taken down within hours! It is not surprising, but still makes me mad. Oh well they censoring YT soon anyway so you better learn what you can now!

By: JC Ishtruth

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Censorship! Video Removed In Less Than 24 Hours! - Video

Dallas, Texas (PRWEB) May 24, 2013

idcloak Technologies launches a UK Proxy server List to compliment the recent release of its US list. The move adds choice and a broader range of functionality to a user base heavily reliant on options. When you are stuck behind a government block on Google and Facebook, the key to successful censorship circumvention is blending in with normal traffic, explains Gill-Chris Welles, a circumvention specialist at idcloak, The internet is global and the only way censored users can bypass blocks without detection is by accessing proxies in the same way they would websites: variously. Filters are designed to pick up on modes of behavior that give away unblocking activity, and users need multiple options if they are to shake off detection. Our UK proxy server list gives them a new range of IP addresses to work with, and will still land the user in an English language internet environment.

It is not just breadth of choice that equips proxy users in their battle against censorship but contemporaneousness as well, as web censors work non-stop to uncover proxy IP addresses and close them down. With government web censorship, proxies can be blocked within hours, even minutes of going online, says Welles, and to combat this issue, our UK proxy server list needs to be continuously updated with fresh new proxies replacing the old on a daily basis. This is a challenge, since there are relatively few proxy administrators in the UK who offer their bandwidth and processing power for public use.

At present, the idcloak UK proxy server list consists of HTTP/S proxies only. This protocol is designed for rerouting web browser activity through British servers. Our British proxies are effective as a Google, Facebook or YouTube unblocker, for example; but they will not support internet applications that run outside of a browser. If a user wants to access Skype from a country where it is blocked, for example, they will need a VPN service.

idcloak Technologies is a Dallas internet services firm working towards greater security, freedom and privacy on the web. For more information, visit http://www.idcloak.com

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"UK Proxy Server List release is a strike against internet censorship,” says idcloak

London, May 24 (ANI): Google's executive chairman Eric Schmidt and director of Google Ideas Jared Cohen have warned London School of Economics students against censorship on the internet and the dangers that 'digital ethnic cleansing' pose.

Sky News quoted Schmidt, as saying that people will omit data if they want to restrict communication and information.

He, however, agreed that any piece of information cannot be completely concealed for a long time.

Speaking of the instructions for a 3D-printed plastic handgun that was published by a website operating in the United States, Schmidt said that some information needs to be censored on the internet, as cyber space is massively ungoverned in the absence of a delete button.

Despite the website originally posting the details being shut down by the U.S. Government, the designs had already been distributed widely across the internet and had appeared on other sites as well.

Schmidt expressed his anger over the incident, saying that people will die because of the gun manufacturer's reckless act, and also because of the information being spread all over the net.

Schmidt also expressed his concern over 'digital ethnic cleansing' which refers to slowing down of bandwidth that will in turn have a significant impact on development, economic opportunity and education.

Schmidt said governments should emphasize on dissemination of more data and more transparency.

He praised British Prime Minister David Cameron for promoting a more transparent model of government, saying that it is having a huge impact on people. (ANI)

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Google boss warns students against 'censorship of net' and 'digital ethnic cleansing'

Microsoft Corporate Censorship During Xbox Reveal
My twitter account was suspended while Live-Tweeting the Xbox Reveal? Why? All signs point to Corporate Censorship. Wanna check out what I had in my twitter ...

By: The Portlandian

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Microsoft Corporate Censorship During Xbox Reveal - Video

Unnecessary Censorship Pt. 2 | Call of Duty Black Ops 2
Think of a dirty word when you hear the censor beep!

By: Minecraft Xbox 360 + Black Ops 2!

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Unnecessary Censorship Pt. 2 | Call of Duty Black Ops 2 - Video