China hums ‘Protect the Kiddies’ tune on net censorship
Hey, I’m sure I’ve heard this closer to home: Internet censorship is necessary in order to protect children. OLYMPIC Games organisers claimed on Saturday that the controversial decision to block Internet sites was taken to protect Chinese youngsters. Asked why sites such as Free Tibet and those covering the Tiananmen Square Massacre were not accessible,...
Sophie Peer from Amnesty International talks about the Great Firewall
I love what Stilgherrian is doing with live video on the web. Today he had a chat with with Sophie Peer from Amnesty International about The Great Firewall of China and human rights. Watch below: You’ve probably noticed the big yellow Amnesty International Uncensor box on the right hand side of this blog for the...
Journos express anger at China’s net censorship
International news organisations in China preparing for the Olympic Games have gotten their first taste of net censorship. Word coming out is that journalists are finding news websites censored and Internet speeds up to 10X slower than those at the Sydney Olympics (that must be slow). SMH writes: ‘Organisers had repeatedly claimed that internet would...
Peaceful Pill gets all clear in NZ, but not without a fight
Right To Life New Zealand (RTLNZ) and the Society for the Promotion of Community Standards are spitting chips after the Revised International Edition of Dr Philip Nitschke’s Peaceful Pill Handbook was approved by the countries OFLC providing it only be sold sealed to those over the age of eighteen. The original edition of the book...
No gag order for Aussie Olympians
The Australian Olympic Committee has confirmed Australian athletes competing in Beijing will be entitled to speak on any issue, including human rights. However, all athletes will be required to sign an agreement asking that they only comment to the media about their own events, prospects and performances. This agreement has been in place for ‘several’...
Kylie video pulled, may trigger seizures
The music clip for Kylie Minogue’s new track Wow has been yanked before it could air by UK communications regulator Ofcom. Not because Kylie’s strutting around in gold short shorts or flashing side-boobie (this time around she’s covered head to toe in a secondhand space suit). It’s because the Wow video does not stick to...
Thirteen complaints enough to warrant withdrawal of Ryanair ‘Schoolgirl’ ad
Just thirteen complaints from newspaper readers who found a Ryanair ad offensive was enough for Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority to demand the budget airline cease using the ad. The ad features an adult dressed as a schoolgirl with the headline Hottest Back To School Fares. Offensive? C’mon, a trip to the mall and your likely...
China’s net censorship: 44,000 sites gone
Xinhua news agency revealed Wednesday that China shut down 44,000 web sites in 2007 as part their campaign to clean up the Internet. Authorities also arrested nearly 900 people as a result. AFP says: Another 1,911 people have received unspecified “penalties”, the Xinhua news agency said, citing a statement from a Communist Party meeting. DailyTech...
U.S. Launches assault on Internet censorship
The U.S. State Department has been given $15 Million by Congress to develop anti-censorship tools and services which could help Internet users breach electronic firewalls set up by China, Iran and other ?closed societies.? Defense News reports that the budget is to be “awarded competitively to software developers to produce internet technology programs and protocols...
Behind the Great Firewall: Interview with an Aussie in China
Stephen Conroy’s mandatory ISP filtering plan has been criticized as being a carbon copy of China’s Internet censorship regime. Not in regards to the technical side of blacklisting websites, but the underlying desire for the Government to control the most important information resource ever created. I spoke briefly with one Australian living behind the Great...
