Burma: Censors unblock several banned websites

September 16th, 2011

Censors in Burma this week unblocked the websites of international media outlets such as the Voice of America (VOA) and the BBC, as well the Democratic Voice of Burma, Radio Free Asia and YouTube. The unannounced move is the latest step taken by the nation’s new leaders to boost hope that authoritarian rule here could be softening. In August, state newspapers dropped half-page slogans accusing the BBC and VOA of “sowing hatred among the people”.

Belarus: President orders controlled internet access in educational institutions

August 31st, 2011

Internet access in educational institutions must be under control, said Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko as he addressed educators on 29 August. Lukashenko said they and teachers should pay close attention to communication among young people online, primarily on social networks, which he labelled “a dangerous weapon” that could be used for “destructive purposes.”

Brazil: Courts block bank accounts of Google Brazil for refusing to take down “offensive” blogs

August 31st, 2011

Courts in the Brazilian state of Ceará have blocked access to 140,000 USD in the accounts of Google Brazil after the internet giant refused to take down a series of blogs with content deemed “offensive” toward the mayor of Várzea Alegre. The blogs in question accuse the mayor of corruption and diverting public funds, although no sources have been cited for the accusations. The mayor has reportedly said the blogs’ anonymous messages smear his image.

China: Top official issues warning to web portal

August 24th, 2011

Bucking a trend of official anxiety over the explosive growth of microblogs in the country, Beijing’s Communist Party Chief urged China’s internet companies to put an end to the spread of fake and harmful information when he visited major internet firm Sina this week. Liu Qi praised the company for its achievements with Sina Weibo, a Twitter-like microblogging platform with 200 million registered users, but said internet companies should “step up the application and management of new technology, and absolutely put an end to fake and misleading information.”

China: Online censors delete family’s plea for justice

August 24th, 2011

Blog posts of family members asking for justice following their relative’s suspicious death in police custody have been deleted by Chinese censors, potentially to quell discourse over alleged police brutality. The official police record claims that Huang Guohui, who had reportedly trespassed onto a nature reserve in Hainan, had ”committed suicide in the interrogation room by hanging himself”. However his daughter and other family members say his body was found in the room covered in wounds.

China: Online commerce site bans sale of web filtering software

August 23rd, 2011

A major Chinese online commerce site, Taobao.com,  has banned sales of software used to bypass internet censorship. The site said it took the action on its own and received no official orders. A notice on the site said virtual private networks (VPNs) and Internet protocol proxies — common tools for evading web filters — were being used to illegally visit foreign websites. It told merchants using the site to stop selling them and said the accounts of violaters might be cancelled.

Vietnam: Pro-democracy website hacked

August 22nd, 2011

Hackers launched a sustained attack against pro-democracy website Viet Tan on 13 August in a denial-of-service (DDoS) operation. Of the 77,000 IP addresses employed, 73 per cent originated from Vietnam. The Hanoi government’s firewall on www.viettan.org was lifted so that the network relying on computers from the country could take down the site. Viet Tan has been constantly blocked by Vietnamese censors, with web users in the country requiring proxies or other circumvention tools to access the site.