The Iranian government began censoring SMS discussions of its plummeting local currency on 10 September, following an exchange rate fall of almost eight per cent against the dollar. Iran’s mobile networks explicitly blocked messages containing the word ‘dollar’, as well as the local term for foreign money.
As the Communist Party Congress approaches, Dinah Gardner looks at the prospects for free speech in the People’s Republic
Sometime before the end of the year, China Communist party will hold its 18th Congress, when the old batch of leaders will step aside for a new crop. Rumours are flying about what will happen then, from the almost certainty that Xi Jinping will become China’s next president to suggestions that the Politburo Standing Committee will be cut from nine members to seven, demoting the power of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee.
Index joins civil society groups in voicing concerns about proposals made by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) that would threaten the openness of the internet (more…)