23 Feb 12 | Digital Freedom, Europe and Central Asia, Index Index, minipost
Access to the website of independent news agency Ferghana was blocked this week by telecommunications company Kyrgyztelecom in response to a formal request from the Kyrgyz state communications agency. In a resolution made public on 16 June last year, the Kyrgyz parliament called for access to the site to be blocked on the grounds that its coverage of violence in southern Kyrgyzstan in June 2010 had been “subjective” and “provocative”.
22 Feb 12 | Digital Freedom, Middle East and North Africa
On 22 February the Cassation Court of Tunis (Tunisia’s highest court of appeal) overturned a verdict ordering Tunisian Internet Agency (ATI) to filter pornography on the internet. The court has sent the case back to the Court of Appeal.
On May, 26, 2011, the Court of First Instance issued a ruling ordering the Tunisian Internet Agency (ATI), to filter X-rated websites. On August, 15, 2011, the ruling was affirmed by the Court of Appeal.
Tunisian free speech advocates fear that blocking access to pornography would be used as pretext to block other content, and would pave the way for a return to internet censorship.
The ATI is technically incapable of undertaking the role of internet censor. This what Moez Chakchouk, CEO of the agency said, in an interview with Index three weeks ago, he said the agency had neither the financial or legal backing to enforce web blocking.
In a press release this afternoon the agency said it will “continue working towards the development of Internet in Tunisia and to act as an IXP (Internet Exchange Point), in a transparent and neutral way towards all”.
16 Feb 12 | Asia and Pacific, Digital Freedom, Index Index, minipost
The Chinese government plans to continue censoring social networking sites, the the Communist Party and State Council has said regarding China’s 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) on Cultural Reform and Development. The outline said the Chinese government will increase regulation of domestic social networks such as RenRen and microblogging platforms, as well as cracking down on online distribution of pornography. There will also be an increased focus on protecting private information online and improving the country’s system to assess online security, according to the outline.
14 Feb 12 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
The most recent issue of the French magazine “Le Nouvel Observateur” was confiscated by Moroccan authorities after it published an image from the French-Iranian film “Persepolis”. The issue, due to be distributed on 2 February, included an article on the animated film, which tells the story of the suffering of an Iranian family following the Iranian revolution in 1979 and the main character’s subsequent exile to France. Morocco withstood pressure from Iranian authorities to ban the film in May 2008, screening it at the Meknes International Festival of Animated Film (FICAM).
