Tag: FREEDOM

The Obama administration is expected to introduce a new policy on Internet freedom today, following weeks of Web-fueled protests in the Middle East. The policy has reportedly been in the works for about a year, but recent events in Tunisia and Egypt have added a new sense of urgency to the issue as the U.S. struggles to balance old alliances in the Middle East with a new wave of reform-driven ...

Web surfers in China can finally use their very own version of Twitter -- as long as they use it to sing the praises of Mao. The new service, called 'Red Microblog,' is essentially a Twitter-like platform, devoted to Communist propaganda. According to the Telegraph, the site officially rolled out yesterday, and is run by a local propaganda department in the city of Chongqing. The typical news ...

Following Pakistan's lead, authorities in Bangladesh recently decided to block access to Facebook, on the grounds that the social networking site contains "objectionable" content about both the Prophet Mohammad and the country's own political officials. According to CNET, chief telecommunications regulator Zia Ahmed has requested that all Internet providers block the site, until a page publicizing ...

In an attempt to regain her personal freedom, New York Times writer Peggy Orenstein attempted the unthinkable: going offline. But it took more than removing herself from the Internet. It took removing the Internet from her. Temporarily, at least. In her research, Orenstein stumbled upon an application called Freedom, which blocks the user's access to the Internet for up to eight hours at a ...

Text messaging in Sri Lanka was suspended Monday by that country's government for fear that Tamil Tiger rebels would use the system to scare people away from independence day celebrations. The country's telecommunications regulator ordered the suspension of SMS text messages for the duration of the celebration and the leading service provider, Dialog, complied. In the Western world, we often hold ...