Stories about Feature from August, 2008
Whose Decision To Block Malaysia Today?
Amidst uproar from Malaysian netizens, today's announcement by the Energy, Water & Communications Minister, Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansur, has put a new kink in the plot. Datuk Shaziman was reported...
Bloggers called for “code of Ethics” in Bahrain
Bloggers from Bahrain called for “code of Ethic” to avoid ” hate speech” in Bahrain, Bloggers said ” sectarian and discrimination became very hot topic in the blogs and we are afraid to become another Iraq or Lebanon so we toke the challenge to put something for limiting this hate speech”.
Plans for action against Malaysian bloggers
Despite jubilation over the Opposition’s win in the 26th August by-elections, political bloggers in Malaysia face the sobering prospect of the government taking tougher action against blog and website owners.
Silencing online speech in Tunisia
Blocking web 2.0 websites (Youtube, Dailymotion, Facebook) and barring access to local outspoken websites and blogs is the most obvious way of cracking down of the online free speech in Tunisia. It should be emphasized, however, that this is only one tool in the regime’s hand. Tunisia has adapted to the web 2.0 revolution by developing a broader strategy composed of a wide range of instruments
Malaysia: Deface If You Dare
Malaysian bloggers were up in arms again when blogger Bakaq aka ‘Penarik Beca’ was detained for sedition recently. Bakaq, whose real name is Abdul Rashi Abu Bakar, was detained (and since released) for defacing the Royal Malaysian Police crest by allegedly substituting the tiger in the emblem with a dog.
Turkey: Bloggers Banning Themselves
If you are a long-time follower of the Turkish blogosphere you will have undoubtedly heard about the Turkish ban on Wordpress....and the periodic bans on YouTube, and on the social-networking widget site Slide, oh..and now on Dailymotion as well. I think that is all? Isn't it? It is hard to keep track now-a-days and frustrating. Turkish bloggers feel the same way too, and are protesting the constant banning of sites by voluntarily banning their own.
Malaysia: What exactly is sedition?
It has been a tumultuous time for blogging and online expression in Malaysia. With the ongoing court cases with blogger and online news portal editor, Raja Petra Kamaruddin, as well as the detention of Malay language blogger, Abdul Bakar aka ‘Penarik Beca’, it is with little surprise that it has been reported that Malaysian foreign Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, called for the creation of a council or other form of mechanism to monitor bloggers.
Internet and South Ossetia Crisis
During the South Ossetia crisis, many people looked at the most popular Georgian pages to gather information about the situation. Big surprise, sites like the popular forum.ge or liberty.ge were not working and official sites were blocked or hacked.
China: Citizen reporter Zuola under ‘town arrest’
Chinese citizen reporter Zhou "Zuola" Shuguang has yet another encounter with various law enforcement bodies near his hometown today, tweeted it live, and learned that he is under several forms of heavy surveillance.
Turkey: Dailymotion blocked
Access to the french video-sharing website Dailymotion.com has been blocked in Turkey since August 2nd 2008. According to Erkan Saka, an Istanbul-based blogger, “the decision to ban the site came...
Sudan: YouTube Blocked
YouTube has been partially blocked for internet users in Sudan for reasons that are still unknown. Some Sudanese in the country report being able to access YouTube without any problems, while others report being sent to a page with the following message: "Sorry, this page has been blocked by National Telecommunication Corporation."
