· May, 2012

Stories about Feature from May, 2012

Netizen Report: Mexican Spring Edition

Galvanized online, tens of thousands of protesters marched in Mexico's capital last week calling for more engaging issue campaigns by politicians and less biased reporting by mainstream media of the upcoming presidential election. This week's Netizen Report discusses this and other key Internet freedom and control issues.

31 May 2012

Netizen Report: Eurovision Edition

Azerbaijan, host of the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest, has faced a number of digital disruptions as it prepares to host the annual singing competition this week, alongside criticism of its human rights record. From there our Netizen Report team takes you on this week's tour of the global struggle for freedom and control of the Internet.

22 May 2012

Pakistan: Twitter has been Blocked

Twitter has been blocked in Pakistan on Sunday. The country's top telecommunications officials said that it was blocked because it refused to remove tweets considered offensive to Islam. The tweets...

21 May 2012

Letter for Civil Society Involvement in WCIT

This page features a letter from academics and civil society groups from around the world to International Telecommunication Union Secretary-General Dr. Hamadoun Touré regarding the lack of opportunity for civil society participation in the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) process.

18 May 2012

Netizen Report: RuNet Edition

Our weekly review of developments in the global struggle for freedom and control of the Internet begins in Russia, where citizen media has been under attack in the wake of President Putin's inauguration. From there we travel on to China, Iran, Syria, India, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Facebookistan, Twitterland, the United Nations, and more.

17 May 2012

A man serving an anti-royal sentence in Thailand dies in prison

Akong was sentenced to 20 years in jailed for an unproven lese majeste case on the basis of Thailand's Computer Crime Act. The 61-year-old grandfather, who had long battled with oral cancer, was believed to have died as a result of this disease. Attempts to get bail for Akong, most notably due to his illness, was repeatedly denied.

14 May 2012

Zambia: Citizen News Website Hacked

On Wednesday, 9 May 2012, netizens who flock to various citizen-run news websites such as Zambian Watchdog and Tumfweko were met with “page not available” or messages to similar effect. Zambian Watchdog reported that its website was a target of a sustained attack allegedly by the PF government.

14 May 2012

Breaking Borders Award 2012!

We're excited to announce the second edition of the Breaking Borders Award for 2012. The award is a prize created by Google and Global Voices to honor outstanding web or mobile projects initiated by individuals or groups that demonstrate courage, energy and resourcefulness in using the Internet to promote freedom of expression. Closing date for applications is May 20, 2012.

11 May 2012

The Monarchy of Bahrain: An enemy of the Internet

Last week, the Bahraini authorities arrested the President of the Human Rights Centre in Bahrain, Nabeel Rajab when he returned from Lebanon at Bahrain’s International Airport. Apparently, the Bahraini government claim that Rajab was arrested because of his “insulting tweets.”

11 May 2012

Netizen Report: Raise Your Voice Edition

In our weekly report on the global battle for freedom and control of the Internet, we begin in India where activists are fuming over the country’s sweeping new Internet restrictions on objectionable content. From there we survey the global state of censorship, surveillance, activism, corporate actions and government regulation.

9 May 2012

Tim Berners-Lee: Protect the Open Web! #WWW2012

On April 16-20, 2012 the 21st International World Wide Web Conference (#WWW2012) gathered in Lyon, France to discuss matters of global concern for the Internet and the Web. A major highlight was an inspiring keynote by Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web.

1 May 2012

Netizen Report: Follow What You Believe Edition

Our inaugural weekly report honors Ms. Chiranuch Premchaiporn, who was arrested in 2009 for violating Thailand's Computer Crimes Act because she failed to delete a user comment insulting the King of Thailand quickly enough. Also covered, censorship, surveillance, copyright and other net freedom issues from around the world.

1 May 2012