censorship

No one can imagine what it's like to give birth to a child who will only live for 8 hours.

In Heather Walker's case, her son Grayson was born with Anecephaly, a condition that leaves part of the the skull exposed.

Hee died in February. Recently, Walker wanted to share pictures of him with her friends on Facebook. However, as WMC-TV reports, Facebook removed the photographs.

"They allow people to post almost nude pictures of themselves, profanity, and so many other things, but I'm not allowed to share a picture of God's beautiful creation," … Read more

The Pakistani government blocked access to Twitter over potential "blasphemous" caricatures of the prophet Muhammad, according to several reports.

Twitter was asked by the government to stop a discussion about a contest over Muhammad caricatures, something it refused to do. As a result, access to the site has been blocked, according to the Express Tribune. The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority passed down the directive to Internet service providers in the country, and said it couldn't say how long the site would be blocked.

Access to Twitter in Pakistan was later restored on orders from Prime Minister Yousaf Raza … Read more

Just a couple of weeks after Chinese censors lambasted the social network Sina Weibo for "rumor" mongering, the Twitter-like service announced plans to establish a "user contract" by the end of this month. This comes shortly after the uberpopular site also promised to fight against rumors on the Internet.

According to tech news site The Next Web, which got its hands on the contract and translated it, there are several points that look like they could impede the free flow of information.

It seems as if, for Sina Weibo, the point of the contract is to … Read more

China has once again taken aim at Web users who have allegedly spread political rumors across the Internet.

Twitter-like microblogging service Sina Weibo yesterday announced to its user base that it had banned several accounts for engaging in rumor mongering. The move came about a month after Li Delin, a senior editor for Chinese magazine Capital Week, wrote on Sina Weibo that he saw an inordinate number of military vehicles and plainclothes police in Beijing. The message sparked rumors of a possible coup.

"Recently, criminal elements have used Sina Weibo to create and spread malicious political rumors online for … Read more

President Barack Obama will allow U.S. officials to sanction foreign nationals for using technology to engage in human rights abuses, according to a new report.

The president will speak today at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum about human rights abuses. Part of his plan to address those abuses worldwide will include taking aim at those who use mobile phone tracking and Internet monitoring to limit free speech, The Washington Post reported yesterday, citing senior administration officials.

The sanctions will only be imposed on individuals and foreign companies that assist governments in violating human rights through technology, according to … Read more

Millions of Internet users in Iran could soon be permanently cut off from the Web, social networks, and e-mail.

In a statement released last week, Reza Taghipour, the Iranian minister for Information and Communications Technology, announced plans to establish a national intranet within five months in an effort to create a "clean Internet," the International Business Times reported today. "All Internet Service Providers (ISP) should only present National Internet by August," Taghipour said in the statement.

Web sites such as Google, Hotmail, and Yahoo will be blocked and replaced by government-administered services such as Iran Mail … Read more

A 32-hour standoff between a French SWAT team and 23-year-old Mohamed Merah -- who was wanted for killing three French paratroopers, three Jewish schoolchildren, and a rabbi -- ended today with a dramatic firefight and the death of Merah who claimed to be affiliated with al-Qaeda, according to the Associated Press.

Shortly after the confrontation, Reuters reports, French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced he was making it illegal for citizens to visit Web sites that encourage terrorism or hate crimes.

"From now on, any person who habitually consults Web sites that advocate terrorism or that call for hatred and violence … Read more

For years, Silicon Valley companies have quietly conducted a lucrative trade selling software and equipment to countries that restrict dissent over the Internet. But the recent dust-up involving an Internet filtering plan by Pakistan has turned the spotlight on a controversial business that may have a difficult time remaining secret much longer.

Broad public backlash appears to have prompted Pakistan officials to back off plans this week to build a system that will enable them to easily filter and block Internet content seen by the more than 170 million people living in the country. But Pakistan isn't the first … Read more

Microsoft has been given a reprieve in an Indian Web censorship case against several online companies.

The software giant today was told by the Delhi High Court that it will not face charges in the criminal censorship case after the company argued that no formal allegations were brought against it. Microsoft's departure from the case comes after Yahoo was also allowed out.

The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the news.

The India case is focusing on Google and Facebook. Last week, the Journal reported that the companies were forced to head to trial in India after … Read more