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Internet Censorship: Chopping the Head off LulzSec

For a while, it seemed that the hacker group with the silly name was running rings around the FBI. In the end, however, it appears it was the FBI running the show. In the summer of 2011, LulzSec – supposedly short for “Lulz Security” – erupted out of nowhere and began a flashy string of [...]

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Internet Censorship: Top Hacker Turns Snitch, Alleged ‘Anonymous’ Leaders Busted

Several alleged leaders of the international hacking organization “Anonymous” are not anonymous anymore. U.S. officials Tuesday announced the arrests of six high-profile hackers, including Hector Xavier Monsegur. Documents filed in a federal court in New York indicate that Monsegur, known in the hacking community as “Sabu,” cooperated with the investigation, leading to the arrests. The [...]

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Media Censorship: Media Freedom Worsens in China

Tightened press controls followed official concerns about ‘Jasmine’ uprisings. China has fallen once again in world press freedom rankings, following a year marked by crackdowns around the world, the Paris-based press monitor Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in an annual report. “Control of news and information continued to tempt governments and to be a question [...]

Somali journalists carry the slain body of their colleague, Abdisalan Sheikh Hasan, during his funeral in southern Mogadishu, Somalia, December 19, 2011.

Somali Journalist Killing Is Latest in Violent Trend

A Mogadishu radio-station director has became the third Somali journalist killed in as many months. The death underscores the constant threat against journalists working in the war-torn country. Abukar Hassan Mohamoud is the latest journalist to be killed in the bullet-ridden Somali capital, Mogadishu. Witnesses say unidentified gunmen assassinated the Somaliweyn radio station director late [...]

News media observers look on as Russian opposition leaders and activists sit around a table to discuss a proposed opposition protest set for next month, in advance of upcoming presidential elections which they say are unfair, in Moscow, January 24, 2012.

Internet Opens Russia for Democracy Movement

Russia’s protest movement grew and got organized with speed that startled many in the political establishment. Russia’s uncensored Internet allows people to communicate, coordinate and raise money for rallies, all through their computers. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is running for president in elections March 4. His campaign website photos show him skiing, skating and fighting [...]

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Internet Censorship: The Wiki Blackout, One Day Later

Just What, If Anything, Did Wednesday’s Protest Achieve? Not content to leave the battle un-joined, the hacker group Anonymous stepped into the SOPA fray Thursday evening by launching a massive denial of service attack on several SOPA supporters, including Universal Music, the RIAA and MPAA. Also targeted was the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. [...]

The founder of the file-sharing website Megaupload, Kim Dotcom, a German national also known as Kim Schmitz, appears in a court in Auckland on January 23.

Internet Censorship: Copyright Enforcement Vs. Censorship — Impact Of ‘Megaupload’ Case

Joss Wright, a researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, speaks to RFE/RL correspondent Ron Synovitz about the possible impact of the Megaupload copyright case on Internet freedoms around the world. RFE/RL: The U.S. government shut down the file-sharing websites of Megaupload on grounds of copyright infringement [...]

Art Censorship

Art Censorship: Pissy Pussy Comic – ‘Getting Social’

Art Censorship: Pissy Pussy Comic – ‘Getting Social’

The following comic art, story and characters are Copyright © 2012 DarkBrain, LLC. All rights reserved. Images used by permission of DarkBrain, LLC. See more awesome art and comics at DarkBrain.com     Download this free edition as a PDF by clicking here.  

Internet Censorship

Internet Censorship: CCP Proposes Cells For Microblogs

Internet Censorship: CCP Proposes Cells For Microblogs

China’s ruling Communist Party wants to set up branches at all major microblogging sites. Authorities plan to establish propaganda department branches of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) at the offices of Chinese Internet companies providing microblogging services, according to reports and netizens. The Party’s move, first reported by Taiwan’s United Daily News, is part of [...]

Media Censorship

China’s Top Official in Tibet Orders New Media Clampdown

China’s Top Official in Tibet Orders New Media Clampdown

China’s top leader in Tibet is urging local authorities to clamp down on Internet and mobile phone use in the region, as Beijing prepares to open its annual National People’s Congress and Tibetans honor those who have died protesting Chinese rule. The state-run Tibet Daily quotes regional Communist Party chief Chen Quanguo as saying that [...]

Music Censorship

Music Censorship: North Korea Crackdown on ‘Thumb Drives’

Music Censorship: North Korea Crackdown on ‘Thumb Drives’

North Koreans find new ways to access illicit South Korean pop culture. North Korean authorities are stepping up a crackdown on portable media devices in an attempt to block the spread of “Korean Wave” culture from the South, North Korean sources say. With cell phones and video players becoming more popular in the North, South [...]

Political Censorship

Political Censorship: Britain to Maintain Sanctions Until Burma Frees Political Prisoners

Political Censorship: Britain to Maintain Sanctions Until Burma Frees Political Prisoners

British Foreign Secretary William Hague, on a visit to Burma, says European Union economic sanctions will not change until authorities release all political prisoners.  The top British diplomat made the comments after holding separate meetings with democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma’s military-backed leaders.  Hague held talks Friday morning with Burma’s opposition and [...]

Religious Censorship

Religious Censorship: Contraceptive Coverage – Who’s Religious Freedom Is It?

Religious Censorship: Contraceptive Coverage – Who’s Religious Freedom Is It?

By Amanda Marcotte Frances Kissling, writing for RH Reality Check, made excellent points about why it’s not up to President Obama to determine which definition of “Catholic” is more valid than another by writing health care regulations around what the Catholic bishops claim to be the final authority on what Catholics believe while ignoring what [...]