Tag Archive | Tunisia
Human Rights: Tunisia Tense Ahead of Revolution Anniversary
An elderly man is in serious condition after setting himself on fire in southern Tunisia this week – in an apparent attempt to draw attention to the dire economic situation in the North African country. The act speaks to simmering tensions days ahead of the one year anniversary of Tunisia’s revolution that launched the so-called [...]
Tunisia: Censorship and Freedom of Speech in the Year That Was
| Written by Afef Abrougui | Sourced from Global Voices (Creative Commons) | Former Tunisian President Zeine El Abidine Ben Ali was an enemy to freedom of speech. With its heavy tactics, his regime attempted to silence all dissidents. The Tunisian Internet Agency (known as the ATI from its French acronym) spent significant resources on [...]
Human Rights: Arab Spring Gets Mixed Results in Advancing Human Rights
While the so-called Arab Spring, which continues to this day, has had mixed results in advancing human rights, activists around the world say they have been inspired by the movement to fight for change in their own countries. Some are taking notice as the world prepares to celebrate Human Rights Day on December 10. Newly [...]
Tunisia Testing Newfound Freedom of Expression
By Lisa Bryant | Tunis Tunisia’s revolution has exploded longstanding curbs to free expression. Media, civil society groups and political parties are flowering. Journalist and blogger Haythem el Mekki, 29, earns a living poking fun at politicians for Tunisia’s popular Radio Mosaique. It is the kind of free-wheeling satire that did not exist here a [...]
Tunisia: A Chance to Get Things Right?
Written by Rebecca MacKinnon This coming Sunday (October 23rd, 2011), Tunisia will hold elections for the constituent assembly that will be tasked with re-writing the country’s constitution. While this election is only the first step in a long and winding path that may or may not succeed in establishing a vibrant Arab democracy in North [...]
Tunisian Internet Agency Admits to Testing Western Companies’ Censorship Software
By: Qichen Zhang At the third annual Arab Bloggers Meeting this week, it was revealed that Tunisia has been secretly testing western companies’ censorship software. AB11′s website recently reported that software companies offered discounts to the Tunisian government in order to test and track bugs on their products. Moez Chakchouk, the president of the Tunisian [...]
EFF Supports Tunisian Internet Agency in Protecting Free Expression Online
Written by Jillian York For years, Tunisians suffered in relative media silence as the Ben Ali regime curtailed digital rights, blocking websites and surveilling citizens. Then, thanks to the hard work of Tunisian free expression advocates who for many years worked to raise awareness of the country’s pervasive Internet controls, censorship fell along with the [...]
Tunisia: Police Brutally Disperses Peaceful Protesters
Tunisian police brutally dispersed protesters outside the headquarters of the Cabinet yesterday (July 15). The protesters were calling for reform and were planning to launch a third sit-in at Kasbah square, which is the epicenter of protests in the Tunisian capital Tunis. Amongst the demands of the protesters were the departure of the Minister of [...]
Tunisian Press Fears Return to Censorship
A new report from international media watchdogs argues that for Tunisia’s democratic transition to succeed, the country needs a strong and independent press. The International Freedom of Expression Exchange Tunisia Monitoring Group (IFEX-TMG) urged the interim government to eliminate censorship, promote media pluralism and develop standards for the press. The June 16th report was based [...]
This Week in Internet Censorship
Canadian Filtering Tool Used in Middle East Canadian company Netsweeper produces filtering software that is utilized by several countries to block web sites across various categories. In Yemen, popular blogging site Tumblr is blocked, due to Netsweeper’s categorization of the site as “pornographic.” Similarly, a number of U.S. companies, including McAfee SmartFilter, Websense, and Cisco, [...]
Anonymous – Operation Malaysia Successful
The Malaysian Government became the latest target of the online hacker group Anonymous last night. At least 41 government sites were disrupted by the attack, although the Malaysian Government is not releasing the specific names of the sites in question. Officials were quick to point out that “no personal or financial data were compromised” in [...]
Tunisia Bans Adult Websites: Backtracks on Censorship Reversal Progress
Tunisia is banning all adult websites after a court order called on the Tunisian Internet Agency to impose a blockade. The X-rated websites are seen as posing a danger to children and are considered contrary to Muslim values, according to the three lawyers who filed the original lawsuit last week. The ban comes after internet [...]
