Censorship – The New York Times

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Pageant organizers gave Anastasia Lin permission on Wednesday to speak to the news media, ending a three-week standoff over her criticism of human rights abuses in China.

By ANDREW JACOBS

The president-elects tweets are arguably inciting harassment against his critics. But Twitters conduct rules are too vague to merit banning Mr. Trump.

By FARHAD MANJOO

The regulations punish people for spreading false information in the far western region, which has grappled with ethnic violence.

By EDWARD WONG

Journalists, teachers, lawyers and intellectuals have been jailed and thrown out of work, but book authors have been largely untouched.

By ROD NORDLAND

Without Fidel Castro, we Cubans will have to fend for ourselves, and think for ourselves.

By WENDY GUERRA

Questions continue to swirl over Facebooks handling of fake news stories and a tool it created that could potentially be used to censor content in China.

By FARHAD MANJOO and MIKE ISAAC

My inclusion on a new watchlist is intended to shame me into silence.

By GEORGE YANCY

Gab, a social media network built like a hybrid of Twitter and Reddit, bans very little and has become a conservative bunker of sorts.

By AMANDA HESS

From fake news to a censorship tool to a slow draw on removing hate speech, the social media giant is struggling to deal with the ethics of its business.

By JIM KERSTETTER

Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque, who goes by the name Zunar, is under investigation for producing cartoons that purportedly defamed Prime Minister Najib Razak.

By MIKE IVES

China is a tempting market for Facebook, which has been banned there since 2009. But to get in, the social network may have to compromise on its mission.

By PUI-WING TAM

The social network, blocked in China since 2009, has developed software to keep posts from appearing in users news feeds in specific geographic areas, current and former employees said.

By MIKE ISAAC

The reputation of the monarchy is zealously guarded in a castle tower.

By JULIA BAIRD

The social network for professionals was found to have violated a law requiring it to store local users data within the country.

By MARK SCOTT

A small group of Chinese reporters has been traveling across America, courtesy of the State Department, and hoping their articles pass muster with Chinas censors.

By ANDREW JACOBS

A new law, long expected, pushes back against online anonymity and sets out requirements on how companies store data.

By PAUL MOZUR

The real victims of mass data hacks arent the powerful, but would-be dissidents.

By ZEYNEP TUFEKCI

A report by a writers organization urges a dialogue on how students demands for more equitable and inclusive campuses do, or dont, infringe on free speech.

By JENNIFER SCHUESSLER

A memoir by the publisher Barney Rosset, who fought against censorship.

By BEN YAGODA

Nepszabadsag, Hungarys largest opposition paper, has halted publication after years of financial losses. Some also say political interference played a role.

By HELENE BIENVENU

Pageant organizers gave Anastasia Lin permission on Wednesday to speak to the news media, ending a three-week standoff over her criticism of human rights abuses in China.

By ANDREW JACOBS

The president-elects tweets are arguably inciting harassment against his critics. But Twitters conduct rules are too vague to merit banning Mr. Trump.

By FARHAD MANJOO

The regulations punish people for spreading false information in the far western region, which has grappled with ethnic violence.

By EDWARD WONG

Journalists, teachers, lawyers and intellectuals have been jailed and thrown out of work, but book authors have been largely untouched.

By ROD NORDLAND

Without Fidel Castro, we Cubans will have to fend for ourselves, and think for ourselves.

By WENDY GUERRA

Questions continue to swirl over Facebooks handling of fake news stories and a tool it created that could potentially be used to censor content in China.

By FARHAD MANJOO and MIKE ISAAC

My inclusion on a new watchlist is intended to shame me into silence.

By GEORGE YANCY

Gab, a social media network built like a hybrid of Twitter and Reddit, bans very little and has become a conservative bunker of sorts.

By AMANDA HESS

From fake news to a censorship tool to a slow draw on removing hate speech, the social media giant is struggling to deal with the ethics of its business.

By JIM KERSTETTER

Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque, who goes by the name Zunar, is under investigation for producing cartoons that purportedly defamed Prime Minister Najib Razak.

By MIKE IVES

China is a tempting market for Facebook, which has been banned there since 2009. But to get in, the social network may have to compromise on its mission.

By PUI-WING TAM

The social network, blocked in China since 2009, has developed software to keep posts from appearing in users news feeds in specific geographic areas, current and former employees said.

By MIKE ISAAC

The reputation of the monarchy is zealously guarded in a castle tower.

By JULIA BAIRD

The social network for professionals was found to have violated a law requiring it to store local users data within the country.

By MARK SCOTT

A small group of Chinese reporters has been traveling across America, courtesy of the State Department, and hoping their articles pass muster with Chinas censors.

By ANDREW JACOBS

A new law, long expected, pushes back against online anonymity and sets out requirements on how companies store data.

By PAUL MOZUR

The real victims of mass data hacks arent the powerful, but would-be dissidents.

By ZEYNEP TUFEKCI

A report by a writers organization urges a dialogue on how students demands for more equitable and inclusive campuses do, or dont, infringe on free speech.

By JENNIFER SCHUESSLER

A memoir by the publisher Barney Rosset, who fought against censorship.

By BEN YAGODA

Nepszabadsag, Hungarys largest opposition paper, has halted publication after years of financial losses. Some also say political interference played a role.

By HELENE BIENVENU

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Censorship - The New York Times

Media Censorship – Censorship | Laws.com

Media Censorship Defined Media Censorship is the act of altering, adjusting, editing, or banning of any or all media resulting from the presumption that its content is perceived to be objectionable, incendiary, illicit, or immoral by the applicable legislative authority or Government within a specific jurisdiction. The ideology, methodology, and measures or determination regarding media subject to Media Censorship exists in conjunction to the vast expanse of the varieties of media in existence; this can include but is not limited to books, publications, expressions, products, services, radio broadcasts, televised broadcast, Internet-based broadcasts, films, movies, pictures, images, videos, and speech: The Causes of Media Censorship The nature of the media in question, as well as any prospective measures of Media Censorship undertaken is in direct violation of applicable legislation existing within a specific location or jurisdiction; in the event that Media Censorship is considered to be unlawful or in violation of human or civil rights entitled to the respective citizenship, the Media Censorship in question may undergo judicial review. Media Censorship of Criminal Activity Online Crimes are defined as the participation or engagement in unlawful, illicit, and illegal behavior through the usage of the Internet; digital Media Censorship of activities and expressions considered to be criminal in nature are vast the following are examples of criminal activity subject to censorship within the media: Media involving the promotion or undertaking of criminal activity, threat, malice, or the promotion of illegal and damaging ideas with the intent to cause harm Media involving subject matter and content presumed to endanger the welfare of the general public, in addition to media assumed to compromise the safety and wellbeing of the public Media that is in direct violation of accepted and applicable legislation with regard to a particular jurisdiction or location Media Censorship of Sexual Expression Illegal in Nature Media including pornographic images depicting minors, children, or individuals below the age of 18 is considered to be a very serious offense; this criminal activity is not only applicable to those parties responsible for the release of this nature of media, but also to those individuals in ownership of that material: The ownership, transmission, or receipt of pornography or media sexual in nature involving children The solicitation of minors or those below the age of consent to participate in sexual activity; this can range from physical sex crimes to virtual sex crimes Pornographic images depicting sexual acts involving animals, violence, injury, and simulated relationships illicit and unlawful in nature are also considered to be illegal and subject to Censorship in America Digital Media Censorship Internet Law, which may be classified under as a subgenre of Cyber Law or Computer Law, is considered by many to be one of the most recently-developed legal fields as a result of the ongoing advent of computer-based technology; furthermore, the notion of digital or virtual Media Censorship is considered to be overseen by legislation expressed within this legal field. The reliance of the media of modernity on Internet-based, online activity has promoted the development of a variety of measures addressing digital media censorship, including the ethical and moral use of the Internet for lawful and legal purposes. Comments

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Media Censorship - Censorship | Laws.com

American Pie (Comparison: R-Rated – Movie-Censorship.com

This comparison is between the Rated-R-Version and the Unrated Version. 11 different scenes make the Unrated Version 10,5s longer.

12:08 The R-Rated Version only shows Vickys smiling face as Kevin ejaculates into the cup. In the Unrated Version she is shown straightening her top while Kevin is in the background ejaculating into the cup.

Unrated 1 frame longer

Jim and the apple pie

31:08 While Jims father is still going to the front door, we see Jim and the apple pie. In the Unrated Version he is lying on top of it, in the Rated Version he is standing there with the apple pie, leaning on the counter.

Unrated 1 frame longer

31:12 Different shots show Jims father entering the room through the door: in the Unrated Version he sees Jim on the table, in the Rated Version on the right hand side at the counter. Then alternately Dad and Jim with the apple pie are shown.

Unrated 2 frames longer

Sex Bible

31:38 In two different sequences of scenes Kevin is shown thumbing through the Sex Bible. In the Unrated Version he first learns that his enemy is the Vibrator; then he sees some drawings of sex positions. In the R-Rated Version the vibrator is shown first, too (different shot), but then briefly Kevin and finally a drawing of the "healing Love".

No time difference

Vickys Orgasm

34:51 In two different shots Kevin checks the "Tongue Tornado".

Unrated 0,5s longer

34:54 After Kevin was shown grinning a full frame longer in the Rated-R-Version, alternative shots show Vickys orgasm.

Unrated 2,5s longer

Nadja in Jims room

44:05 The Unrated Version includes an additional shot where we see on the monitor that Nadja has put one hand unter her slip; which is followed by a close-up.

4,5s

Now the Unrated Version shows for 2 seconds a shot of the 3 guys which comes briefly later in the Rated-R-Version, together with the second part of the shot.

44:05 Again, Nadja can be seen on the monitor with her hand under her slip. 2s

44:05 In exchange the R-Rated Version now shows a close-up of Nadja. A different one than the above-mentioned shot. 1,5s

44:12 Alternative shot of the monitor: in the Unrated Version Nadja has her hand under her slip, in the R-Rated Version she hasnt. Unrated 2s longer

44:21 dito. No time difference

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American Pie (Comparison: R-Rated - Movie-Censorship.com

Ted (Comparison: Theatrical Version – Movie-Censorship.com

Compared are the Theatrical Version and the Extended Version (Unrated Version) (both represented by the Universal UK-Blu-ray)

- 23 differences, including 9x alternate footage - difference: 371.9 sec (= 6:12 min)

MacFarlane's voice is an essential part of the success of Family Guy. So it doesn't take a genius to figure out that his voice can't be missing in it and the story of a talking teddy bear does the trick just fine. For Family Guy and American Dad fans, this movie is kind of a reunion because there are many familiar people involved. The narrator of the movie is Patrick Stewart who's playing Stan's boss in American Dad. Then there's Alex Borstein (voice of Lois, Tricia Takanawa and more) as John's mom, Mila "Shut up, Meg!" Kunis as leading actress, Mike Henry (voice of Cleveland, Herbert the Pervert and more) as Southern newscaster, John Viener as Alix, Danny Smith as waiter and Alec Sulkin as screenplay writer. Furthermore, the movie contains loads of popcultural references. There are also many ansurd scenes isolated from the actual storyline. Sound familiar? Well, that's because Family Guy does the exact same thing. Unfortunately, the movie becomes pretty conventional in the end; just like other Hollywood comedies do. But in this case, it's acceptable. The audience has to have thought the same thing because the movie made $500 million worldwide at the box office. With that amazing result, it's the most successful Original R-rated movie ever (Hangover 2 was more successful but that's "just" a sequel). No surprise that a sequel is already in the pipeline.

As expected, the new footage doesn't reinvent the wheel, that's for sure. And there are no scenes that were censored in the Theatrical Version either (like the F-word in the TV Version of Family Guy). Refering to the rampage at Virginia Tech University might be borderline but then again gags like that are on MacFarlane's shows all the time. Probably a highlight is the scene in the beginning when Donny (as a kid) takes notice of Ted for the very first time. Apart from that, the longer version contains some nice gags that enhance the quality of it. Due to the use of alternate footage for some scenes, the Theatrical Version is still worth being watched because some gags from the Theatrical Version have been removed in the process of editing the longer version. Finally, fans don't get around watching both versions anyway.

Time index refers to Theatrical Version Blu-ray / Extended Version Blu-ray

When the kids approach the little ginger (Greenbaum), the scene is longer in the Extended Version; including alternate footage.

The Theatrical Version only shows Greenbaum saying "Oh-oh...".

In the Extended Version, he says that from a different angle while the head of the bullies is approaching. Then the bully says: "It's Jesus' birthday tomorrow and you know what I'm gonna get him?" Greenbaum: "What?" Bully: "My fist in your fucking face?" Greenbaum: "Why would Jesus want that?"

Extended Version 9.3 sec longer

05:12 / 05:22-05:46

Before John enters the kitchen, the Extended Version contains an additional scene with the parents. After some implications, they get straight to the fact that the mom (Helen) gave the dad (Steve) a BJ the previous evening.

Helen: "Well, I think we've had a wonderful Christmas this year." Steve: "One of the best. And I particularly enjoyed the gift you gave me last night." Helen: "Well, my big strong husband works so hard all year. I figured you deserved a little Christmas treat." Steve: "I think those veneers just make it a smoother ride for me." Helen: "Mmm. Well, that's how much I love you." Steve: "Seriously though, that was an outstanding blowjob!"

24.6 sec

06:23 / 06:57-07:08

A further news report, this time from Japan. The female news anchor speaks Japanese before she's getting slapped by the male anchor.

10.9 sec

06:50 / 07:35-08:13

Additional scene. Little Donny is watching the talkshow with Ted which is why he wants a teddy bear in the first place. In the background, his dad is doing some chick, so he just states Donny already got a rake to clean the yard for his birthday.

Donny: "Dad, I want a teddy bear!" Dad: "Hey! What did daddy just get you for your birthday, huh?" Donny: "A rake." Dad: "That's right. An excellent rake. A birthday rake. So when you clean the yard you don't have to pick up the leaves with your hands." Donny: "But, Dad, I want the bear on TV?" Dad: "Donny, shut up, will ya! Daddy's making love to New Mommy." Donny: "But, Daddy..." Dad: "Go to your hammock!" Donny gets up, takes another look at the TV, then he leaves.

38.4 sec

Alternate 13:31-13:32 / 14:54-15:25

The Tom Skerritt dialog is longer. The Extended Version gives Murphy the opportunity to show off with his previleges.

Murphy: "I don't think of him as an actor anymore. He's just, like, a guy. Like, we work... we worked at my garage two months ago. Helped me hang a garage door. You ever hang a garage door with Tom Skerritt?" John: "No..." Murphy: "No! You ever, uh, go miniature golfing with Tom Skerritt's wife and her kid? No. You haven't. Do you ever watch a Bulls game, a Chicago Bulls game, in Chicago with Tom Skerritt? No, you haven't. All right? Liberty, fast track, Skerritt - John."

15:35 / 17:28-17:46

Ted comments John's "So bad, but so good" commentary regarding Flash Gordon with the following words: "Yes, a study in contrast." John replies: "Whoa, whoa, I love this part right here." Now both of them start singing: "He's for every one of us! Stands for everyone of us! He'll save with a mighty hand every man, every woman, every child with a mighty flash!" Ted finally says: "Fuck yeah, Flash!"

17.2 sec

Alternate 18:22-18:25 / 20:32-20:36

A very similar, but still alternate take. In the Extended Version, John expresses himself more direct: "I'm a fucking classy broad."

Extended Version 0.5 sec longer

Alternate 18:40-18:45 / 20:51-21:00

In both versions, John says "I'm taking you to the best place in town." but an alternate take has been used here (recognizable by the arm position). Then he remains still for a moment in the Theatrical Version. The Extended Version on the other hand switches to another shot of him in which he adds: "I've been crapping out room for it for two days. I mean, I know exactly what I'm gonna order." Lori: "You're so disgusting." Then, John's comment "You know I love you" follows. And again, the Extended Version contains an alternate take of his comment.

Extended Version 4.2 sec longer

Alternate 18:55-19:00 / 21:10-21:16

In the Extended Version, the distance shot is a few frames longer. Then an alternate take of John turning around in bed. But he only swears in the Extended Version "Ah, fucking cocksucker motherfucker!" while he's doing so. The Extended Version then just sticks to this shot when Lori addresses him while the Theatrical Version contains footage of from a different with the very same comment of Lori's. Not until its ending, the Theatrical Version goes to the distance shot from the Extended Version.

Extended Version 1 sec longer

21:11 / 23:27-23:31

First a shot of Lori. then Rex who reaches for magnifying glass and says about the photo: "Now, if you look close, you can see the outline of my root."

3.9 sec

Alternate 21:38-21:40 / 23:58-24:13

In the Theatrical Version, Lori says "Goodbye, Rex" from a closer angle. Then she gets up.

25:32 / 28:05-28:15

More dialog. John is being tactless by mentioning the rampage at Virginia Tech University. In the same shot, he adds: "I could have wound up like that Asian kid at Virginia Tech but I didn't because of him. So I'm not that psyched to just, like, kick him out." Lori: "What? It's good to know that a talking teddy bear is the only thing that prevented you from gunning down your classmates."

Subsequently Lori's comment "But you're no longer eight." which ia also in the Theatrical Version.

10.6 sec

Alternate 27:17-27:21 / 30:00-30:09

Ted has an alternate explanation for the excrements on the appartment floor. At first, the Extended Version contains an alternate take, followed by two additional ones.

In the Theatrical Version, Ted says: "Oh, yeah. Yeah, we were playing truth or dare and Cherene's pretty ballsy." In the Extended Version, he says: "Oh, my God! You know what, that's probably what Dierdre was doing over there. Remember she was crouched over in the corner for a really long time? I thought she was just making a phone call or something."

Extended Version 4.2 sec longer

Alternate 27:23-27:28 / 30:11-30:20

After Lori repeated "There is a shit on my floor!", the version continue differently.

In the Theatrical Version, Ted says: "'Or is the floor on the shit?' is what Kierkegaard would say." In the Extended Version, he says: "Yeah, yeah. She's passed out in the bathroom now. She seemed like she was hopped up on something but, you know, mystery solved, I guess, right? She was taking a shit." Lori yells "What the fuck?" one more time.

Extended Version 4.3 sec longer

30:14 / 33:06-33:26

John reacts to the attorney's proposal: "As I said, you would need a law degree for a law school." Ted: "No, no... I'm a special case. I'm a talking teddy bear for Christ's sake. They might make an exception because they'd be all like, 'Oh, my God, this bear's so cool. He can talk and do stuff. Let's give him a job. Maybe he'll give us a few laughs around the office.' And then they're like, 'Oh, my God! He can deliver. He's actually quite a litigator.' And then they'll practically have to give me the Anderson case."

20.5 sec

39:10 / 42:22-43:04

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Ted (Comparison: Theatrical Version - Movie-Censorship.com

[2.55 SPOILERS] FINAL FANTASY XIV: Unnecessary Censorship #5 – Video


[2.55 SPOILERS] FINAL FANTASY XIV: Unnecessary Censorship #5
Here #39;s the fifth and last in a series of videos I really enjoyed making! Hope you enjoy, and if you do please leave a thumbs up so I can keep this series going! They will be resuming when Heavenswa...

By: Zodical Candy

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[2.55 SPOILERS] FINAL FANTASY XIV: Unnecessary Censorship #5 - Video

GitHub attack marks escalation in China's cyber censorship battle, experts warn

File photo.(REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon)

The ongoing denial-of-service attack against code-sharing site GitHub marks an escalation in Chinas cyber censorship battle, security experts warn, urging a strong response from the U.S. government.

San Francisco-based GitHub has not said who it believes is behind the attack, which started last month, although the finger of suspicion has been pointed firmly in the direction of China. Anti-online censorship group Greatfire.org says that Chinese authorities took over computers both inside and outside the country to launch cyberattacks against the Greatfire.org website and GitHub, which hosts some of the group's data.

The attack, which was the largest in GitHubs history, began March 26, causing intermittent shutdowns of the code sharing forum. The shadowy attackers used the web browsers of unsuspecting, uninvolved people" to flood github.com with high levels of traffic, according to GitHub. On March 31, after days of battling the attack, GitHub reported that that its service was operating normally.

I believe that its likely that it is the government of China behind this, Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at software security specialist F-Secure told FoxNews.com. The reason why the attack is still ongoing is because their target is to cause pain for GitHub.

Its a tremendous escalation of nation state enforcement of their policy of banning what people can get access to, added Richard Stiennon, chief research analyst at IT-Harvest. China probably thinks of the U.S.s Internet infrastructure as the wild wild west, where everybody does what they want this could be bad, if the government doesnt respond, there will be more attacks.

Security expert Robert Graham traced a machine used in the GitHub attack to a location on or near the so-called Great Firewall of China -- the technology infrastructure for Internet censorship in China. This is important evidence for our government, he wrote, in a blog post. It'll be interesting to see how they respond to these attacks - attacks by a nation state against key United States Internet infrastructure.

The long-running nature of the digital assault also underlines the threat posed by shadowy attackers. A person with knowledge of the issue told FoxNews.com Monday that the attack is ongoing, but has decreased in intensity. GitHub, the person added, is mitigating the attack well and is fully operational.

F-Secures Hypponen told FoxNews.com that GitHub poses a unique challenge for China. With every single GitHub page encrypted, The Great Firewall of China is unable to block individual pages on the site. They would have to block everything, and that will not happen because a lot of Chinese companies are using GitHub, he said. The only option that China has is to bully GitHub.

Greatfire.org said it had mirrored some of its content on GitHub repositories, and that the data were the targets of the attacks.

Originally posted here:

GitHub attack marks escalation in China's cyber censorship battle, experts warn

Film-makers withdraw films from Istanbul festival in censorship protest

Director Nuri Bilge Ceylan was one of more than 100 film-makers who published a letter accusing the Turkish government of oppression and censorship. Photograph: Loic Venance/AFP/Getty Images

Dozens of Turkish film-makers have withdrawn their work from this years Istanbul international film festival in protest over the removal of a documentary from the programme, as a growing censorship row prompted organisers to cancel all festival competitions halfway through the event.

The documentary, Bakur (North), the first set in the camps of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers party (PKK) in Turkey, had been scheduled to open on Sunday, but was cancelled only hours before the screening after festival organisers received a letter from the Turkish ministry of culture claiming that the film did not have the required registration certificate.

But the organisers decision to comply with the ministrys orders prompted immediate outrage. On Monday, more than 100 film-makers, including the most recent laureate of the Palme dOr in Cannes, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, published an open letter in the Turkish media, accusing the government of oppression and censorship.

We, the undersigned film-makers, oppose the imposition [of this regulation] as a tool of censorship, the letter said, claiming there was a political agenda behind the decision to ban Bakur. The festival programme was announced weeks ago, and other local films that did not have the registration certificate were screened without problems.

In total, 23 Turkish film-makers withdrew their films from the festival, and the festival organisers announced on Monday that all competitions and the closing ceremony had been cancelled.

Ertugrul Mavioglu, journalist and co-director of Bakur together with documentary film-maker ayan Demirel, said he was impressed by the reactions triggered by the de facto ban of his film from the festival.

This is the first time that there is such massive solidarity against censorship, and of course I see this as a positive, he said, adding that he was disappointed by the stance of the festival organisers. They should have cancelled the whole festival immediately instead of complying with the ministrys bogus request, he said.

According to the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV), the organiser of the festival, Bakur was removed from the programme because the film-makers had failed to obtain the necessary commercial screening licence for their film. Azize Tan, director of the festival, said that the organisers had previously conducted negotiations with the ministry to change the licence regulation, in place since 2004 and applicable only to locally produced films.

But to Mavioglu, the governments last-minute reminder of the licence rule was a thinly veiled attempt to cover up the outright ban of a film that Ankara might find uncomfortable.

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Film-makers withdraw films from Istanbul festival in censorship protest

FCC CHAIRMAN TOM WHEELER. NO NET NEUTRALITY = INTERNET CENSORSHIP. – Video


FCC CHAIRMAN TOM WHEELER. NO NET NEUTRALITY = INTERNET CENSORSHIP.
Massive Double Speak here. Tom Wheeler recently said that if we don #39;t make up a bunch of new regulations that the ISP #39;s are going to suddenly have total power over the internet and will be...

By: grindall61

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FCC CHAIRMAN TOM WHEELER. NO NET NEUTRALITY = INTERNET CENSORSHIP. - Video

'Great Cannon of China' turns internet users into weapon of cyberwar

A receptionist works behind the logo for Baidu.com, the Chinese search engine whose customers were hijacked by the first firing of the Great Cannon. Photograph: NG HAN GUAN/AP

The Great Cannon has entered the cyberwar lexicon alongside the Great Firewall of China after a new tool for censorship in the nation was named and described by researchers from the University of Toronto.

The first use of the Great Cannon came in late March, when the coding site GitHub was flooded by traffic leaving it intermittently unresponsive for multiple days. The attack, using a method called distributed denial of service or DDoS, appeared to be targeting two specific users of the site: the New York Times Chinese mirror, and anti-censorship organisation GreatFire.org.

Both users focus their efforts on allowing Chinese residents to bypass the countrys Great Firewall the system China uses to restrict access to parts of the internet.

The attack, which continued for almost two weeks, was observed by researchers led by the University of Torontos Bill Marczak. They concluded that it provides evidence of a new censorship tool above and beyond the Great Firewall.

While the attack infrastructure is co-located with the Great Firewall, the attack was carried out by a separate offensive system, with different capabilities and design, that we term the Great Cannon, the researchers write.

The Great Cannon is not simply an extension of the Great Firewall, but a distinct attack tool that hijacks traffic to (or presumably from) individual IP addresses, and can arbitrarily replace unencrypted content as a man-in-the-middle.

Where the Great Firewall was a tool for largely passive censorship preventing access to material and providing the Chinese state with the ability to spy on its residents the Great Cannon provides the ability to effectively rewrite the internet on the fly.

When used offensively, that ability can turn a normal internet user into a vector of attack. In the case of the GitHub attacks, the Great Cannon intercepted traffic sent to Baidu infrastructure servers, web servers run by Chinas largest search engine that host commonly used analytics, social, or advertising scripts. Roughly 1.75% of the time it took that traffic and returned a malicious script, unwittingly enlisting the web surfer in the hacking campaign against GitHub. The scripts were not complex, doing little more than sending requests for content to GitHub; but the sheer quantity of users affected proved difficult for the site to handle.

The researchers conclude that the Great Cannon, like the Great Firewall before it, is likely to be operated by the Chinese government. Both systems appear to be hosted on the same servers, and appear to share source code for intercepting communications. As such, its operation points to a shift in Chinese censorship tactics, and has a highly visible impact, the research says. It is likely that this attack, with its potential for political backlash, would require the approval of high-level authorities within the Chinese government.

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'Great Cannon of China' turns internet users into weapon of cyberwar

Sage of Quay Radio – Max Igan – Censorship, Rabbit Holes and Zionism (April 2015) – Video


Sage of Quay Radio - Max Igan - Censorship, Rabbit Holes and Zionism (April 2015)
Returning to the show tonight is our very special guest Max Igan. Max is an activist, radio host and political commentator and one of the most empowering voices in alternative news and research...

By: The Sage of Quay Radio Hour

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Sage of Quay Radio - Max Igan - Censorship, Rabbit Holes and Zionism (April 2015) - Video

Great Cannon Internet traffic diverter widens Chinese censorship powers: researchers

WASHINGTON China has expanded its Internet censorship efforts beyond its borders with a new strategy that attacks websites across the globe, researchers said Friday.

The new strategy, dubbed Great Cannon, seeks to shut down websites and services aimed at helping the Chinese circumvent the Great Firewall, according to a report by the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto.

While the attack infrastructure is co-located with the Great Firewall, the attack was carried out by a separate offensive system, with different capabilities and design, that we term the Great Cannon, the report said.

The Great Cannon is not simply an extension of the Great Firewall, but a distinct attack tool that hijacks traffic to (or presumably from) individual IP addresses.

The report supports claims by the activist organization GreatFire, which last month claimed China was seeking to shut down its websites that offer mirrored content from blocked websites like those of the New York Times and others.

The technique involves hijacking Internet traffic to the big Chinese search engine Baidu and using that in denial of service attacks, which flood a website in an effort to knock it offline.

The report authors said the new tool represents a significant escalation in state-level information control by using an attack tool to enforce censorship by weaponizing users.

The Great Cannon manipulates the traffic of bystander systems including any foreign computer that communicates with any China-based website not fully utilizing (encryption).

The Citizen Lab researchers said they found compelling evidence that the Chinese government operates the GC (Great Cannon), despite Beijings denials of involvement in cyberattacks.

Because the Great Cannon shares code and infrastructure with the Great Firewall, this strongly suggests a governmental actor, said the report, which included collaboration from researchers at the University of California and Princeton University.

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Great Cannon Internet traffic diverter widens Chinese censorship powers: researchers