Daily Archives: February 25, 2017

Here in the United States, if the internet isnt working, or is working slowly, the solution is often as simple as calling tech support. In most cases, theyll have the user run a speedtest, and there are millions of sites and applications that provide this service. However, there arent so many sites that allow users to see who has access to their information, and for people in countries where the internet is censored or restricted, even the fastest internet connection wont grant them open access to information.

This is one issue the team working on the Open Observatory of Network Interference project hope to address with their new Ooniprobe app, which, as of Feb. 9, is available in a beta version for free on Google Play and in the App store. The app has three main features, a speed test, a web connectivity test and a test that detects the presence of components that could be responsible for censorship or surveillance.

Without a tool like Ooniprobe, governments have plausible deniability in terms of censorship events, and actually, people claiming that they can't access a website is not in itself proof of intentional, government-commissioned censorship, Arturo Filast the creator of the app said. Now, anyone around the world can run Ooniprobe and can inspect how their network is working and whether censorship is being implemented. The type of data collected by Ooniprobe cannot really be denied by governments since it provides a clear picture into what is happening in a user's network.

Filast believes access information is a fundamental human right, but in the current state of affairs, many countries either censor or severely restrict the internet; with countries such as China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and India showing thousands of blocked sites - including many messaging sites like WhatsApp and Telegram, according to OONI World Map Explorer.

While countries like the United States have considerably fewer reports of censorship and blocked sites, the country isnt entirely free of censorship. Even here at Western Michigan University types of censorship are in place, but according to Chief Technology Officer Tom Wolf, there is a fine line between censorship and internet security.

In my opinion preventing malicious cyber activities that are illegal in nature and/or intended to disrupt normal internet traffic would not be considered a form of censorship. I would view this as cyber security, Wolf said.

This begs the question of exactly where one should draw the line between security and censorship. Most firewalls, such as Merits Palo Alto - the firewall currently in place here at WMU - scan for evidence of malicious activities and dont otherwise censor content.

Filast addressed the very fine line between security and censorship, distinguishing that security measures should restrict themselves solely to universally bad content.

Internet censorship, in any form and of any type of content, is a slippery slope. We see this in countless occasions where it's implementation is passed as an excuse to restrict access to content that is universally bad, but then the same system gets used to implement censorship for content whose value is much debatable, Filast said.

However, Nathan Tabor, a visiting professor and historian focusing on South Asia, expressed concerns over this slippery slope mentality, pointing out that when someone knows their internet activity is being censored, theyre more likely to change their patterns of consumption in a form of implicit censorship.

A lot of my work is in Persian, so I often access sites from Iran, another place that has very restricted internet access. The things that I access have to do with history and literature, pretty innocuous subjects, but perhaps my internet history comes up on the radar of some overzealous homeland security official because Im accessing sites from Iran. With the data mining that happens with my search history, Id look like a terrorist, Tabor said. The sites that you read will fall into some kind of aggravated pattern decided by a security apparatus, regardless whether or not youre doing anything wrong.

Read the original here:
New app to bring awareness to internet censorship - Western Herald

The National Press Club has condemned Donald Trumps exclusion of select media outlets from a White House press conference, calling the unprecedented action deeply disturbing and likening it to censorship.

Senior figures from the world's leading professional organisation for journalistsjoined a host of other industry leadersin protesting the decision announced by White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer to block news outlets including CNN, TheNew York Times, BBC, TheGuardian and BuzzFeed from the off-camera gaggle.

I find it deeply disturbing and completely unacceptable that the White House is actively running a campaign against a constitutionally enshrined free and independent press, the club's president, Jeffrey Ballou, saidin a statement.

The action harkens back to the darkest chapters of US history and reeks of undemocratic, un-American and unconstitutional censorship. The National Press Club supports our colleagues in the White House Correspondents Association in its protest and calls on the White House to reverse course.Mr Spicer did not give any justification as to why the news outlets had been excluded, however far-right organisations Breitbart News, One America News Network and The Washington Times were all granted access.

Othermajor outlets approved included ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox News, Reuters and Bloomberg, with Associated Press and Time both boycotting the gaggle after the exclusions emerged.

It came just two months after the press secretary promisedthe Trump administration would never ban press access regardless of the political leaning of the publication.

We have a respect for the press when it comes to the government, that that is something you cant ban an entity from, he said. You know conservative, liberal, otherwise I think that is what makes a democracy a democracy versus a dictatorship.

Donald Trump: We are fighting the phoney, fake news

National Press Club Journalism Institute President, Barbara Cochran, also accused Mr Trump of hypocrisy for claiming he loves the First Amendment, which defends the freedom of the press.

The president said, No one loves the First Amendment more than me. We call on the president and his staff to prove that and stop interfering with the ability of all news organisations to do their job of covering the White House, she wrote.

TheNew York Times and Buzzfeed both issued written statements protesting their exclusion from the briefing.

Fox News anchor Bret Baier discouraged conservative news outlets who celebrated the gaggle, citing organisations who defended his network when former President Obama tried to freeze out Fox News in 2009.

Some at CNN and New York Times stood with Fox News when the Obama admin attacked us and tried to exclude us, he wrote on Twitter, a White House gaggle should be open to all credentialed orgs.

It came as the US President renewed his attack on the mainstream media at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

I want you all to know that we are fighting the fake news. Its phony, fake, he said.I called the fake news the enemy of the people. They are the enemy of the people, because they have no sources. They just make them up when there are none.

Read more here:
White House media ban is 'unconstitutional censorship', America's National Press Club warns - The Independent

Raymond Ahner, Loudwire

When bands perform in China, it is no secret that they must submit their song lyrics to the government, who then return to the band with a list of songs they can and cant play as well as allowing certain songs as long as the lyrics are altered to something permissible. Metallicas recent trek to the country was no different, though James Hetfield seemed nonplussed by being forbidden from playing classics like Master of Puppets.

In an interview with South Morning China Post, the frontman was more than understanding about the censorship, stating,Why shouldnt you respect their culture when youre there as a guest and youve been invited to play? We want to be respectful and just because we do things differently, it doesnt mean it should be forced upon [others].

Hetfield is optimistic about returning to China and having the ability to play not just Master of Puppets, but other exclusions like One (in Shanghai) and Hardwired. But hopefully well keep coming back and theyll realize were not a threat politically and we have no agenda except to cross boundaries with music and let people enjoy the songs, he continued. Were not trying to bring a secret message to anybody.

During Iron Maidens performances in China last year, Bruce Dickinson toed the line with the censors, mouthing curse words and instructing the crowd to take a picture despite cameras not being allowed at the concert.

Metallica will embark on a North American stadium tour this summer, bringing along Avenged Sevenfold, Volbeat and Gojira on select dates. For more info and a list of all stops, check our 2017 Guide to Rock + Metal Tours.

Where Do Metallica Ranks Among the Top 50 Hard Rock + Metal Live Acts of All Time?

10 Bands That Were Banned From Countries

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10 Unforgettable James Hetfield Moments

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Metallica's James Hetfield on Chinese Censorship: Hopefully One Day They'll Realize We're Not a Political Threat - Loudwire

Personal Liberty Poll

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In an effort to make websites more advertiser friendly some media outlets have taken to eliminating comment sections where, without considerable effort from moderators, they are unable to control the direction of reader conversations. But a Google-funded algorithm could change that via censorship.

The technology, called Perspective, uses machine-learning to ferret out toxic comments. Its designers reportedly based the technologys moderation standards on those used by the team of human moderators tasked with keeping discourse civil on The New York Times website. The Times is also reportedly now using Perspective to expand the number of articles it allows comments to appear on without overtaxing its moderation team.

Developers explain how the tool works thusly:

Perspective is an API that makes it easier to host better conversations. The API uses machine learning models to score the perceived impact a comment might have on a conversation. Developers and publishers can use this score to give realtime feedback to commenters or help moderators do their job, or allow readers to more easily find relevant information, as illustrated in two experiments below. Well be releasing more machine learning models later in the year, but our first model identifies whether a comment could be perceived as toxic to a discussion.

The level of potential toxicity appears largely based on the use of vulgarity or insulting language in comments.

Here are a few examples of comments the technology would deem highly toxic in comments:

And here are a few that are considered the least toxic:

Personal insults and name calling cheapen any pointand theres certainly no shortage of uncomfortable language on the internet. But is the top-down sanitation of comment sections really the answer?

How long before the machine decides whole topics are too uncomfortable for discussion and are likely to cause readers to leave?

And if the problem is online harassment, are we really going to pretend that simply silencing the true assholes among us will make them disappear? Theyll still be out there Ever been in a big city traffic jam?

Civility is important. But pretending that life isnt uncomfortable, and partially so because of the personalities of people we have to deal with, isnt the answer.

Besides, sometimes you just have to call a spade a spade or a f*cking moron.

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See the article here:
Behold the censorship machine! - Personal Liberty Digest