Category Archives: Censorship

China is a strange country. They have the weirdestcensorship rules and restrictions on the internet and all other forms of media. In simple words, you cannot alwayswatch what you want toorsay what you want to say.

Due to China'sInternet Censorship Policy, websites like Google, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Whatsapp, Netflix, Reddit and several others are banned in the country.

They have their own versions of most of the social media platforms.Weibo, populary referred to as the Chinese Twitter, is one such example.

Weibo has been fined several times for breaking censorship rules. But, this time Weibo users found a smart way to deal with thecensorship.

WHAT HAPPENED:

A journalist, Wenhao, shared a long thread on Twitter explaining what happened on Weibo on Wednesday night in China.

Weibo users in China started criticising the government for mismanagement of Covid in Shanghai, and other social issues. People went on and on highlighting the Covid crisis.

Around midnight, the top two trending topics on Weibo were:

a) Shanghai handles several rumours regarding Covid.

b) 'US is biggest human rights deficit country'

AND TAKE NOTE:

The Chinese government tried to divert netizens' attention by criticising the West. But this time it backfired horribly.

Weibo users continued to criticise the government but under the US hashtag. They smartly expressed their views under other hashtags that the Chinese government promoted to distract the users.

All forms of narratives, mainly satire, were used to highlight the governments failures under the US hashtag.

SOME OF THE BEST ONES:

Tweets by China's citizens criticising the government with satire

Issues like animal cruelty, wastage of medical resources, women being chained up in villages and much more were highlighted in the posts.

They replaced China with the US in their posts and pretended to be shocked at the kinds of things that happen in the US.

Many also criticised the Chinese media for always talking about whats happening in the west instead of focusing on their own people.

Weibo users used keywords like call me by your name to refer to the Chinese governments strategy of covering their faults by criticising the US.

GOVT WOKE UP LATE

The posts remained on the social media platform for hours.As mentioned by some users, exactly at 4:19 am in China, the government woke up and deleted everything. Only posts by verified government accounts remained.

People were still criticising the government under the Shanghai handled rumours regarding Covid tag.

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People of China smacked Weibo censors right across the face. This is how - DailyO

Troubled Times

In times of trouble, citizens can feel a sense of deep helplessness. With war, famine, or political unrest raging outside of their window, many feel compelled to help or somehow make a difference, but may not understand how their position is valued.

The organization Reporters Without Borders is a consultant for the United Nations and aims at defending freedom of press and information. They have been active in filing complaints to the International Criminal Court regarding the Russian military attacks on journalists and in assisting with reporting the tragedies in Ukraine more generally. Journalists with jobs as dangerous as this use a wide variety of tools to release data, but they are not inaccessible to the public.

Availability of communications (and basic services) is one of the first major concerns limiting speech in times of crisis. This may be an attempted shutoff from communications outside the country or simply an issue with delivery of services. Either way, this problem must be addressed before any other.

Ukrainians continue to face a crisis of the availability of basic utilities and tools for freedom of communication. This starts with internet access. Connections to primary ISPs in Ukraine are down a massive amount since the start of the invasion, to the point of showing a notable dip on monitoring maps.

However, Ukraine also has deep complexity in their smaller independent internet providers, unlike some countries which may rely on only a few larger monopolies. This creates a situation in which censorship by government entities becomes far more difficult to perform and utilities have more stability. Ukraine has faced censorship in the past, but there is some hope in satellite communications, which require far less infrastructure on the ground than traditional cable or fiber.

Starlink, which uses advanced satellites in low orbit, has been providing internet access to citizens who may not otherwise be able to access cable infrastructure due to damage or dangerous conditions. Though it is not the only option to evade censorship, it is likely quite appreciated by citizens in dire need or with less technical prowess.

In the world of cybersecurity, we have a lot of tools for evading censorship. The most traditional such as VPNs or Virtual Private Networks are a method of subverting prying eyes of internet providers or possible eavesdroppers on the local network.

Tor browsers are another option, being easily downloadable from the internet. They allow a user to connect into a vast network of open-source nodes that bounce around a users communications and make it harder to track them. Both common solutions allow users to access items that would otherwise be banned, dodging censorship, tracking, and monitoring by all forms of bad actors.

A step up from this is eliminating digital fingerprint. An example is through flashing an image of Tails (a Linux distribution specifically aimed towards privacy and security, famously used by Edward Snowden) to a flashdrive and using it to disseminate information, something recommended for use by Reporters Without Borders.

Over the years, weve also seen increasing popularity in applications like Signal, which provide end-to-end encryption on messages in an easily accessible mobile app. End-to-end encryption is vital when service providers cant be trusted to keep their eyes off of communications, because only the end users (the senders and recipients) are privy to the unencrypted data.

Some applications are very close to end-to-end encryption or have options for it, such as Telegram. These can be equally good options for everyday use, but those looking for a private pipeline for communications should use caution and ensure their level of privacy is what they desire. The risk of using applications like this is usually low, and to most, readily available.

As the war in Ukraine continues to devastate the country, it is vital that citizens and journalists under siege are able to access and transmit critical and accurate information. With cities and townships under almost constant bombardment, the ability to intercept or receive information or timely warnings can help keep people safe.

Journalists and media workers risk their lives to provide war coverage, as well as document evidence of atrocities. Using these tools and techniques can help at-risk journalists and civilians stay connected to critical emergency services, utilities, and life-saving information.

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LogicHub harnesses the power of AI and automation for superior detection and response at a fraction of the cost. From small teams with security challenges, to large teams automating SOCs, LogicHub makes advanced detection and response easy and effective for everyone.

*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from Blog | LogicHub authored by Tessa Mishoe. Read the original post at: https://www.logichub.com/blog/under-the-wire-evading-censorship-protecting-sensitive-information

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Under the Wire: Evading Censorship & Protecting Sensitive Information - Security Boulevard

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How China will censor the metaverse - SupChina

Konstantin Eggert, a native Muscovite, has reported on Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union. He started his reporting career in Moscow in 1990. From 1998 to 2009, he was senior correspondent, then editor-in-chief, of the BBC Russian Service Moscow bureau. Later he worked for ExxonMobil Russia and Russian media outlets, Kommersant and TV Rain.

Now, living in Lithuania, Eggert is a vocal critic of the Putin regime and has more than a few thoughts on censorship in Russia: specifically, how it compares to Soviet censorship, the decline of independent media in the country, Russian history, and the war in Ukraine.

Eggert currently works for a German broadcaster, Deutsche Welle.

Show notes:

Subscribe and listen to So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Stitcher, or download episodes directly from SoundCloud.

Stay up to date with So to Speak on the shows Facebook and Twitter pages, and subscribe to the shows newsletter at sotospeakpodcast.com.

Have questions or ideas for future shows? Email us at sotospeak@thefire.org.

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'So to Speak' podcast: Former BBC bureau chief Konstantin Eggert and what you need to know about censorship in Russia - Foundation for Individual...

Nationwide there was an unprecedented effort in the year 2021 to censor and ban books from public and school libraries and Virginia was not immune to that. Thats according to the American Library Associations annual report, issued this week.

The ALA collects tips from librarians, educators and reporters around the country. In 2021 they received more than 700 reports of censorship efforts, representing almost 1,600 targeted books. 30 of the censorship complaints came from Virginia.

Deborah Caldwell-Stone, Director of the ALAs Office for Intellectual Freedom, says the numbers are extraordinary.

Multiple challenges reported every day, when we might have in the past received one or two challenge reports in an entire week, she said in an interview this week.

Many of the targets are books detailing racism or featuring LGBTQ characters and storylines. Caldwell-Stone says the increase comes amidst organized campaigns over social media and at school board meetings.

We have seen some of these advocacy groups describe books as innocuous as Heather Has Two Mommies as sexually explicit because it deals with sexual identity and families headed by same sex parents, she says.

The numbers are from 2021, and Virginia state law is set to change early next year requiring school districts inform parents of any sexually explicit material used in the classrooms. The effect of the law remains to be seen, but Caldwell-Stone predicts it will worsen the situation.

It opens up the door to a wealth of censorship claims and challenges to the practices of schools and will only make it harder for librarians and educators to meet the information needs of diverse communities in Virginia.

This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.

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Virginia part of national uptick in attempts to ban or censor books - WVTF

Did you know that the beloved childrens book Charlottes Web, by E.B. White, was banned in 2006 in the state of Kansas?

A parents group had this childrens classic banned from classrooms because they asserted that talking animals were a work of the devil. Talking animals are blasphemous and unnatural, said one such critical parent.

Another objected to the book because a spider dying was inappropriate subject matter for a childrens book.

Defending family values, religious beliefs, political views and social norms are the main reasons for people defending censorship. As an English and journalism teacher for 29 years, I dealt with parents who wanted to censor books that I was teaching.

I detest censorship and really have little or no respect for people who advocate for it. While teaching, I frequently wore a sweatshirt once a week that said, Read a Banned Book. Under the banner were 10 books that were most often banned in the United States.

Parents who justified their actions in the name of protecting their children usually targeted the following books: Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger; The Color Purple, by Alice Walker; Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain; Black Boy, by Richard Wright; and Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe. I will explain more in detail about two of these.

Regarding Catcher in the Rye, two mothers told me it was trash. Asking these women if they had taken the time to read the entire novel, their answers were: Of course not, I read enough.

Most students came to love this novel as much as I love it. The main character, Holden Caulfield, is experiencing a mental breakdown and wants to protect the innocent people in the world, such as the nuns he encounters on the bus, and all of the children little sister Phoebe who are losing their innocence as the phoniness of the world embraces them.

Dont think about censoring a book if you have not read a book in its entirety and if you dont have an understanding of the book.

Likewise, Things Fall Apart is a world classic that I taught in my World Literature class. This book, which was a curriculum-approved book, tells the story of an Igbo warrior named Okonkwo who lives in Nigeria during the time of colonial Africa. Igbo warriors beheaded their enemies and brought back the heads as trophies. There are two sentences in the book that inform the reader of this tradition.

One mothers lament: How could I expose her child to such barbarism. I asked the mother what she thought happened when the United States government sent drones to other countries to take out terrorists who were considered our enemies. Did she think those bodies were left intact, and did she know that sometimes innocent women and children were killed in these attacks? Her reply: Oh, that is completely different.

So what did I do when a parent objected to his or her child reading a book in my class? I assigned another book for the student to read. I did not get into an argument or really even a discussion with these parents, because I knew that they had not read the books in their entirety and did not understand the themes.

Recently, The Pilot reported on a contentious hearing before the Moore County Board of Education on the appropriateness of the book George, by Alex Gino, regarding a transgender child. One particularly outspoken critic of the book was Jim Pedersen. Pedersens objections to the book are based on his political views and prejudice against the LGBTQ community, which should not even be considered when deciding on the merit of a book.

His comment that little kids dont even know human anatomy yet; testicles, ovaries, proper terminology is false. Educated and nurturing parents teach their children proper terminology. My son knew that he had a penis and testicles when he was 4 years old. He asked me about these body parts while he was taking a bath one night, and I named the body parts with no further discussion.

If I had some extra money on hand, I would love to print up some sweatshirts with the banner reading Congratulations, Moore County Board of Education. George Stays on the Shelf. How many citizens of Moore County would proudly wear one along with me?

Yvonne Gale lives in Pinehurst.

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Column: Fear, Ignorance Trigger Efforts of Censorship | Opinion | thepilot.com - The Pilot

Russians are still accessing Deutsche Welle (DW) despite the broadcaster having has its websites in all languages blocked in the country on March 4.

This, according to DW, is thanks to more than 10 years experience gathered by DW in circumventing censorship by authoritarian regimes.

DW says that when compared to the five months prior to the war in Ukraine, its Russian page has seen a 120% increase in total traffic and even a 24% increase in traffic from Russia.

It adds that this trend is also visible in the DW Russian social media offerings. The services Facebook page, for instance, has also been blocked since March 4 and is seeing a spike in traffic of 370% when compared to the 5-month pre-war period. The Facebook page has also seen an increase in followers from across the globe, another clear indication of the interest of a global audience for DW offerings.

According to Guido Baumhauer, DW MD of distribution, marketing and technology, these numbers are proof positive that our measures for circumventing censorship and our distribution strategy are working, says. Ever since our Moscow bureau was closed on February 4, it has become increasingly difficult to reach our audience in Russia. Therefore, we are glad to see that the citizens of Russia are even more driven to find independent information now, during this illegal war of aggression, than they were even in the months before the invasion of Ukraine

DW, with its 32 language services, says it is no stranger to censorship as its pages have been blocked in other countries such as China and Iran for more than 10 years. Since 2012, it has enabled its users to bypass internet censorship with tools such as Psiphon, which offers open source apps and proxies for circumvention. DW has also had an Onion site in the Tor network since 2019, which allows users to surf websites in the network anonymously. The best way to reach DW content, though, remains the DW App, which enables censorship circumvention with just one click. Users also have the option of accessing DW and other online offerings using various VPNs.

Oliver Linow, DW internet freedom specialist, added: Our years of experience benefited us in circumventing censorship in Russia as well as in Belarus, for example, where we were censored already in late October 2021 and were able to quickly ensure access to our website in the country, says. Following the loss of our license in Russia and the subsequent closing of our Moscow bureau, we were prepared for the complete censorship of our content there, as well. We immediately activated mirrored websites via so-called proxy servers so the people in Russia can continue accessing our Russian-language content. And its working.

Related

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DW standing up to censorship in Russia - Broadband TV News

Volunteers around the world are reaching out to Russian citizens in unusual ways, trying to break through the Kremlin's censorship over the war in Ukraine.

One cyber security expert who calls himself Jan says a website he set up to reach random people in Russia has placed him in the Kremlin's crosshairs. People around the world have clicked on the website more than 50 million times, sending pre-drafted messages about the war in Ukraine, such as: "Putin is attacking cities and helpless people. He's lying."

"We want to start a peaceful dialogue," Jan told CBS News' Roxana Saberi. "They [people in Russia] cannot obtain the truth about the war in Ukraine."

In Russia, the government has essentially criminalized the spread of information opposing its own narrative on the war. Most independent media have shut down. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are blocked.

During the Cold War, the U.S. used to crack the Kremlin's wall of censorship with radio programs and anti-communist leaflets carried in balloons.

Today's grassroots efforts are more advanced. A website "Call Russia" randomly generates 40 million numbers inside Russia, so volunteers can make calls.

"Most ... people don't want to learn the truth. But people still are humans. You know, no one is OK with massive amounts of people dying," co-creator of Call Russia, Paulius Senuta, said.

Senuta and other campaigners says they'll keep reaching out to Russians to share the realities of the war in the hope that eventually, they will help end it.

The rest is here:
People around the world try to break through censorship to reach Russians: "We want to start a peaceful dialogue" - CBS News

Childrens authors and performers say growing censorship, institutional timidity and online backlash are resulting in stories about diversity, sexuality and even contemporary world events being deemed inappropriate for younger readers.

It feels like were living through a second section 28, but one that the UK government has outsourced to an anonymous Twitter lobby, one performer says.

When acclaimed gay author Simon James Green was banned from school visits in the south of England by the Catholic church last month, it drew attention to what many believe is a developing trend that mirrors the escalating censorship of childrens reading in the US, described by Art Speigelman recently as a culture war thats totally out of control.

Savita Kalhan was expecting to take a school assembly with a group of teenagers for World Book Day recently. She planned to touch on themes of respect and consent that appear in her young adult novels That Asian Kid about institutional racism in schools and The Girl in the Broken Mirror which includes a sexual assault. But the event was cancelled because the deputy head deemed her work inappropriate.

Since then, Ive had lots of school librarians message me to say they believe the situation is getting much worse and more widespread, with a backlash against certain topics from school management and parents, Kalhan says. There seems to be a fear of something that might or might not happen, and its unnecessarily affecting childrens choice of reading.

Young adult books, covering diversity, sexuality, even contemporary world events, are now being deemed unsuitable for teenage readers, she adds. This is completely out of touch with what teenagers are actually reading and watching, and the expertise of librarians themselves is completely overlooked.

Juno Dawson author and former teacher, whose acclaimed sexuality handbook for young people, This Book is Gay, is the subject of removal petitions in the US agrees there is a shift in mood.

Its part of a wider culture war, she suggests, now gaining traction in the UK. You cant stop a kid being trans or LGBT but you can stop a book. A lot of these attempts to have books pulled or readings cancelled feel vexatious, so huge credit to the librarians and teachers who are dealing with irate parents and campaigners.

Elle McNicoll joined Simon James Green on the platform for the Bristol Teen Book Awards the week after his ban, which she describes as sending a painful message to young gay pupils.

Ive seen the absolute force for good that Simon is when he visits a school, and Im just sorry that some children will be denied that joy.

McNicolls latest book, Like a Charm, includes a dyspraxic protagonist; her debut featured a heroine who is autistic, like McNicoll herself.

Diverse authors take on a lot more than questions about plot and story, she argues. Were also often expected to fix societal problems or defend ourselves outside of our work.

Hazel Plowman, head of creative learning at the Bath Childrens Literature festival, says there has been a definite shift towards more inclusive stories in children and young peoples books since she started working there a decade ago.

Were programming our autumn festival, and while theres still work to do, we are getting all kinds of voices pitched as commercial books now, rather than being pigeonholed as an issues book for example. There are LGBTQ+ books for all ages, picture books with two mums, British-Indian detectives and neurodiverse authors and characters.

Jodie Lancet-Grant is one of the authors Plowman lists. Her debut picture book for 37 year olds, The Pirate Mums a swashbuckling adventure about a boy called Billy who happens to have two mothers attracted some trolling earlier this year. The idea that anyone would think this story is not appropriate for children beggars belief. Its just a different family circumstance, but its incredibly important that children see that represented.

There is a worrying trend of censorship of LGBTQ+ authors and books happening as a consequence of the more polarised world we are living in, she says, suggesting that section 28 the legislation enacted in 1988 to prohibit the promotion of homosexuality by local authorities and only abolished in 2003 still has an impact. A lot of adults grew up not reading about these subjects because of clause 28, and now assume they are not acceptable because they accepted that absence as children.

Drag performers have attracted particular controversy, with a number of schools caught out in recent years after booking an act seen as having a non-child friendly name or online presence. Sab Samuel AKA Aida H Dee, childrens author and founder of Drag Queen Story Hour UK, is clear that not all drag acts are suitable for education, but believes that schools and local councils are becoming increasingly aware of the potential for backlash, and consequently steering clear of anything that could be deemed risky.

Adam Carver, whose drag performance for kids Palaver! generated complaints to local authorities and the Arts Council England last year, is blunt: It feels like were living through a second section 28, but one that the UK government has outsourced to an anonymous Twitter lobby.

Carvers company, Fatt Projects, is working on a model to support arts organisations facing similar attacks, offering advice on how best to respond to criticism.

There is a resurgence of the idea that queer people shouldnt be around children, he says. There is a perfect storm now where venues and organisations are so afraid of backlash that they dont take any risks. But there is still demand from children and families for work that explores difference.

More here:
Out of touch: childrens authors describe increasing censorship of books on diversity - The Guardian

NCAC Objects to Removal of Library Books in Texas School District

NCAC has written to officials at Fredericksburg Independent School District in Texas after numerous books were removed from district libraries without a formal review based on arguments that they are pervasively vulgar.

The books in question, which include, among others, Jesse Andrewss Me and Earl and the Dying Girl andStephen Chboskys The Perks of Being a Wallflower, address issues that students or their families and friends often confront in their daily lives. To allow one or two administrators to remove such books without ensuring that they hear from those who might benefit from them ignores the obligations of the school district to serve the needs of all its students.

The formal review process is essential for resolving disputes over the suitability of a book. Pervasively vulgar is a very vague term, and different people can disagree as to whether a book includes vulgar material, and also whether that material is pervasive. It is for this reason that the reviews are conducted with input from a variety of individuals, including teachers, parents, community members, and students.

NCAC is urging the District to return books to library shelves and to make clear to all district personnel that compliance with board regulations is not optional. Read our full letter to the District below. Click here for a full-screen view:

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NCAC Objects to Removal of Library Books in Texas School District - Blogging Censorship