Category Archives: Censorship

Common Dreams

Fearing Trump Censorship, Govt. Scientists Leak Alarming Climate Report Common Dreams Fearing Trump Censorship, Govt. Scientists Leak Alarming Climate Report. Published on. Tuesday, August 08, 2017. by. Common Dreams. Fearing Trump Censorship, Govt. Scientists Leak Alarming Climate Report. Scientists at 13 federal agencies released ... ANOTHER leak hits Trump as official climate change report is released by scientists who fear its warning that ...Daily Mail Scientists Fear Trump Will Dismiss Blunt Climate ReportNew York Times Read the Draft of the Climate Change Report - The New York TimesNew York Times The Guardian all 425 news articles »

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Fearing Trump Censorship, Govt. Scientists Leak Alarming Climate Report - Common Dreams

Julian Assange has reached out to James Damore, the software engineer fired by Google for publishing an "anti-diversity manifesto." The WikiLeaks founder used his Twitter account (currently sporting a fake "verified" badge) to offer him a job.

Linking to an article entitled "Google Is Not What It Seems" about his book When Google Met Wikileaks, Assange said: "Censorship is for losers. @WikiLeaks is offering a job to fired Google engineer James Damore."

As well as the offer of a job for Damore, Assange criticized Google for what he sees as censorship, suggesting that employees should not be fired for "politely expressing ideas." The response on Twitter was not particularly positive, with many people calling out Assange for his definition of censorship and calling for him to vacate the Ecuadorian embassy where he remains holed up.

Assange posted a series of five tweets:

With no details given of what the job offer entails, the Twitter rant seems more like an excuse for Assange to revisit a favorite topic of his and sound off at the expense of Google. As for Damore -- from whom little has been heard -- the chances are he will not be short of job offers.

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'Censorship is for losers': WikiLeaks offers fired Google engineer a job - BetaNews

Department of Agriculture staff members have been advised to use the term "weather extremes" rather than "climate change" in their government work, according to a report.

An email sent to staffers at the Natural Resources Conservation Service, (NRCS) -- a USDA unit responsible for farming, ranching, and private forest land conservation -- lists terms that should not be used and suggests possible replacements in light of the Trump administration's position on climate science, The Guardian reported.

The note, sent by Soil Health Director Bianca Moebius-Clune, outlines a shift in language around the cause of human-driven climate change, proposing the term "reduce greenhouse gases" be nixed in favor of "build soil organic matter, increase nutrient use efficiency." In addition, "sequester carbon" would be altered to "build soil organic matter."

"We won't change the modeling, just how we talk about it," Moebius-Clune wrote on February 16, saying the language had been provided to her staff with the suggestion to pass it on to colleagues within the department. "There are a lot of benefits to putting carbon back in the sail (sic), climate mitigation is just one of them."

Moebius-Clune added a coworker from USDA's public affairs unit had given her advice to "tamp down on discretionary messaging right now."

Trump has frequently questioned climate change science and his administration formally gave the UN notice Friday of the United States' intention to withdraw from Paris climate accord. Many scientists believe climate change, and the subsequent warming of the globe, is being caused by the burning of fossil fuels and other human factors.

"The Natural Resources Conservation Service has not received direction from USDA or the administration to modify its communications on climate change or any other topic," a NRCS spokeswoman told the Washington Examiner. "These emails, sent in the first days of the new administration to a small number of agency staff, did not reflect the direction of senior agency leadership."

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Federal government email suggests censorship over 'climate change' - Washington Examiner

Judd Apatow is clarifying the recent comments he made criticizing backlash toHBOs Confederate, the upcoming drama series about slavery from Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.

After HBO picked up the series last month, many people took to social media with criticism about the project that envisions an alternate reality in which slavery exists due to the South having successfully seceded from the Union. AuthorAuthor Ta-Nehisi Coates is among the public figures who have voiced concern about Confederate.

Apatow made it clear with a tweet on Friday that he does not support the outcry, saying that censorship is never a good idea and that it is a tad early to judge their work and intentions.

Also Read: HBO Responds to #NoConfederate: Slavery Drama Will Be Handled 'With Care and Sensitivity'

However, Apatow amended his comments on Sunday in response to a Twitter user who questioned whether this indeed qualified as censorship.

You are correct, he wrote. It is not censorship. I used the wrong word. But to criticize work before it exists is dangerous to all expression.

Also Read: 'Confederate' Producers on Backlash: We Know We're 'Dealing With Weapons-Grade Material'

HBO president Casey Bloys told reporters at a Television Critics Association press event in July that Confederate is a risk worth taking, while acknowledging that there is a high degree of difficulty with getting this right.

Apatow has a long professional history with HBO, having served as an executive producer on Girls, which signed off this year after six seasons. He currently holds the same role on the networks Pete Holmes comedy, Crashing.

His tweets are below.

If you hate missing out on the pop culture phenomenon that is "Game of Thrones" but can't be bothered to watch the whole thing, or you just need a refresher on the past six seasons of murder and intrigue, check our list of the big events in the series' history you absolutely have to know as we approach season 7. (Spoilers, of course)

Ned Stark's execution (Season 1)Ned had discovered that King Robert's kids were actually fathered by Jaime Lannister, but the new king Joffrey wouldn'thave any of that talk about his incestuous parentage and took off Ned's head, sparking a war that that kicked off the larger arc of the show in Westeros. This was particularly shocking because Ned was positioned as the protagonist of the series before being killed nine episodes in.

Daenerys gives birth to dragons (Season 1)After her husband Khal Drogo died, Daenerys burned his body on a funeral pyre -- and then walked into the fire herself with three ancient dragon eggs. She survived, because as a true "dragon" of the Targaryen dynasty is immune to heat and fire ... and the dragon eggs hatched.

Renly Baratheon's murder (Season 2)Renly was killed by the ghost baby of Stannis and Melisandre. Don't worry about the specifics. Just know that it happened.

The Battle of the Blackwater (Season 2)Stannis took a fleet of ships into Blackwater Bay to try to take King's Landing and the Iron Throne from Joffrey, but a combination of Tyrion's superior tactics and the timely intervention of Lannister and Tyrell forces from the Riverlands saved the day.

Theon takes Winterfell, then pretends to kill Bran and Rickon (Season 2)Theon turned on his Stark allies by occupying Winterfell with men from his homeland, the Iron Islands, while the Stark army was occupied in the south. The Star children, Bran and Rickon, escaped with Hodor and the wildling Osha, so Theon murdered two other boys and burned their bodies and told everybody it was the Stark boys.

The Red Wedding (Season 3)Robb Stark had vowed to marry one of Walder Frey'sdaughters in exchange for use of a strategically-located bridge, but then broke that vow and married Talisa instead. The Starks put forth Robb's uncle Edmure Tully to wed one ofthe Frey daughters instead, but Walder and Stark supporter Roose Bolton secretly made a pact with the Lannisters. At Edmure's wedding, the Freys and they butcheredRobb, Talisa and Catelyn at the nuptials, along with the rest of the Stark forces who were present.

Daenerys overthrows the Masters of Slaver's Bay (Seasons 3 and 4)Daenerys marches into Slaver's Bay with riches pilfered from the city of Qarth, and arranges to buy a slave army called the Unsullied. But instead of paying, she sacks the city of Astapor with her dragons, freeing the local slaves. She then also takes two other cities and then settles in the third, Mereen, where she rules.

Joffrey's wedding (Season 4)King Joffrey weds Margaery Tyrell, but is poisoned at the Purple Wedding feast. It's hilarious, until Tyrion is arrested for his nephew's murder.

Tyrion's trial (Season 4)Tyrion didn't poison Joffrey, but he takes the fall. Hedemands a trial by combat, with the Red Viper Oberyn Martell as his champion -- but the Viper is killed fighting a giant man called The Mountain. His brother Jaime and spymaster Varys help him escape execution, and Tyrion then murders his dad Tywin on the way out for good measure.

The Battle of Castle Black (Season 4)A group of wildlings, including Jon Snow's lover Ygritte, attempt to take Castle Black at the Wall, but they lose the battle. Ygritte is killed and dies in Jon's arms.

Hardhome (Season 5)After being elected Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, Jon Snow travels north of the Wall to the wildling city Hardhome, to try to save them from death at the hands of the White Walkers and their undead horde. But those supernatural foes show up when Jon is in town, and a ridiculously awesome battle ensues.

The attempted coup by the Sons of the Harpy in Meereen (Season 5)Not everybody is happy with Dany's rule in Slaver's Bay. A secret society called the Sons of the Harpy attempt to take her out during a gladiator battle, but she escapes on the back of one of her dragons.

The return of the Faith Militant (Season 5)A man known only as the High Sparrow ascends to the top of the food chain in the Faith of the Seven, and with Cersei's help reinstitutes an old order called the Faith Militant to clean up the dirty streets of the capital. The plan backfires, though, and over the course of Seasons 5 and 6 the High Sparrow has become the most powerful man in King's Landing.

Stannisburns his daughter alive, and then dies (Season 5)In order to ensure his victory in the north and the survival of his men, Stannis sacrifices his daughter Shireen to the Lord of Light. It doesn't work, though -- much of Stannis' army goes AWOL the next day, his wife hangs herself, and then Stannis himself and the rest of his army is killed at Winterfell. Oops.

Ramsay brutalizesTheon (Season 3) and then, later, brutalizes Sansa (Season 5)Ramsay Bolton is sadistic as hell, capturing Theon after his shenanigans at Winterfell, and spending an entire season torturing him, including castration. Then, Sansa Stark is forced to marry Ramsay, and hesexually assaults her repeatedly, until Sansa and Theon escape.

Jon Snow is murdered ... and is resurrected (Seasons 5 and 6)Not all of the Night's Watch is happy with Lord Commander Snow's decision to ally with wildlings from beyond the wall. A small group of them stab Jon to death. But Melisandre resurrects him, and Jon gets his revenge against the mutineers by hanging them.

Melisandre is really, really old (Season 6)The sexy Red Woman, it turns out, is actually an old lady using a magical gem to preserve the appearance of youthfulness.

The Sand Snakes take over Dorne (Season 6)Led by Prince Oberyn's paramour, Ellaria Sand, Oberyn's daughters (known as the Sand Snakes) murder Prince Doran and his son Trystane, effectively taking over the country. They're plan is to wage war against the Lannisters and get revenge for Prince Oberyn's death.

Daenerys takes control of the Dothraki (season 6)After escaping the coup in Mereen on her dragon, Dany is stranded in the wilderness and captured by Dothraki, who force her to live among other wives of dead Khals. But she pulls a fast one, killing all the living Khals in a fire and then walking out, taking control of all the Dothraki forces.

Hodor dies (Season 6)Hodor held the door to the cave of the Three-Eyed Raven so Meera and Bran could escape the White Walkers' undead horde, dying in the process and causinga social media frenzy as the origin of his name is revealed. There is time travel and a paradoxical time looped involved, awesomely.

Also Read: Game of Thrones': What Exactly Happened With Hodor and That Time Loop?

King Tommen and Queen Margaery join the church (Season 6)With Queen Margaery and her brother Loras in church prison for all of season 6 so far, Tommen spent a lot of time with the High Sparrow trying to get him to let them go. The impressionable Tommen ended up instead establishing a partnership between the crown and the Faith of the Seven, thanks to prodding from both Margaery and the High Sparrow, alienating his mother Cersei in the process.

Also Read: Game of Thrones': What Did Queen Margaerys Note to Her Grandmother Mean?

Euron Greyjoy becomes king of the Ironborn (Season 6)Pretty much coming out of nowhere is Euron Greyjoy, the raider brother of Theon and Yara's father, Baelon Greyjoy, who named himself king of the Iron Isles. Euron tosses Baelon off a bridge in the middle of a storm, and then wins the kingsmoot, an election in which a new king is chosen. He then goes on the warpath again, trying to eliminate Baelon's kids so they can't rival his claim to power. The Greyjoy kids wind up teaming up with Danaerys.

The Masters of Slaver's Bay invade Meereen (Season 6)Tyrion tried to appease the Masters by allowing them to keep their slaves for seven years while they figured out how to rework their economy into a slaveless one. The Masters responded by sacking Meereen. But Daenerys showed up in the nick of time with her dragons and defeated them soundly, claiming their fleet of ships for her own.

Cersei blows up the Sept of Baelor (Season 6)In the finale, Cersei goes full Mad Queen and in one fell swoop, destroys most of her enemies. Cersei had Qyburn use children to light a cache of wildfire beneath the sept, placed there by order of King Aerys years earlier. The huge explosion wiped out most of the Tyrells, including Margaery, Loras and Lord Mace Tyrell, as well as Cersei's uncle Kevan Lannister, the High Sparrow, and the Faith Militant. As a result, King Tommen committed suicide by throwing himself out a window, leaving Cersei on the Iron Throne.

Jon Snow becomes the King in the North (Season 6)With Winterfell recaptured, the houses of the Vale and the North pledge themselves to Jon Snow, who they name the King in the North. Meanwhile, Sansa Stark is technically Lady of Winterfell and the rightful Stark heir.

Bran Stark heads south, now imbued with the magical abilities of the Three-Eyed RavenBran was absent for a season because he was training with the ancient Three-Eyed Raven to hone his "sight" -- the ability to see the distant future and the past -- for example, when he sees a vision of his father Ned's fateful visit to the Tower of Joy, where Ned's sister Lyanna dies after giving birth to Jon Snow, whose true father was Raegar Targaryen. How Bran's new powers will play into the new war in Westeros is yet unknown.

Arya kills Walder Frey (Season 6) Returning to Westeros, Arya gets her revenge for the Red Wedding by first killing Lord Walder Frey's sons, then baking them into a pie. She gets Lord Walder to eat the pie before slitting his throat and reveling in it the whole time.

Daenerys sails for Westeros (Season 6) After six whole seasons of waiting, Danaerys and her dragons finally sail for Westeros with all her allies, a massive fleet, and the biggest army in the world.

Arya gets her revenge on the Freys (Season 7) With Walder Frey's face, Arya takes down the rest of House Frey in a beautifully horrific echo of the Red Wedding. She poisons all the remaining Frey men -- 51 of them by our count -- and leaves Walder's young wife with the message, "Winter has come for House Frey."

Cersei courts an alliance with Euron Greyjoy (Season 7) With no allies left and enemies on all sides, Cersei entertains the possibility of siding with the psychopathic Euron Greyjoy, king of the Iron Isles. She refuses his marriage proposal, but as a show of faith, he promises her a "priceless gift." Foreshadowing much?

Euron captures Yara Greyjoy and Ellaria Sand (Season 7) Daenerys sent Ellaria Sand and the Sand Snakes back to Dorne to raise their army, escorted by Yara and the Iron Fleet. Along the way, though, they were intercepted by Euron's fleet and attacked. Euron killed two of the Sand Snakes, Obara and Nymeria, and captured Ellaria, Yara, and the third Sand Snake, Tyene. Theon Greyjoy managed to escape by (seemingly) selfishly diving overboard.

Jon meets Daenerys (Season 7) The first meeting between the Mother of Dragons and the King in the North could have gone better, with Daenerys demanding fealty from Jon, who refused. She doesn't believe him about the Night King, either, which is a major problem. But Dany does allow Jon to mine Dragonstone's Dragonglass, which will be key in that battle.

Cersei gets her revenge (Season 7) With Ellaria captured, Cersei uses the same poison that killed her daughter Myrcella to kill Ellaria's daughter, Tyene. Then Jaime executes a deft strategic move and, while the Unsullied are capturing Casterly Rock, he marches on Highgarden, the seat of House Tyrell. Jaime gets the Tyrell fortress, eliminates Lady Olenna, and nabs the money of the wealthiest family in Westeros. It's a major blow to Daenerys' war effort.

The Stark kids reunite (Season 7)In something of a more subdued moment, Arya Stark returns to Winterfell, where Sansa Stark is the Lady of Winterfell. Brann Stark, now the Three-Eyed Raven (and thoroughly weird) has arrived as well, bringing more Stark kids together in one place than weve seen since Season 1. Clearly, the reunion of House Stark is going to have some major consequences going forward.

Daenerys attacks the Lannister line (Season 7)In response to losing Highgarden and Dorne, Daenerys finally takes warfare into her own hands. She and her Dothraki warriors head for Kings Landing, but they dont attack the city they attack the Lannister supply line bringing gold and grain to the city from their victory in Highgarden. Dany uses Drogon to destroy the Lannister supply wagons and the Dothraki decimate at least a part of the Lannister army, but we dont see the full aftermath of the battle, or Jaime Lannisters fate.

If youve never watched the show or just need a pre-season 7 refresher, The Wrap has you covered

If you hate missing out on the pop culture phenomenon that is "Game of Thrones" but can't be bothered to watch the whole thing, or you just need a refresher on the past six seasons of murder and intrigue, check our list of the big events in the series' history you absolutely have to know as we approach season 7. (Spoilers, of course)

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Judd Apatow on Calling HBO's 'Confederate' Backlash 'Censorship': 'I Used the Wrong Word' - TheWrap

Censorship is never a good idea, Apatow wrote on Twitter of the forthcoming drama fromGame of Thronescreators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.

They havent even written a word, he added. Seems a tad early to judge their work and intentions.

Despite the prospect of a diverse cast, including, presumably, several characters of color, social media users filled the Internet with outrage in protest of the premise of the show.

Some of the criticism on social media revolved around claims that Benioff and Weiss already under fire from social justice advocates for a lack of minority representation on Game of Thrones are white, and therefore are not qualified to make a television series about modern slavery.

Others wrote that the series was ill-timed for todays contentious political climate.

The outrage over Confederate hit its peak during the premiere of the third episode of Game of Thrones seventh season this month, with fans taking to Twitter to share the hashtag #NoConfederate. The hashtag campaign led in part by #OscarsSoWhite creator April Reign briefly became one of the top trends on Twitter that night.

Benioff and Weiss responded to the PR nightmare around Confederate, explaining thatthe plot for the showis one they had been thinking about for a long time.

We have discussedConfederatefor years, originally as a concept for a feature film, Benioff and Weiss said in a statement. But our experience onThroneshas convinced us that no one provides a bigger, better storytelling canvas than HBO. There wont be dragons or White Walkers in this series, but we are creating a world, and we couldnt imagine better partners in world-building than [executive producers] Nichelle [Tramble Spellman] and Malcolm [Spellman], who have impressed us for a long time with their wit, their imagination and their Scrabble-playing skills.

Apatow, a vocal critic of President Donald Trump, had previously spoken out to apparently defend far-left protesters who were demonstrating against free speech in February.TheTrainwreckdirectorwarnedin a since-deleted tweet that it was just the beginningafter so-called anti-fascist riotersassaultednumerousattendees,started fires,smashed up shops and ATMs, and attacked peoples carsat Milo Yiannopouloss UC Berkeley speaking engagement in February.

The director later said he deleted the tweet because it was vague.

I never support violence, he said. I do support peaceful protest against hateful people and awful ideas.

FollowJerome Hudsonon Twitter@jeromeehudson

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No 'Censorship': Judd Apatow Defends HBO Drama 'Confederate' from SJWs - Breitbart News

With the war between mainstream and independent media heating up, YouTube has weaponized a new content censorship program, calling it an effort to fight terror content online. With standards set by groups like the Anti-Defamation League, political agendas are sure to intrude.

(Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg)

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA Ever since fake news found its place among the various explanations used by the Clinton campaign and supporters to account for their candidates loss, there has been a quiet but concerted effort on the part of establishment media, technology, and telecommunications companies to thwart the surging popularity of independent media.

The rise of the independent media has been hugely detrimental to the once privileged position of the mainstream media, who have now lost the trust of the vast majority of Americans and along with that trust their ability to control political and social narratives.

Chief among the groups seeking to clamp down on independent media has been Google, the massive technology company with deep connections to the U.S. intelligence community, as well as to U.S. government and business elites.

Since 2015, Google has worked to become the Internets Ministry of Truth, first through its creation of the First Draft Coalition and more recently via major changes made to its search engine that curtail public access to new sites independent of the corporate media.

Related |Newly Declassified Documents Detail CIAs Relationship With Media

Google has now stepped up its war on free speech and the freedom of the press through its popular subsidiary, YouTube. On Tuesday, YouTube announced online that it is set to begin censoring content deemed controversial, even if that content does not break any laws or violate YouTubes user agreement.

Misleadingly dubbed as an effort to fight terror content online, the new program will flag content for review through a mix of machine algorithms and human review, guided by standards set up by expert NGOs and institutions that are part of YouTubes Trusted Flagger program. YouTube stated that such organizations bring expert knowledge of complex issues like hate speech, radicalization, and terrorism.

One of the leading institutions directing the course of the Trusted Flagger program is the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The ADL was initially founded to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all but has gained a reputation over the years for labeling any critic of Israels government as an anti-Semite.

For instance, characterizing Israeli policies towards the Palestinians as racist or apartheid-like is considered hate speech by the ADL, as is accusing Israel of war crimes or attempted ethnic cleansing. The ADL has even described explicitly Jewish organizations who are critical of Israels government as being anti-Semitic.

Related |Googles War On Indy Media: Plan To Punish False News By Halting Ad Revenue

In addition to its labeling of Palestinian rights activists as extremists, the ADL has also given numerous U.S. conservatives the same label, including Mike Cernovich and Gavin McInnes. Cernovich and McInnes, though controversial, are extremely popular figures among conservatives and Trump supporters on YouTube and social media. Cernovichs website, Danger & Play, gets nearly 150 million views every month. McInnes, co-founder of Vice Media, also enjoys a wide viewership, with many of his videos boasting millions of views.

The ADL is also known for being quite selective in identifying what it terms extremism.

While it consistently labels pro-Palestinian groups and those critical of the Israeli government as extremists, it has avoided that label with respect to the right-wing Israeli groups and figures that openly call for the murder or even genocide of Palestinians.

In addition, although it has flagged figures of the so-called alt-right, the ADL has not done the same for similar left-wing groups such as Antifa, a group some states have listed as a domestic terror organization. With the ADL at the helm, YouTubes new censorship policy is likely to selectively target those critical of Israels government, as well as conservative voices.

Even more unsettling, YouTubes new policy doesnt stop with merely censoring content.

According to the announcement, any user who searches for keywords or terms deemed controversial by YouTubes chosen authorities will be redirected to a playlist of curated videos intended to directly confront and debunk the content sought by the user.

Critics have warned that the mix of censorship and redirection to curated propaganda videos would create a PC, extreme-left, propagandizing echo chamber with consequences that would go far beyond combatting online terrorism. Indeed, given that Googles Jigsaw once created tools intended to bolster the ranks of al-Qaeda in Syria, Google and YouTubes desire to fight the spread of actual terrorism is dubious, making it all the more likely that this latest move is instead targeting free speech and expression.

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YouTube Moves To Censor Controversial Content Brings ADL On Board As Flagger - Mintpress News (blog)

Tencent, Microsoft MSFT and Action Alerts PLUScharity portfolio holding Apple (AAPL) have all in the last five days learned the hard way that in China, software is power.

Tech companies that might put up a fight elsewhere over content restrictions or access to their products crumble in the face of the Communist Party. With Web restrictions tightening in China, the issue is only going to gain in prominence, and the ranks of companies caving are likely to grow.

Comically, Tencent (TCEHY) has removed chatbots developed by Microsoft and Beijing-based Turing Robot after they started giving so-called unpatriotic answers.

The BabyQ bot co-developed by Beijing-based Turing Robot answered the question "Do you love the Communist Party?" with "No," the Financial Times reports. The XiaoBing bot from Microsoft (MSFT) reportedly told users: "My China dream is go to America."

On a more serious note, Applecame under fire for removing VPN-related apps from its app store. VPNs, or Virtual Private Networks, can help Chinese citizens get around the stringent governmentcontrols of Web content to access overseas information.

Apple says it was merely complying with tightened Chinese regulations. But there was none of the defiance that Apple showed when it fought back on home soil against a court order to help the FBI unlock an iPhone, as the agency investigated the San Bernardino terrorist attack.

The president of Golden Frog, which saw its privacy software VyprVPN knocked off the Apple app tree in China, said it was "disappointed" Apple bowed to pressure from Beijing, without even citing the specific law that makes a VPN illegal.

"We view access to Internet in China as a human rights issue, and I would expect Apple to value human rights over profits," Sunday Yokubaitis told The New York Times. Golden Frog filed an amicus brief in support of Apple's action against the FBI.

The pulling of the chatbots is no surprise. They were likely tricked into giving their answers by users, just as provocative Twitter comments helped swindle Microsoft's Tay bot into making anti-Semitic and offensive comments such as "feminism is cancer."

But online access is a mounting concern.

Amazon.com (AMZN) , too, appears to be under pressure in China over its cloud computing services. One of Amazon's operators in China has told its customers to stop using software that would let someone get around China's controls.

Cloud computing is an increasingly thorny issue for the Chinese government, since it raises the potential for controversial content to be held outside China. In response, China is insisting that companies operating data services store the data within China's borders, ostensibly on public safety grounds. Banking data, for instance, could go missing.

But we know the real reason. It's so China can regulate what its citizens see, in a bid to control what they think, particularly on issues concerning the Communist Party and its unelected authority to govern.

The perils of operating in China are many, but top among them would be running afoul of the Communist Party. Bloomberg has given in by suppressing touchy news stories about Chinese officials, such as this non-working link to its own story once about the wealth of the family Chinese President Xi Jinping. Most companies capitulate. Chinese yuan are too good to give up.

Google, and now its parent Alphabet (GOOGL) , has been the only major company that springs to mind that has taken a stand against Chinese censorship. It pulled its search engine from China, redirecting traffic to its uncensored Hong Kong engine, in 2010 in a fight over China's censorship rules. The company is reportedly in talks to get access in China for some of its offerings, such as Google Scholar.

There are plenty of sites you can't access in China, including Facebook , Pinterest and Snapchat. But many would like to get in, given the chance. For instance, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been happy to chat with Chinese president Xi Jinping in Mandarin and post this Facebook photo of the two together.

You'd think online censorship is a battle destined to fail. Web access only grows with the production of every new digital site, app and device, while content proliferates faster exponentially.

But the Chinese government fights hard. And while they may know they're not getting the full truth, many of China's citizens believe a large amount of what they're told.

The Chinese government orchestrates 488 million fake social-media posts every year, according to a study led by Harvard University data scientist Gary King. In many cases, the government pays the equivalent of $0.08 for people who post comments cheer-leading for China, talking about the Communist Party's revolutionary history, or supporting the regime.

The first thing I do every time I visit mainland China is to log in to the hotel's WiFi and search for "Tiananmen Square." Here in Hong Kong, the Chinese government's 1989 massacre of students protesting in favor of democracy pops right up. It's appeared at a couple of Chinese hotels, too, presumably because the Chinese government hadn't yet paid them a digital visit.

Hong Kong and Macau are the only parts of China with their own rules on issues like censorship. Macau, relying on Beijing's approval of mainland travel visas to prop up its casino business, toes the party line. For now, I'm free to say what I want from my base in Hong Kong, but that freedom of expression is also disappearing, and fast.

The new administration of Chief Executive Carrie Lam, known for her stubborn streak and devotion to Beijing in equal parts, is under pressure to resurrect a highly unpopular "national education" curriculum, viewed by many teachers as patriotic airbrushing and brainwashing. It is also likely to attempt to introduce a "security" law, which by outlawing "sedition and subversion" will obliterate that theoretical freedom of speech.

It would certainly make it illegal for Hong Kong politicians to suggest that they support autonomy or independence for Hong Kong. To "challenge the power of the central government" or "endanger China's sovereignty," both terms that can and will be interpreted broadly, "crosses a red line."

That's what Chinese President Xi Jinping told Hong Kongers on his July 1 visit to "celebrate" the 20thanniversary of Hong Kong's reversion to China. Freedom of speech only allows you to say, it seems, what the Communists want you to say.

In China, it determines what you can read, see and hear online. Don't question authority, and don't get any upstart ideas.

That applies as much at the corporate level as the personal. Even providing the platform, the software, on which to express controversial sentiments crosses a very ill-defined line.

Will other companies take a stand like Google? Or will they all cave?

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Comic Chatbot Errors in China Mask Serious Corporate Caving on Censorship - TheStreet.com

Autoweek

Nico Hulkenberg shrugs off F1 'Halo' device censorship | Autoweek Autoweek Nico Hulkenberg says he is not bothered by being edited out of an official F1 video about the controversial "Halo" concept. In Hungary last weekend, drivers ... and more »

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Nico Hulkenberg shrugs off F1 'Halo' device censorship | Autoweek - Autoweek

Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple Inc.David Paul MorrisBloomberg via Getty Images

Apple CEO Tim Cook has been a staunch advocate for civil rights, and even keeps a picture of Martin Luther King Jr. in his office. So it's probably not surprising that Cook is a little defensive about a recent decision by Apple to go along with a repressive computer policy in China.

In recent days, Apple pulled a number of apps from its app store in China that could be used to circumvent China's Internet censorship laws. Known as virtual private network, or VPN, apps, the programs let iPhone and iPad users mask their origins from the "Great Firewall of China" and thereby access sites banned by the government and better shield their communications from surveillance.

On Tuesday, Cook said Apple had no choice but to remove the VPN apps.

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"We would obviously rather not remove the apps, but like we do in other countries, we follow the law wherever we do business," Cook said on a call with analysts to discuss quarterly financial results. "We strongly believe in participating in markets and bringing benefits to customers is the best interest of the folks there and in other countries as well."

In a column published earlier on Tuesday, New York Times tech columnist Farhad Manjoo called out Apple for caving to the Chinese censorship demands. Conceding that Apple was probably forced to remove the VPN apps, Manjoo concluded that "Apples quiet capitulation to tightening censorship in one of its largest markets is still a dangerous precedent."

Cook also went on to explain why he thought the situation in China was quite different from the standoff between Apple and the FBI last year over decrypting information on an iPhone used by a terrorist in San Bernardino.

"Some folks have tried to link it to the U.S. situation last yearthey're very different," Cook said on the analyst call. "In the case of the U.S., the law in the U.S. supported us. It was very clear. In the case of China, the law is very clear there."

But Apple ( aapl ) did state its point of view in China "in the appropriate way," Cook added. That has not, at least so far, included any public criticism of the Chinese demand, or even more drastically, pulling out the country in protest.

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Apple CEO Cook Defends Move to Censor Chinese Apps - Fortune

BEIJING Moves by business giants Apple and Amazon to stop consumers from using censorship-skirting apps in China have renewed questions about the extent U.S. companies are willing to work with authorities to operate in the vast but tightly controlled Chinese market.

Apple chief executive Tim Cook attempted to defend the companys decision to remove dozens of apps designed to circumvent censorship from the Chinese version of its App Store.

In an earnings call for Apples quarterly financial report, Cook said China tightened its rules on virtual private networks, or VPNs, in 2015 and was making a renewed push to enforce them.

We would obviously rather not remove the apps, but like we do in other countries, we follow the law wherever we do business, he said Tuesday.

By helping Chinese authorities curb the use of many popular VPNs, U.S. tech companies are seen as helping the Communist Party bolster what is already the worlds most elaborate and sophisticated censorship regime, often called the Great Firewall.

In addition to blocking the likes of Google and Facebook, Chinas censors shape what is published online, pull content deemed politically sensitive and, according to a recent study, intercept images sent via chat apps.

Cook said pulling some apps beats pulling out of the market.

We strongly believe that participating in markets and bringing benefits to customers is in the best interest of the folks there and in other countries, as well, he said. And so we believe in engaging with governments even when we disagree.

Amazon.com also was in the spotlight Wednesday after disclosures that the companys Chinese partner, Beijing Sinnet Technology, sent emails to clients advising them to delete tools used to circumvent censorship. The news was first reported by the New York Times.

An employee told The Washington Post that Sinnet sent clients emails Friday and again on Monday warning them to eliminate content that violates Chinese telecom laws. The instructions came from Chinas Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the employee said.

On Wednesday, calls to Amazon Web Services China office went unanswered. (Amazon founder and chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos owns The Post.)

When Chinas only winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Liu Xiaobo, died in state custody last month, news of his death was all but scrubbed from the Web here. On some platforms, the candle emoji was blocked.

To get around these restrictions, millions of Chinese individuals and businesses use VPNs. Beijing knows this but so far has let the practice continue, in part because it is good for business and aids academic research.

It is not yet clear how the latest drive to regulate VPNs will play out. In the earnings call, Cook stressed that the company had removed some, but not all, apps.The fact that many VPNs remain could mean the government is focused on regulating the VPN industry, not eliminating it, leaving room for some use.

For a sector focused on privacy, that is still bad news.

Apple claims to just follow the law, but its just a convenient excuse,said Martin Johnson, the pseudonymous co-founder of GreatFire.org, a website that monitors Chinas Internet filtering and maintains an app to help Internet users get past the restrictions.In fact, they are actively helping the Chinese government expand its control globally.

When Apple removes an app from the App Store of a given country, it affects all users who have registered with an address in that country, regardless of their physical location, he added.

This means that, thanks to Apple, Beijing gets a degree of control of Chinese citizens anywhere in the world.

Yang Liu and Shirley Feng contributed to this report.

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Apple, Amazon help China curb the use of anti-censorship tools - Washington Post