Category Archives: Transhuman News

20 June 2013 | The Internet is and has always been a space where participants battle for control. The two core protocols that define the Internet TCP and IP are both designed to allow separate networks to connect to each other easily, so that networks that differ not only in hardware implementation (wired vs. satellite vs. radio networks) but also in their politics of control (consumer vs. research vs. military networks) can interoperate easily. It is a feature of the Internet, not a bug, that China with its extensive, explicit censorship infrastructure can interact with the rest of the Internet.

In the following collection, published as an open access collection here and as well in a special issue of IEEE Internet Computing, we present five peer reviewed papers on the topic of Internet censorship and control. The topics of the papers include a broad look at information controls, censorship of microblogs in China, new modes of online censorship, the balance of power in Internet governance, and control in the certificate authority model. These papers make it clear that there is no global consensus on what mechanisms of control are best suited for managing conflicts on the Internet, just as there is none for other fields of human endeavour. That said, there is optimism that with vigilance and continuing efforts to maintain transparency the Internet can stay as a force for increasing freedom than a tool for more efficient repression.

This collection was edited by Steven J. Murdoch of the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory and Hal Roberts of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University.

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Internet censorship and control

Minister Alan Shatter: complaints have led to his novel being reissued

A steamy novel written by Minister for Justice Alan Shatter 24 years ago when he was a backbencher has prompted him to transfer responsibility for censorship out of his department.

A complaint to the Censorship of Publications Board alleging that his novel, Laura: A Story You Will Never Forget, is obscene posed a dilemma for the Minister whose department has ultimate responsibility for the board.

In response he has decided to shift responsibility for censorship out of Justice to the Department of Arts and Heritage.

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A Government spokesman said the Minister had made the decision in case there was any suggestion of a conflict of interest on the part of Mr Shatter.

The spokesman said the Minister had also come to the conclusion that the Department of Arts and Heritage was also more appropriate to have responsibility for censorship.

Obscene Following recent publicity about the Ministers novel and the complaint that it is obscene, the publisher has decided to reissue it.

The novel centres around the troubled private life of a rural TD who is having an affair with his secretary. At one point, the fictional TD attempts to force the woman to have an abortion in order to save his political career.

A complaint about the books sex scenes was lodged with the censorship board over a month ago. Another aspect of the complaint is the allegation the novel advocates the procurement of an abortion or miscarriage, contrary to Irish censorship laws.

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Shatter novel prompts censorship reform

At least one member of the public is understood to have lodged a complaint about Alan Shatter's novel Laura

Responsibility for the Censorship of Publications Board is to be transferred from the Minister for Justice to the Minister for Arts.

The change comes after a member of the public lodged a complaint about a novel by Minister for Justice Alan Shatter.

A Government spokesperson said the move was being made in part because it was more logical to have the Department of Arts in charge, and in part to avoid any perception of a conflict of interest.

The change was suggested by Minister Shatter, whose novel Laura is being republished. At least one member of the public is understood to have lodged a complaint with the board about it.

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Censorship moves to Arts after Shatter complaint