Information Society Watch

June 12, 2007, Internet Artizans

The article analyses the social networking websites with regard to their support for freedom of expression. Although such websites claim to be public communities, in reality they are communities created by corporates for profit. This can result in serious privacy violations and restrictions on expression, as any content that poses a hindrance to revenue and advertising is liable to curbed.

February 4, 2008, Howard French, New York Times

This article describes the growing phenomenon of resentment and resistance against increased control of the Internet by Chinese censors. In the months leading to the Beijing Olympics, the authorities are cracking down on signs of dissent and also enforcing censorship by restricting sites with no discernible political content. Even those who were previously indifferent to Internet censorship are now becoming resentful and taking action by filing lawsuits against illegal blocking of sites or participating in a growing community of hackers who devise solutions to work around the blocks.

September 2006, Yasmin Ibrahim, First Monday

This paper analyses how the online community in Singapore protested against the hanging of a Vietnamese drug trafficker in December 2005 and traces modes of protest against capital punishment in the quasi–authoritarian state.

October 12, 2006, Ed Pilkington, The Guardian

A woman has been awarded a large sum in costs and damages on winning a case of online slander. This award is thought to be the largest verdict of its sort relating to online postings.

October 18, 2006, Robert Tait, The Guardian

In an effort to make downloading foreign music, films and television programmes more difficult, and to prevent efforts by political opposition groups to organise, the Iranian government has decided to restrict online speeds to 128 kilobytes per second and to prohibit companies from offering fast broadband packages.

July 31, 2006, Reporters Sans Frontiers

A bill submitted to Zimbabwe's parliament would allow government authorities to intercept and read e-mail messages and also tap into mobile phone calls, via a Monitoring Centre, without needing a judge's permission.