China starts asking new cellphone users for ID

The Chinese government started to implement a long-discussed measure that requires cellphone subscribers to register their identities when setting up an account, prompting concerns over privacy in the world’s largest mobile market.
The Wall Street Journal
September 1, 2010
By Loretta Chao
BEIJING—The measure went into effect Wednesday, with customer service representatives [...]

Google looks for way to satisfy government and keep its service going in China

After the Chinese government objected to Google’s rerouting users to an uncensored site in Hong Kong, the company struggles to come up with another strategy to continue service in China. -db
The Wall Street Journal
June 29, 2010
By Amir Efrati and Andrew Batson
Google Inc. said it would change how Internet users in China access its search service [...]

Chinese stop Hong Kong printing of memoirs by ex-premier

The Chinese government blocked the Hong Kong publication of ex-premier Li Peng already banned in the mainland. Li Peng brought a violent end to the Tiananmen Square protest in 1989 and reportedly had claimed in his memoir that China’s current leaders supported the military’s attack on the student demonstrators. -db

The New York Times
June [...]

China filtering rather than blocking Google

Observers are saying China is balancing its censorship policy with pragmatic needs to allow access to Google. -db

The Digital Daily Feed
June 15, 2010
By John Paczkowski
Rather than rejecting it outright, China is adapting to Google’s new approach to the country, working toward a balance that keeps access to Google.com.hk (a redirect from Google.cn) open while [...]

Iranian bloggers at great risk in using Internet

In the last year since the protests over the Iranian election, the government has arrested 170 bloggers and journalists with 22 receiving prison sentences totaling more than 135 years. Authoritarian governments are sharing technology aimed at stifling dissent and in the last two years have increased their effectiveness in silencing critics. -db

Voice of America
June 9, [...]

China reaffirms online censorship policy

While claiming to safeguard free speech, the Chinese government issued a long list of online speech it considers undesirable. -db

CNET AllThingsD
Commentary
June 9, 2010
By John Paczkowski

Though it has given no indication otherwise, China would like the world to know that it has no plans to allow free access to online content–Google’s “new approach” to the country [...]

Net neutrality legislation could ensnare free speech

Critics say a bill introduced in the House of Representatives to ensure net neutrality would require a news outfit such as the Wall Street Journal to carry news from all news outlets, violating their free speech rights. -db

PC World
Opinion
May 12, 2010
By Grant Gross
U.S. Representative Cliff Stearns wants so badly to stop the U.S. Federal Communications [...]

Google strikes blow for traditional journalistic values

Google’s decision to leave China rather than to allow censorship of its service, whether it likes it or not,  puts the company in the forefront in defending the free flow of information in the global market. -db
The New York Times
Commentary
March 28, 2010
By David Carr

Should we be surprised that the biggest fight over freedom [...]

Internet censorship: China may suffer long-term economic damage from closing down Google

Experts are saying that while China may feel the need to maintain control through censorship, but it may be doing itself great harm by allowing Google to abandon China and weakening the country’s links to the global economy. -db

The New York Times
March 23, 2010
By Michael Wines
BEIJING — This is a nation that builds dams, [...]

Google leaves China over differences on censorship

As expected, Google closed its Internet search service in China and began directing its users to the as yet uncensored service in Hong Kong. -db
The New York Times
March 22, 2010
By Miguel Helft and David Barboza

SAN FRANCISCO — Just over two months after threatening to leave China because of censorship and intrusions from hackers, Google on [...]

Chinese human rights activists mourn Google’s withdrawal from China

With Google poised to withdraw from China, there is recognition that China has dealt a blow to hopes for its gradual change to a more open and democratic society. db

The Washington Post
March 20, 2010
By John Pomfret
BEIJING — When Google announced that it would pull out of China if it had to continue censoring content, Zhao [...]

China set to continue censorship if Google abandons country

With a Google shutdown imminent in China, the government is warning Google’s partners that they must comply with censorship laws as the price of doing business in the country. -db
The New York Times
March 14, 2010
By Sharon LaFraniere

BEIJING — The Chinese authorities have warned major partners of Google’s China-based search engine that they must comply with [...]

Congress leads way in promoting world-wide internet freedom

Congressmen have introduced legislation to strengthen the ability of groups and individuals to evade government control of the internet. The legislation would provide grants to universities, private companies and research groups to develop technologies to defeat suppression and censorship. -db

Tech Daily
March 9, 2010
By Juliana Gruenwald

Reps. Chris Smith, R-N.J., and David Wu, D-Ore., announced Tuesday the [...]

Tech companies must share burden with media companies in fighting for global Internet freedom

The Electronic Frontier Foundation cites seven corporations that should share the task with Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft in fighting for Internet freedom. The EFF points out that the companies are selling technology to the Chinese government used for spying, censorship, invading privacy, and intimidating citizens. -db
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Opinion
February 1, 2010
By Danny O’Brien

Secretary of State Hillary [...]

Blogger charges that U.S. government enabled Chinese hackers in Google case

National security technology blogger Bruce Schneier wrote recently that as part of their domestic spying campaign, the United States required internet providers to set up avenues for government surveillance used recently by some parties in China to breach the privacy of Google customers. -DB

Citizen Media Law Project
Opinion
January 26, 2010
By Arthur Bright

If you’re a regular user [...]

Chinese official criticizes Clinton for attacking China’s Internet policies

It didn’t take long for China to vehemently condemn Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s speech on China’s restrictions on the Internet. The official said in a post on the Internet that the speech would damage China-U.S. relations. -DB
Congress Daily
January 22, 2010
By Juliana Gruenwald
A Chinese official Friday blasted Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s speech calling for [...]

Big Brother is alive: Chinese government to monitor text messages for ‘unhealthy content’

The Chinese government continues its campaign to bring the the cyber world under its control by announcing that it will check cell phone messages and punish users for “unhealthy content”. -DB
The New York Times
January 20, 2010
By Sharon LaFraniere
BEIJING — As the Chinese government expands what it calls a campaign against pornography, cellular companies [...]

Growing numbers scale China’s digital wall

Chinese citizens are finding ways to get around China’s firewalls after the government shut down pornography sites, blogs, online video sites, Facebook, and Twitter during the Beijing Olympics. -DB

The New York Times
January 16, 2010
By Brad Stone and David Barboza

The Great Firewall of China is hardly impregnable.
Just as Mongol invaders could not be stopped by the [...]

U.S. looking at issues of internet freedom after alleged Chinese cyberattack on Google accounts

After Google announced this week that hackers had tried to penetrate Gmail accounts in China including those of U.S. financial institutions and defense contractors, the Obama administration is considering their options in maintaining internet freedom. -DB
NextGov
January 13, 2010
By Aliya Sternstein
An alleged cyberattack by the Chinese government into systems operated by Google and other U.S. [...]

Cyberattacks on e-mail accounts of Chinese human right activists may force Google to quit China

Google may yet be forced to abandon the lucrative Chinese market after it gained access by agreeing to remove banned topics from its site. Hackers are attempting to invade the Gmail accounts of human rights activists along with the accounts of at least 20 large companies in the finance, technology, media and chemical sectors. -DB
The New [...]

China trip: Obama’s call for greater Internet freedom gets mixed reception

Chinese citizens were glad to hear U.S. President Barack Obama’s support for greater Internet freedom in China but were skeptical about the impact of his comments. The Chinese government censored the comments on the official news agency and deleted them from Web sites. -DB
Radio Free Asia
November 17, 2009

SHANGHAI — Chinese Internet users gave mixed reactions [...]

Human Rights Watch accuses China of silencing criticism with secret jails

A report from the Human Rights Watch accuses the Chinese government of allowing provincial and municipal governments to jail citizens who object to corruption. The report says the guards beat, sexually abuse, intimidate and rob these citizens. -DB

The New York Times
November 13, 2009
By Keith Bradsher
HONG KONG — China’s national government tolerates an extensive network of [...]

Reporters Without Borders director urges President to pressure China on web censorship

During his Asian trip, the Washington director of Reporters Without Borders urges Obama to privately raise the issues of web censorship and oppression of journalists and bloggers to the Chinese government. -DB
MediaShift
Commentary
November 10, 2009
By Clothilde Le Coz
In China, Google is forced to censor its search engine, Facebook and Twitter are blocked, U.S. news agencies [...]

Environmental reporters in Egypt and China face devastating reprisals

It is not an easy life reporting about the environment in Egypt and China as the reporters face fines, law suits, censorship, death threats and prison. -DB
MediaShift
September 14, 2009
By Clothilde Le Coz
Since May 2009, Tamer Mabrouk has held one of the saddest records regarding human rights abuses in Egypt. He is the first blogger to [...]