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Tag: Social media

#Notosocialmediabill: Nigeria on verge of criminalizing social media

7 Dec 2015

Nigeria is the verge of sending people to jail for their tweets and Facebook posts.

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#Notosocialmediabill: Nigeria on verge of criminalizing social media
7 Dec 2015
#Notosocialmediabill: Nigeria on verge of criminalizing social media
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Bangladesh and the U.S.: Internet shutdowns are the wrong response to national security threats

19 Nov 2015

Yesterday, authorities in Dhaka, Bangladesh shut down some internet services for several hours, including blocking access to Facebook, Whatsapp, and Viber. Service was later restored, but key services remain offline. The latest shutdown in Dhaka shows worrying backsliding to the use of internet shutdowns as a blunt instrument to deal with threats to national security. It also solidifies the South Asia region as a hub for these intentional disruptions, given that Pakistan and the Indian provinces of Gujarat and Kashmir have also chosen to disrupt networks in the past few months. Worse, it looks as though lawmakers around the world are seeing threats to national security as a justification for undermining the open internet.

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Bangladesh and the U.S.: Internet shutdowns are the wrong response to national security threats
19 Nov 2015
Bangladesh and the U.S.: Internet shutdowns are the wrong response to national security threats
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Nauru in hot seat as U.N. decries internet blocking, clampdown on free expression

3 Nov 2015

Today countries around the world urged the small island state of Nauru to restore access to social media and support free expression. Delivered in a session at the United Nations Human Rights Council, the recommendations — presented by official delegations from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and Timor Leste, among others — represent a sharp rebuke after Nauru clamped down on free expression over the past year, including blocking Facebook. In a separate action, Access Now delivered a petition to the government of Nauru signed by more than 5,000 people calling on the government to restore full access to the internet.

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Nauru in hot seat as U.N. decries internet blocking, clampdown on free expression
3 Nov 2015
Nauru in hot seat as U.N. decries internet blocking, clampdown on free expression
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Nameless Coalition calls on Facebook to change its real name policy

5 Oct 2015
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Nameless Coalition calls on Facebook to change its real name policy
5 Oct 2015
Nameless Coalition calls on Facebook to change its real name policy
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Access urges UN and African Union experts to take action on Burundi internet shutdown

29 Apr 2015

Today, Access submitted a letter to UN and African Union experts requesting their urgent intervention on the internet shutdown in Burundi, where social media services have been cut off in the face of public unrest. The letter underscores the importance of the internet to realizing human rights, and explains how shutdowns often enable egregious human rights violations.

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Access urges UN and African Union experts to take action on Burundi internet shutdown
29 Apr 2015
Access urges UN and African Union experts to take action on Burundi internet shutdown

Ello, is anyone out there?

1 Oct 2014

New social media site promises more privacy, but can it follow through?

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Ello, is anyone out there?
1 Oct 2014
Ello, is anyone out there?

Turkey: A “show trial” against peaceful Gezi activists

13 Jun 2014

Activists involved in the organization of the first Gezi park protests in Turkey are currently standing trial, which Amnesty International describes as “a vindictive, politically motivated show trial without a shred of evidence of actual crimes.”

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Turkey: A “show trial” against peaceful Gezi activists
13 Jun 2014
Turkey: A “show trial” against peaceful Gezi activists

Egypt seeks the help of international companies to monitor social media

5 Jun 2014

According to recently leaked documents, the Egyptian government is planning on developing a new social media monitoring system to match the capabilities of the NSA PRISM program.

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Egypt seeks the help of international companies to monitor social media
5 Jun 2014
Egypt seeks the help of international companies to monitor social media

ChatMonopoly: Russia consolidates control over social media

24 Apr 2014

Russia’s largest homegrown social network, Vkontakte, with its more than 100 million users, is now under new management.

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ChatMonopoly: Russia consolidates control over social media
24 Apr 2014
ChatMonopoly: Russia consolidates control over social media

Venezuela’s media crackdown extends online

22 Feb 2014

Venezuela has become the first South American government to take credit for shutting down nationwide access to the servers of massive online social networks to stifle political demonstrations.

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Venezuela’s media crackdown extends online
22 Feb 2014
Venezuela’s media crackdown extends online