Stories about Activism from February, 2013
Germany: Twitter's First Local Blocking Case
Last October, Twitter announced that it would block the account of a neo-Nazi group in Germany, the activities of which had been banned by the German government. The case represented Twitter's first use of the policy, which typically protects online expression to a broad extent, except in cases where governments intervene.
Zambia: Chinese Experts to Monitor Internet?
The Zambian government has reportedly engaged Chinese experts to install a secret internet monitoring facility in the country. Information technology specialists from both the Office of the President and China are visiting communications service provider facilities to study their network architecture, in order to identify places in the network where authorities could develop interception capabilities, or a "backdoor" for monitoring. Both Zambian and Chinese authorities have declined to comment on reports about their cooperation.
Pakistan: The “Access Is My Right” Campaign
Pakistani Internet rights NGO Bytesforall has started an online campaign about internet filtering and online censorship. Using storytelling, infographics, and more, the "Access Is My Right" campaign aims to raise Internet users' awareness about policies and practices that limit the right to free expression online.
China: Bloggers “Forced to Drink Tea” with Police
Tea-drinking culture has a very long tradition in China. However, since around 2007, Chinese netizens have started using the term "tea talk" or "forced to drink tea" (被喝茶) to describe interrogations by the internal security police. Online opinion leaders, people who write about or host online platforms for political dissent, and signatories of online petitions are all frequently "forced to drink tea" with police and asked to give up sensitive information about their political activities. This post includes tips from online opinion leader Wu Gan on how to approach a tea talk with police.
It's Time for Transparency Reports to Become the New Normal
Surveillance is a growth industry: every existing report shows that the number of government requests for user data is rising, and this trend shows no sign of abating. Transparency reports are essential to helping users understand the scope of Internet surveillance and make informed decisions about storing their sensitive data or engaging in private communications. Companies should not wait until their users are clamoring for clarification. It is time for transparency reports to become the new normal.
Surveillance Camp III: On the Expanding Online Security Market in Latin America
Recently, we wrote about how companies throughout the world increasingly face political and legal pressures to assist governments in their surveillance efforts and the many ways in which the private sector is increasingly playing a role in state surveillance. In December 2012, EFF's Surveillance and Human Rights Camp in Brazil built upon this discussion and focused a spotlight on the privatization of public security, states funding surveillance initiatives, and the lack of quantifiable research on security markets in Latin America. Here is what we learned.
Surveillance Camp II: Privatized State Surveillance
This is the second in a series of posts mapping global surveillance challenges discussed at EFF’s Surveillance Camp in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Several Global Voices Advocacy Members actively participated in the meeting. This post is a summary of what we learned.
