The Citizen Lab

TVO Big Ideas Lecture: Ron Deibert
Posted Nov 20, 2008 in MediaCoverage by jaymz. 
In this lecture entitled "Hacking Back: The Battle for Human Rights Online", political science professor Ron Deibert looks at the issue of internet censorship and surveillance around the world and the tools being created (like "psiphon") to empower global citizens to freely share and access information online. Deibert is Director of The Citizen Lab at the Munk Centre for International Studies.

TVO: Saturday and Sunday November 22 and 23 2008 4 pm. Repeats Saturday and Sunday at 5 am.

Ramallah Palestinian Authority blocks website reporting on corruption
Posted Nov 19, 2008 in by jaymz. 
The Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah has blocked access to a popular news website because of the site's reporting on widespread corruption among the entourage of PA President Mahmoud Abbas. From The Electronic Intifada

OpenNet Initiative: Australia’s content filtering “frightening”
Posted Nov 19, 2008 in Censorship by jaymz. 
Filtering, wherever and however it occurs, is prone to error, collateral filtering and underblocking. This is the one definite finding the ONI has produced Deibert told ARN he found the proposal to implement mandatory filtering in Australia both puzzling and frightening. From ARN

How To Bypass Internet Censorship (NEW!)
Posted Nov 18, 2008 in Citizen Lab News by jaymz. 
This manual 'Bypassing Internet Censorship' provides an introduction to the topic and explains some of the software and methods most often used for circumventing censorship. There is some information on avoiding surveillance and other means of detection while bypassing censorship, however this is a large topic by itself so we have only touched on it where it coincides directly with issues of circumvention. From FLOSS Manuals

Yahoo! implicated in Tibet riot probe
Posted Nov 17, 2008 in Surveillance by jaymz. 
BEIJING -- The Beijing government has released "most wanted" photographs of suspects captured on film during the recent Tibet riots and carried on Chinese versions of Yahoo! and MSN, prompting further criticism of the role international webcos play in tracking down dissidents. From Variety

Say goodbye to gaydar
Posted Nov 17, 2008 in Censorship by jaymz. 
The Government’s mandatory internet filtering scheme poses a clear threat to the gay online community. The mandatory internet censorship is set to cover two layers. The first will filter out content that is perceived as harmful to children, while the second layer will target “illegal material”, and that’s where the blur comes in. From MCV

Don't dim the Internet light
Posted Nov 17, 2008 in Censorship by jaymz. 
The Internet has revived ancient fears about the risks of curiosity. The story of Eden and the myth of Prometheus teach that open access to knowledge is what makes us human, for better and worse. A key principle of democracy is that unfettered information flows bring public enlightenment. The Internet is the greatest information conduit ever invented. We should not dim its light to protect ourselves from what it may reveal. From International Herald Tribune

Malawi Internet Censorship: Outing of a government on life support?
Posted Nov 17, 2008 in Censorship by jaymz. 
Any civilized person will be left aghast by reports to the effect that the Malawi Government will soon be using private investors like Internet Service Providers to control what Malawians and other visiting nationals will be viewing on the internet. From Nyasa Times

The big business of net censorship
Posted Nov 17, 2008 in Censorship by jaymz. 
Clamping down on free speech on the internet has been a lucrative enterprise for software manufacturers. From guardian.co.uk

Regime Tightens Reins on the Internet
Posted Nov 17, 2008 in Censorship by jaymz. 
Burma’s military government has turned to a 12-year-old law to justify its latest crackdown on dissidents, about 60 of whom have received lengthy prison sentences so far this week. From IRRAWADDY