Sep 24
China has a rich—and occasionally odd
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Sep 24
China said to be unblocking sites like Facebook, Twitter and the NYT, but only in a small part of Shanghai
Posted in: Today's Chili
Given how large a mobile market China has become, and its role in gadget manufacturing globally, we sometimes forget the government of this increasingly tech-aware country still dictates what corners of the web its peoples can see. Today, the South China Morning Post reports the state has decided to unblock several foreign internet sites “considered politically sensitive,” but only in the free-trade zone of Shanghai’s Pudong New Area. According to “government sources,” the move to open access to sites including Facebook, Twitter (both of which were cut off in 2009) and The New York Times (blocked last year) is so visitors can “live and work happily in the free-trade zone.” The greater goal is to make the area more attractive to foreign companies, beyond the favorable regulatory and tax environment, of course. Furthermore, the Chinese are allegedly beckoning overseas firms to come in and “provide internet services” for the new, 30 square kilometer zone. The Great Firewall may remain firmly up for the rest of the country and its billion-odd population, but one step at a time and all that.
[Image credit: Wikimedia Commons]
Filed under: Internet
Via: Quartz
Source: South China Morning Post
Sep 17
Iranians’ glimpse of Facebook and Twitter freedom was due to a ‘technical failure’
Posted in: Today's Chili
Yesterday, for a brief spell, ordinary Iranian citizens were able to talk to each other via Twitter and Facebook — services that had been officially banned since 2009. Today, however, they awoke to discover that the government had fully restored its anti-social blockade, with one communications official dismissing the whole episode as a “technical failure” stemming from some ISPs. That’s not necessarily true, however, and another possible explanation is that yesterday’s events were the result of a tussle between emerging pro-internet moderates like Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani, and hard-liners elsewhere in the country’s power structure. Alternatively, some fear that the temporary lifting of the ban was a ploy to allow the authorities to trace would-be Facebook users. In any case, the communication official’s response to the glitch sounds ominous: “We will take action if there was a human flaw,” he’s quoted as saying. “We are probing it.”
Filed under: Internet
Source: USA Today
Aug 26
It’s pretty simple. People love Instagram. People love using hashtags. People love to curse. People love to curse in hashtags on Instagram. Instagram doesn’t like that. In fact, Instagram censors any sort of curse word hashtag, possibly porn related hashtag and so on from its searches. That’s a good thing! But Instagram also weirdly censors some pretty normal hashtags too.
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Aug 13
Green shows the countries you want to live in because they have little to no Internet censorship. Yellow reveals countries that you might not want to stay in too long because they might increase censorship in the future. And if you love the Internet, you should probably avoid every other color because they all have different degrees of censorship, with pink being the most pervasive (gray is not classified).
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Aug 10
Pirate Bay releases ‘PirateBrowser’ to sail round censorship, mark ten years on the ocean wave
Posted in: Today's Chili
The Pirate Bay may be many things, but one that it is not, is a pushover. It’s moved location, received continuous heat from various courts, and, of course, done some time. But still, it doesn’t give up. The latest effort is a browser designed to help you access the torrent site in locations where ISPs won’t let you. It’s essentially a re-tooled version of Firefox, with a Tor client (not for anonymity) and proxy tools bundled in. The windows-only (for now) release comes on the 10th anniversary of the controversial site, with the developers telling TorrentFreak that this is just the start of a revised effort against web censorship. A sentiment that will resonate with an ever increasing number.
Filed under: Internet
Via: TorrentFreak
Source: The Pirate Bay (Twitter)
Aug 02
Saints Row IV loses ‘alien narcotics’ mission to gain approval in Australia
Posted in: Today's Chili
We knew the Australian Classification Board had fundamental objections to Saints Row IV. What we didn’t know, however, was that these sticking points boiled down to just a single 20-minute side mission, in which the player gained superpowers by smoking “alien narcotics” with a character called Shaundi. That mission has now been exorcised, microwaved and buried in a sanitary disposal tank somewhere in the outback. According to Eurogamer, the only other change to the Australian version of Saints Row IV is the removal of a weapon called the Rectifier, which the censors were too anal to appreciate, but which will still be available to players as DLC. Meanwhile, we’re taking bets on how long it’ll be before the full, uncut title hits shelves Down Under as a premium box set.
Filed under: Gaming
Source: Eurogamer
Jul 15
It’s no secret that some British residents want an active-by-default internet filter to keep kids away from salacious content. However, the BBC now claims that the UK government wants to falsely imply that this filter already exists. According to a reportedly leaked letter, the Department of Education is asking internet providers to refer to their filters as “default on” without changing what’s ultimately a voluntary system. As you’d imagine, the companies are supposedly quite unhappy: ISP sources believe the phrasing would mislead customers and encourage complacency. Officials have declined to comment on the demands, but we may know the truth soon enough as the Department of Education’s letter says an announcement could come “shortly.”
Filed under: Internet
Source: BBC
Jul 06
We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, then here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget inquiry is from Gingernut2K, who wants to talk about responsible parenting and not being too much of a snooper. If you’re looking to ask one of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.
“I’ve always felt that talking to your kids and trusting them to be responsible is much better than trying to seal them in cotton wool. The problem? My daughter’s turning 14 and as she’s allowed to go out (under curfew) we think it’s time that she gets a phone, and she’s been saving up for a smartphone. Now, I trust her, but it’s not difficult to find adult material online, or even just be vulnerable to malicious messages from unscrupulous types. My question: is there a smartphone that’s both secure enough that I don’t have to worry, but also that I can access even if she passwords it? Man, writing that last sentence made me feel dirty.”
A tricky question, but one that’s well worth answering. We’re sure that plenty of you out there are parents who have struggled with a similar dilemma, so we’d love to hear what your solution was. Did you go for a carrier-based filtering plan like Verizon’s Family Safeguards or a software-based approach like phonesheriff? How do you talk about the internet to your kids and how can we encourage sensible internet use? Share your experiences in the comments below.
Filed under: Mobile
Jul 06
It should come as no surprise that the RIAA, of all organizations, plays particularly fast and loose with its DMCA takedown requests
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