OpenNet Initiative Releases 2010 Year in Review
From the OpenNet Initiative blog:
The OpenNet Initiative is proud to announce the release of its 2010 Year in Review, a collection of the year's top instances of filtering, surveillance, and information warfare around the globe.
Among the year's most well-known events are the banning of Blackberry services across Saudi Arabia, India, Bahrain, and other countries in the region as governments demanded increased access to data on RIM devices; the blocking of Facebook in multiple countries in response to "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day"; tensions between Google and China; and the filtering of Wikileaks in parts of the Middle East in response to the organization's release of United States diplomatic cables.
In Europe, new legislation in France allowed for filtering of blacklisted sites, while the United Kingdom passed the Digital Economy Bill, which increased the ease of suing repeat copyright violators.
The United States makes the review several times, for the seizure of over 80 sites on the basis of copyright infringement; outcry against the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act; and the loosening of export controls on instant messaging, email, and other Internet communication services to Iran, Sudan, and Cuba.
Recent unrest in the Middle East has lead Egypt, Libya, and Bahrain to experiment with greater Internet controls, ensuring that 2011 promises to be an equally eventful year in the world of Internet filtering and surveillance.
In addition to tracking major filtering and surveillance-related events around the world, ONI also released several major publications last year:
- Access Controlled updates and expands on the OpenNet Initiative’s 2008 volume, Access Denied. Six new chapters written by leading experts analyze trends and patterns shaping Internet controls worldwide. The volume documents emerging trends and technologies as governments around the world seek to shape, limit, and control the Internet.
- Policing Content in the Quasi-Public Sphere explores content regulation and account deactivations across five popular social media platforms: Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, Twitter and Blogger.
- Sex, Social Mores, and Keyword Filtering: Microsoft Bing in the "Arabian Countries" explores Microsoft Bing's practice of filtering keywords related to sex and LGBT issues across the Arab world.
Previous Years in Review:
As always, feedback is welcome. Comments can be left on the OpenNet Initiative blog.
