Last summer I built a set of maps for the OpenNet Initiative showing where five of the most popular social media sites — Facebook, Flickr, Orkut, Twitter and YouTube — are censored around the world.

A lot has happened in the last year, both social media censorship-wise and in the world of online mapping. I’ve taken this opportunity to update the map data and to give the maps themselves a bit of a makeover. Voila:

Social media filtering around the world

These are accurate to the best of my and ONI’s knowledge — the data comes from testing we conducted in 2008-2009 as well as from censorship reporting site Herdict and media reports. If you have trouble accessing one of these sites, please let us know so we can update accordingly.

For more information on the methodology and reasoning behind these maps, and for all the fun features (clicking! zooming! changing from Facebook to Twitter and back again!), check out the social media filtering map on the ONI site.

Posted in berkman, internet censorship, social media | Leave a comment

#fail

The paper outlines the history and development of the Internet in China and goes on to pledge that the “Chinese government is determined to unswervingly safeguard the freedom of speech on the Internet enjoyed by Chinese citizens” (as long as this speech is “in accordance with the law,” of course).

Hilariously, one of the avenues the document champions for this free speech is Twitter, which has been blocked off and on in China for several years. The Wall Street Journal points out that this may be a translation error, as the Chinese version refers simply to “microblogging,” but still. Awkward.

Posted in china, internet censorship | 1 Comment

Not content to simply ban the printed publication of independent newspaper Umuvigizi, the Rwandan government has announced that if the paper does not shut down its website it will take matters into its own hands by blocking the site.

Read the full story at the OpenNet Initiative blog.

In Rwanda? Help us track whether Umuvugizi is blocked!

Internet censorship reporting site Herdict allows Internet users to track which sites are blocked in their countries. If you are in Rwanda, please let us know whether you can access Umugivizi.com. You can submit a report via the Herdict reporter or using Twitter or e-mail.

Posted in africa, internet censorship, media, rwanda | Leave a comment

China unblocked a bunch of previously filtered porn sites this week, just in time for the 21st anniversary of the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

Cunning gamble to pull netizens away from dangerous online discussions of political repression? Technical glitch? Attempt to placate the country’s growing population of young males?

Check out my post on the OpenNet Initiative blog and tell me what you think.

Posted in china, internet censorship | 1 Comment

I’m liveblogging Secretary Clinton’s speech on Internet freedom at The Morningside Post. You can follow along over there or below:

Posted in ICT, internet censorship, u.s. foreign policy | Leave a comment