CommuniCrossings Software for Mobile Learning and Communication

Definition

"Internet censorship is control or suppression of the publishing of or access to information on the Internet. It may be carried out by governments or by private organizations either at the behest of government or on their own initiative. Individuals and organizations may engage in self-censorship on their own or due to intimidation and fear." ~Wikipedia

• "It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creeds into law if it acquires the political power to do so, and will follow it by suppressing opposition, subverting all education to seize early the minds of the young, and by killing, locking up, or driving underground all heretics." ~Robert A. Heinlein, Postscript to Revolt in 2100
  
  
  
• "Censorship reflects a society's lack of confidence in itself. It is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime." ~Potter Stewart
  
  
  
• "As to the evil which results from a censorship, it is impossible to measure it, for it is impossible to tell where it ends." ~Jeremy Bentham
  
  
  
  

Government vs. Freedom of Access/Expression

• Google report shows where its content is blocked
  
  
• A Look At Internet Censorship Around The World (infographics)
  
  
• U.S. Underwrites Internet Detour Around Censors
  
  
• U.S. Products Help Block Mideast Web
  
  
• Repressing the Internet, Western-Style
  
  
• Freedom and Anonymity: Keeping the Internet Open (Fear of cyberattacks should not lead us to destroy what makes the Internet special)
  
  
• Smart Dictators Don't Quash the Internet
  
  
• Fidel Castro: Loves The Internet... Even As Cubans Are Blocked From Using Most Of It
  
  
• Google bows to China's censorship demands
  
  
• Iran Activists Disable Privacy Tool (Haystack) After Security Holes Exposed
  
  
• From Samizdat to Twitter: How Technology Is Making Censorship Irrelevant
  
  
• Decentralizing the Internet So Big Brother Can’t Find You
  
  

Government Secrecy/Security vs. Transparency

• "Wikileaks' silencing was sought by antidemocratic governments worldwide -- including China, whose censors work mightily to block all access to the site. Wikileaks' plug was pulled, ironically, (not in China) but by a federal judge in San Francisco." ~Peter Scheer
  
  
• Wikipedia: Wikileaks, Wikiquotes: Wikileaks
  
  
• Secrets and Transparency: what is Wikileaks, and what is its future?
  
  
• Why WikiLeaks is unlike the Pentagon Papers
  
  
• Pentagon to Troops: Taliban Can Read WikiLeaks, You Can’t
  
  
• Hillary Clinton's speech: Shades of hypocrisy (Wikileaks) on internet freedom
  
  
• Cyberwar Against Wikileaks? Good Luck With That
  
  
• Lawmaker reintroduces WikiLeaks prosecution bill (Securing Human Intelligence and Enforcing Lawful Dissemination: SHIELD)
  
  
• Facing Threat From WikiLeaks, Bank (BofA) Plays Defense
  
  
• Former WikiLeaks Colleagues Forming New Web Site, OpenLeaks
  
  

Indecency, Hate, Bullying vs. Freedom of Expression

• Wikipedia: internet filter, hate sites, cyberbullying
  
  
• Wikipedia: Child Online Protection Act; Communications Decency Act
  
  
• (UK ISP) Broadband firms urged to block sex websites to protect children
  
  
• Art School Runs Afoul of Facebook’s Nudity Police
  
  
• Craigslist Blocks Access to ‘Adult Services’ Pages
  
  
• Is US prudishness ruining the internet? Censorship, Anglo-Saxon values and boring economics
  
  
• NY State Senators Say We've Got Too Much Free Speech; Introduce Bill To Fix That
  
  
• Why a hyper-personalized Web is bad for you (Q&A) ("The Filter Bubble: What the Internet is Hiding from You")
  
  
• Rackspace Pulls The Plug On ‘Burn A Koran Day’ Church’s Web Site
  
  
• In Small Towns, Gossip Moves to the Web, and Turns Vicious
  
  
• Facebook Wrestles With Free Speech and Civility (“hate and harassment team”)
  
  

Consumers vs. Corporations (via Government)

• "Your fair use of this book is restricted. You may only read this book once." ~Anonymous
  
  
• "Only one thing is impossible for God: to find any sense in any copyright law on the planet . . . Whenever a copyright law is to be made or altered, then the idiots assemble." ~Mark Twain
  
  
  
  
• Wikipedia: Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) (not enacted)
  
  
• Wikipedia: Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property (PROTECT IP) Act (proposed)
  
  
• Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) (ratifying)
  
  
• target: any domain name "dedicated to infringing activities"
  
  
• Pro: Motion Picture Assoc. of America (MPAA), US Chamber of Commerce, Screen Actors Guild, Recording Industry Assoc. of America (RIAA),...
  
  
• Con: Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Yahoo!, eBay, American Express, Google, Reporters Without Borders, Human Rights Watch, ...
  
  
• Issues: freedom of speech; due process ('assumed guilty'); black lists; collateral damage (other domains on same host)
  
  
  
  
• Censorship of the Internet Takes Center Stage in "Online Infringement" Bill
  
  
• Sen. Ron Wyden places a "hold" on the PROTECT IP Act
  
  
• CBO Says PROTECT IP Will Cost Taxpayers Over $10 Million Per Year To Censor The Internet
  
  
• Senator Wyden Warns That Domain Seizures And COICA Undermine Internet Freedom
  
  
• Why Voting For COICA Is A Vote For Censorship
  
  
• (ex-Sen.) Dodd on verge of becoming MPAA chairman
  
  
• A Look At The Technologies & Industries Senators Leahy & Hatch Would Have Banned In The Past
  
  
• (US) Internet Domain Seizure Program ("Operation In Our Sites") Rankles Free Speech Advocates
  
  
• U.S. Signs International Anti-Piracy Accord (ACTA)
  
  
• Obama Administration Declares Proposed IP Treaty (ACTA) a ‘National Security’ Secret
  
  
• Brazil Drafts An 'Anti-ACTA': A Civil Rights-Based Framework For The Internet
  
  
• Wikipedia Shuts Down Italian Site In Response To Berlusconi's New Wiretap Act (censoring bloggers)
  
  
• Argentine ISPs Block Over A Million Blogs In Response To Court Order To Block Two
  
  

For more info: Content Access: Censorship, Wikileaks, COICA

[updated: 05-Oct-2011] [.pdf]