Internet

In response to reports today that the BBC’s Chinese language news site and Voice of America in Chinese have been banned in China, we issued this statement.

One of the reasons the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has spawned so many events this month may have something to do with the venue. The declaration was signed in Paris–who wouldn’t want to commemorate the cornerstone of international freedoms in the City of Lights?

New York, November 11, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the long prison sentence handed down by a Burmese court to blogger Nay Phone Latt, who has been held in detention since his arrest on January 29.

New York, November 7, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the court-ordered release from prison today of blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, editor and founder of the Malaysia Today news and commentary Web site.

New York, November 6, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the continued imprisonment of an Egyptian blogger jailed two years ago on Friday.

The Web site Global Voices Online has a posting today that examines the Global Network Initiative. The initiative, which CPJ has joined, sets privacy and free speech principles for telecommunications companies.

Bloggers across the Web are showing their solidarity with Mohamed Erraji, a Moroccan blogger who was sentenced to two years in prison last week for “failing to show respect for the king.” A Moroccan court convicted Erraji, 29, a contributor to HesPress, a Moroccan daily news ‎Web site, on Monday in a closed, 10-minute trial.…

Reliable sources in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa have informed CPJ this week that our site was inaccessible on the servers of the Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation, the country’s official Internet service provider. A handful of separate Internet users in the country have independently confirmed seeing “The page cannot be displayed” messages when attempting to…

With the Games completed, it’s back to Internet censorship as usual. Remember the issue about Web sites being blocked inside the Main Press Center? The problem was only partially resolved. After complaints, more sites became available to reporters inside the MPC and around the country, though many remained blocked. Research by OpenNet Initiative said that…

The Apple iTunes store Web site and all 8 million or so of its songs, (“Imagine an entertainment superstore that’s open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week” the site urges) are not available in China and haven’t been for more than a week. Not a great loss for iTunes in the very short…