Security vs. risk: More on Facebook and Google+
It’s been fascinating watching the hothousing of a new social network in Google+. In the early days of Twitter, it was the users who invented social norms like “@”ing people, hashtags, and retweeting, which the designers of Twitter adopted and echoed in thee hardwired code of the website itself. Such affordances, as they are known,…
Rwanda’s Kagame and journalist get into Twitter spat
President Paul Kagame is a leader who draws sharply divided opinions–praise from some for rebuilding Rwanda after the 1994 genocide and criticism from others over a record of repression of dissent and the press. On Saturday, a tweet critical of Kagame by British columnist Ian Birrell sparked a heated exchange about press freedom between the…
Ugandan media censored over Walk to Work protests
Freedom of the press in Uganda hit a new low late last week when the government, in response to a decision by opposition figures to demonstrate against the escalating price of food and fuel by walking to work, banned live coverage of the protests and issued a directive to Internet providers to block two popular…
Mainstream journalists also targeted in China crackdown
New York, March 30, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by the dismissal of two Guangzhou-based journalists who advocate for political reform amid tightening restrictions on free expression. While several bloggers and activists have disappeared or been detained in the last month after anonymous calls for demonstrations in support of political reform were published…
Online writer indicted, another missing in China
New York, March 28, 2011–Police indicted one online writer on anti-state charges in Sichuan today and another disappeared in Guangzhou on Sunday, according to international news reports. Both cases appear part of the Chinese Communist Party’s strenuous efforts to suppress their critics and pre-empt a “Jasmine Revolution” in China, the Committee to Protect Journalists said…
Fearing Egypt-style revolt, Cameroon bars Twitter service
“For security reasons, the government of Cameroon requests the suspension of the Twitter sms integration on the network,” announced a March 8 tweet by Bouba Kaélé, marketing manager of the Cameroon unit of South Africa-based telecommunications provider MTN. The announcement has since disappeared from Kaélé’s Twitter feed, but was memorialized by a handful of Twitter…
Abusive Twitter messages target foreign media in China
California-based China Digital Times (CDT) reports new Chinese-language Twitter commentators have appeared in the last week. Twitter is generally blocked in China, but heavily used by activists who access it by means of proxy networks overseas. The recent arrivals are vocal supporters of the government’s efforts to tamp down nascent “Jasmine Revolution” rallies anonymously organized…
Journalists targeted in Bahrain, Yemen, and Libya
New York, February 18, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists called on authorities today in Bahrain, Yemen, Libya to cease their attempts to prevent media from reporting on anti-government demonstrations. Bahraini authorities used live ammunition–including fire from a helicopter–against peaceful protesters and journalists, according to news reports. Pro-government thugs attacked at least two journalists in Yemen, and…
Attacks on the Press 2010: Preface
by Riz Khan It’s a double-edged sword. Technology has made the life of journalists so much easier and yet so much more difficult. Even in the least-developed countries, where simple infrastructure such as paved road is a luxury, access to mobile phones, the portability of satellite broadcasting systems, the growth of delivery platforms, and the…