In a move unlikely to surprise those who access the Internet from mainland China, the country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently blocked several popular tools used to bypass the "Great Firewall" national Internet censorship system. Citing the need to protect "cyberspace sovereignty" and to "maintain cyber security and steady operation," the Ministry changed firewall rules to block three increasingly popular commercial virtual private network (VPN) services.
Journalists and online news-gatherers have been struggling
to collect and distribute high-quality information about recent events in
Syria. Foreign journalists have been turned away at the border; local online
reporters have been detained. The quality of Internet and mobile phone
connectivity has been extremely variable, with reports of Net and phone
connections being cut off in selective areas, such as Deraa and Douma. The
Wall Street Journal reported blocks on
social-networking sites, and CPJ has received reports of consistent slowdowns
of home Internet services such as Skype and Google Mail.
Do you believe the free flow of information must be protected? Sign the #RightToReport petition and demand that President Obama immediately:
1. Issue a presidential policy directive prohibiting the hacking and surveillance of journalists and media organizations.
2. Limit aggressive prosecutions that ensnare journalists and intimidate whistleblowers.
3. Prevent the harassment of journalists at the U.S. border.
Or click here to see the full petition, and join leading journalists like Christiane Amanpour, The Guardian’s Alan Rusbridger, Editor of the AP Kathleen Carroll, and Arianna Huffington in signing on.
https://cpj.org