RFE/RL
RFE/RL broadcasts in 21 countries in 28 languages, including Russia, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Central Asia. Follow us on Twitter @RFERL and Facebook
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On June 27, media workers across Uzbekistan (presumably) celebrated a day named in their honor. The 19th iteration of Mass Media Workers’ Day was noted in a speech by Uzbek President Islam Karimov, where he cautioned the nation’s journalists not to “succumb to euphoria and get overexcited” about Uzbekistan’s many achievements…[read more]
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![@RSF_RWB has added Belarus to its list of “Enemies of the Internet.”
In a report issued on March 11 to mark World Day Against Cyber-Censorship, the Paris-based media watchdog said Belarusian authorities tightened their grip on the Internet over the past year to curb what it called “revolution via the social media.” [read more]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0thmoca2r1qkgi6go1_500.jpg)
@RSF_RWB has added Belarus to its list of “Enemies of the Internet.”
In a report issued on March 11 to mark World Day Against Cyber-Censorship, the Paris-based media watchdog said Belarusian authorities tightened their grip on the Internet over the past year to curb what it called “revolution via the social media.” [read more]
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Illegal in Iran, Radio Farda is getting some “free advertising” (if it can be called that) from the regime. A user who will remain anonymous sent us a photo of a banner in Tehran that reads:
“Radio Farda: If the turnout of the Iranian people in upcoming parliamentary election is less than 50%, the U.S. can easily attack Iran.”
Needless to say, our colleagues in Radio Farda have reported no such thing…but many “thanks” to the Iranian authorities for the shout out.
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Iranian officials have been promising the launch of a national Internet since at least 2006, but have provided little details about its scope. Slowly, details are emerging in one of the world’s toughest Internet censorship regimes.
On February 20, for the second time in recent weeks, web users in Iran reported that their access to Gmail, Yahoo mail, and HTTPS websites had been blocked.Some Iranians told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda that the usual antifiltering tools they had been using in the past to access blocked websites, were not working anymore.
A few users contacted by RFE/RL on February 21 said they managed to access their Gmail accounts, while others complained that they still couldn’t access their mails and some websites. The reason for the Internet disruption is not clear, and officials have failed to clarify the issue.There has been speculation that the recent disruptions are related to the launch of the national Internet…[READ MORE] -
A website has been set up to mirror the site of RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service, in what could be a phishing scheme to harvest user information…[READ MORE]
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Reports that Iran has stepped up its Internet censorship in recent days — as evidenced by a general slowdown of the web, Internet blackouts, and the blocking of sites such as Google — has raised speculation that the country might be testing its controversial “national Internet.” [READ MORE]
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Iran’s cyberpolice say they have arrested four administrators of a Facebook group called “Daaf and Paaf,” which had launched an online beauty competition.
The Facebook group had called on its 27,000 fans to send in pictures to take part in a competition for choosing “hot” Iranian men and women…[READ MORE]
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After being largely — and conspicuously — absent from the news for weeks, Dmitry Medvedev spoke yesterday at Moscow State University.The Russian president touted recent proposals to reform the electoral system, saying “these [old] rules are not working.” He reassured students that “nobody is imposing” censorship in Russia, adding that this would be “impossible in the modern world.”
And he insisted that his political career wasn’t over. “I’ve never said that I will not run for office again. I will remind you that I’m only 46 and this is not an old enough age to give up any future political battles,” Medvedev said…[READ MORE] -
Medvedev speaking to journalism students:
“I agree with you that the mass media very often comes under pressure. But that doesn’t mean that there is unbridled censorship in our country. First of all, nobody has introduced censorship and nobody is imposing it. Secondly, and this is my firm belief, censorship is impossible in the modern world.”
- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev speaking today (January 25) at a meeting with journalism students at Moscow State University. -
The free online knowledge site Wikipedia has announced that it will shut down its English-language website for 24 hours on January 18 to protest legislation being considered by the U.S. Congress.
Wikipedia is one of the 10 most visited websites in the world, with tens of millions of visitors daily…[READ MORE]
