# articles

feed_id: 90 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: The “New Year’s Greetings” incident
uri: The-New-Year-s-Greetings-incident
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/new-years-greetings-incident
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          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/geo-zone/china" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">China</a></div>
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          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/themes/politics-and-securtiy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Politics and Securtiy</a></div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <p>Was it just a bump in the road or was it a turning point in the history of censorship in China? The future will tell, but the journalists at the Guangzhou-based weekly Nanfang Zhoumo (南方周末) have clearly waged a heroic battle against the authorities’ attempts to silence them.</p> </div>
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          <div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>A courageous New Year editorial calling for constitutional reforms in China was to have been published on their magazine’s front page on 3 January but a zealous Propaganda Department official decided to censor it and replace with something he wrote.</p>
<p>Free speech defenders have been protesting on online social networks ever since. Tens of thousands of messages of support have been posted on the micro-blogging site Weibo by journalists and anonymous citizens. And if speech is in the process of freeing itself in the Middle Kingdom, what will become of the Communist Party’s propaganda and cant?</p>
<p>WeFightCensorship is posting the uncensored versions of the Nanfang Zhoumo editorial.</p>
<p>This is how it all began. Every New Year, the leading political newspapers publish a political editorial in the form of New Year’s greetings to their readers. Nanfang Zhoumo invited one of its most senior journalists, Dai Zhiyong (戴志勇), to draft this year’s message.</p>
<p>Zhiyong drafted an editorial entitled “The Chinese dream, the dream of constitutionalism” (中国梦, 宪政梦), calling for the protection of civil rights and for checks on the authorities in China. After discussion with the rest of the staff and the local propaganda office, the editorial was changed. It still called for respect for civil rights but the headline was changed to “Dreams are the promises of what should be done” (梦想是我们对应然之事的承诺).</p>
<p>A third version was nonetheless published in the 3 January issue. Tuo Zhen (庹震), the head of propaganda in the Guandong region, the region where Nanfang Zhoumo is published, rewrote the second version without telling the newspaper’s journalists, who discovered the new version at the same time as their readers. It removed all the critical content, added an introductory paragraph and retitled it “Let’s pursue our dream” (追梦).</p>
<p>Censorship is not new in China but the method used in what is now known as the “New Year’s Greetings” incident is unprecedented. It was the first time that a propaganda official took it upon himself to change an article without telling the newspaper concerned.</p>
<p>Given the enormity of the affair, reactions came thick and fast. Already on 3 January, people were posting the various versions of the editorial on Weibo, pointing out the differences between the original version and the modified one.</p>
<p>The authorities reacted by trying to delete all <a href="http://www.weibo.com/login.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fweibo.com%2F1252278122%2FzcJCt27kN">messages</a> mentioning the New Year’s Greetings affair but it was already out in the open and more and more messages of support were being posted online.</p>
<p>On 4 January, a group of journalists who used to work for the weekly posted <a href="http://cmp.hku.hk/2013/01/04/30311/">an open letter</a> online describing Tuo Zhen as a “bureaucratic tyrant” who stifled the vitality of the Chinese media. On 6 January, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-20911823">a second open letter</a> signed by some of Nanfang Zhoumo’s journalists called for Tuo Zhen’s resignation. In a desperate attempt to end the controversy, Nanfang Zhoumo publisher Huang Can posted a message on <a href="http://www.weibo.com/infzm">the weekly’s official Weibo account</a> claiming that the editorial had not been doctored by propaganda officials.</p>
<blockquote>致读者：本报1月3日新年特刊所刊发的新年献词，系本报编辑配合专题“追梦”撰写，特刊封面导言系本报一负责人草拟，网上有关传言不实。由于时间仓促，工作疏忽，文中存在差错，我们就此向广大读者致歉</blockquote>
<p>Far from defusing tempers, his micro-blog post just added fuel to the flames, and the <a href="http://cmp.hku.hk/2013/01/08/30467/">messages in support of the newspaper’s journalists</a> became even more numerous.</p>
<p>According to the Tea Leaf Nation website:</p>
<ul>
<li>The University of Sun Yat Sen posted an <a href="http://cmp.hku.hk/2013/01/06/30375/">open letter</a> on 6 January.</li>
<li>The blogger Han Han <a href="http://topics.wsj.com/person/h/han-han/7133">condemned</a> the pressure that Chinese writers have to endure.</li>
<li>The actress Yao Chen, a social network star, posted the Nanfang Zhoumo logo on her account together with the Solzhenitsyn quote: “A word of truth weighs more than the entire world.”</li>
<li>The blogger <a href="http://www.tealeafnation.com/2013/01/online-and-off-social-media-users-go-to-war-for-freedom-of-press-in-china/">Li Chengpeng wrote</a>: “We don’t need big buildings, we need a newspaper that tells the truth. We don’t need a fleet of aircraft carriers, we need a newspaper that tells the truth.”</li>
</ul>
<p>According to estimates on Weibo, 29 activists have been interrogated by the police for expressing their support for Nanfang Zhoumo and some are still detained.</p>
<p>We are posting translations of passages from the first two versions of the editorial together with the complete text of the first two versions in the original Chinese. Please <a href="fr/contact">contact us</a> if you are willing to translate the editorials below in English.</p>
<h2>The Chinese dream, the dream of constitutionalism (passage from the first version of the editorial)</h2>
<blockquote>
<p>Only if constitutionalism is realized and power effectively checked can citizens voice their criticisms of power loudly and confidently, and only then can every person believe in their hearts that they are free to live their own lives. Only then can we build a truly free and strong nation. . .</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img alt="The Chinese dream, the dream of constitutionalism" class="media-image" height="2641" title="The Chinese dream, the dream of constitutionalism" width="435" typeof="foaf:Image" src="sites/default/files/edito-v1.jpg" /></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://cmp.hku.hk/2013/01/03/30247/">China Media Project</a></p>
<h2>Dreams are the promises of what should be done (passage from the second version of the editorial)</h2>
<blockquote>
<p>We hope that our Constitution cuts its teeth, that our Constitution can be realized [in practice] someday soon. This is the only way this ancient nation of ours can complete is arduous transition; this is the only way our nation and its people can stand strong once again on firm ground. We have already today a China where one can dream. And this is an age already in which dreams can be grasped.</p>
<p>We passed through the nightmare of the Cultural Revolution, and we have spent more than 30 years gradually returning to reason and sense . . .</p>
<p>We came anew to a realization of what is real, what is deception, seeing right as right and wrong as wrong. Our love of justice was rekindled. . .</p>
<p>More than 170 years ago, we began our gradual awakening from the lunacy of [feudal] imperial rule. We faced defeat, first at the hands of Britain, then at the hands of Japan . . . With the Xinhai Revolution the rule of the Qing fell, and our forebears built Asia’s first republic. But a free, democratic and prosperous China under constitutional rule never followed. Instead, wars raged inside and outside our country; cruelty and suffering came unceasing. . .</p>
<p>Today, we dream not only of material prosperity, but even more of spiritual abundance; we dream not only that our country can be strong, but even more that the people of our country can enjoy dignity. . .</p>
<p>Only if constitutionalism is realized and [civil] rights preserved can the hearts of the people gleam like the sun and moon. . . Only then can the “urban police” (城管) joke cheerfully with small-time peddlers. Only then can our own homes truly become our castles . . .</p>
<p>Only if constitutionalism is realized and power effectively checked can citizens voice their criticisms of power loudly and confidently, and only then can every person believe in their hearts that they are free to live their own lives. Only then can we build a truly free and strong nation. . .</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img alt="Dreams are the promises of what should be done" class="media-image" height="1331" title="Dreams are the promises of what should be done" width="435" typeof="foaf:Image" src="sites/default/files/edito-v2.jpg" /></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://cmp.hku.hk/2013/01/03/30247/">China Media Project</a></p> </div>
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feed_id: 85 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Japan - Freelance journalist sued over nuclear industry article
uri: Japan-Freelance-journalist-sued-over-nuclear-industry-article
url:
https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/japan-freelance-journalist-sued-over-nuclear-industry-article

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          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/geo-zone/japan" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Japan</a></div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <p>Minoru Tanaka, a 52-year-old Japanese freelancer who has written many investigative pieces about the nuclear power industry, is being sued for 67 million yen (600,000 euros) – an enormous sum he would never be able to pay – over a story that looked at the connections between nuclear industry figures, investors and politicians.</p> </div>
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          <div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>Published in the 16 December 2011 issue of the weekly Shukan Kinyobi and indiscreetly headlined "The last big fixer, Shiro Shirakawa, gets his share of the TEPCO nuclear cake," the article tried to shed light on Japan’s opaque nuclear industrial complex, known as the “nuclear village,” and in particular, the activities of Shiro Shirakawa, the head of a company the provides security systems for power stations owned by the electricity utility TEPCO.</p>
<p>The article accused Shirakawa of taking advantage of his connections with key nuclear industry figures, including TEPCO’s former chairman, and politicians such as the parliamentarian Kamei Shizuka to obtain unjustified profits since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in March 2011.</p>
<p>Most freelance and foreign journalists regard the libel suit that Shirakawa brought against Tanaka (but not against Shukan Kinyobi) as a bid to deter all journalists from doing investigative reporting about the nuclear industry and, in particular, about the way that the Fukushima Daiichi accident was handled.</p>
<p>When the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan organized a news conference in Tokyo on 31 August 2012 to give Tanaka a chance to talk about the lawsuit, not a single journalist from Japan’s official Kisha press clubs attended. Freelancers are discriminated against in Japan and excluded from the Kisha clubs. As a result, Tanaka’s freelance status prevents him from receiving the support of his colleagues and increases his vulnerability.</p>
<p>Freelance and independent journalists such as Yu Terasawa, Michiyoshi Hatakeyama, Yuichi Sato and Ryuichi Hirokawa are often harassed over their nuclear industry reporting. Like TEPCO and the nuclear industry in general, the government seems to fear that coverage of the Fukushima aftermath and public discontent could result in their being blamed and lead to a national debate about energy issues in Japan.</p>
<p>Before a Tokyo court began hearing the lawsuit on 7 May 2012, Shirakawa sent Tanaka a letter warning that he would be rendered insolvent if the court rules against him. Several hearings have been heard since then and they are steadily wearing Tanaka down.</p>
<p>In Tanaka’s view, the case has all the hallmarks of what is often called a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) or “gag suit,” with a powerful plaintiff who has many political and business connections, on the one hand, and an isolated journalist, on the other.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="366" width="450" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/d3828858.the_last_big_fixer.jpg" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/the_last_big_fixer.jpg" /></p>
<p><small><cite title="title">The last big fixer, Shiro Shirakawa, gets his share of the TEPCO nuclear cake</cite> published in the 16 December 2011 issue of the weekly <cite title="source">Shukan Kinyobi</cite>. <a href="#forbidden-content">Download the full article (pdf)</a>.</small></p>
<blockquote>
<h2>The Last Fixer</h2>
<p>A mystery letter (怪文書) was distributed at the House of Representative Building 1 towards the end of May in 2011. It was titled, “WANTED: The Transporter of Nuclear Industry Bribes” and printed on A4 sized paper. Who the heck is the person it was written about? Under the headline of the mystery letter was a copy of the ID badge of the deceased 三塚博衆院議員（Mitsuka Hiroshi-LDP)’s personal secretary, in a collage. The person being criticized in the letter was a man called&nbsp; “The Last Big Fixer” aka Shirakawa Shiro.</p>
<h3>“Ishihara Bank” also involved in huge loans</h3>
<p>The house of Mr. Shirakawa is like a fortress in the middle of Shibuya, surrounded by concrete walls. There are few windows in the 2 story building but plenty of security cameras. His house was built in 2008 by Nishimatsu Kensetsu (Nishimatsu Construction). The building and 300 tsubo (坪）of land is owned under the name Nihon Tekusa (日本テクサ）. The firm is 100% financed by Nyutekku (株式会社ニューテック）which can be said to be the center of a group of companies headed by Shirakawa.</p>
<p>On the front gate of Shirakawa’s home, the placard reads in capitalized English letters SHIRAKAWA, it is said to be his de facto home. On May 31st of 2010, a 4,000,000,000 yen 抵当権 (mortgage) was placed on the dwelling. Nishimatsu Construction put down the mortgage and the debtor was listed as Nyutekku. This took place on the same day. Nishimatsu (essentially) made Shirakawa admit to borrowing 4,000,000,000 and held the home and property as collateral. In addition, 48 items related to Mr. Shirakawa were offered as collateral. However, on October 13th of 2011, Nishimatsu’s mortgage was erased. Nyutekku said that within roughly a year and half, “All was repaid.” (Nyutekku General Affairs).</p>
<p>On the same day (October 13th), Shinginko Tokyo, using the same property as collateral, made a provisional registration of a loan of 7 million yen to Nyutekku. (The records state the loan contract was made on September 28th, 2011*predating the registration.) There were six items of collateral for the loan but their total value was less than the value of the loan. <br />What is Shin Tokyo Ginko? Many know it as the bank that Tokyo Governor Ishihara created. Within three years of opening, the majority of it’s unsecured loans turned bad or were eaten up by the Japanese underworld, resulting in 100,000,000,000 yen of non-performing loans. A huge amount of taxes was thrown away. Still, it’s a surprise that the central company of this fixer was able to get such a huge loan from the bank.</p>
<p>Nyutekku General Affairs had this to say about the flow of money, “The money from Nishimatsu was only used for our company business” “We never, for any reason, paid money to a Diet member.” Concerning the provisional mortgage of 700,000,000 yen on the property from Shin Tokyo Ginko, they answered, “It was a temporary measure until a more substantial form of collateral could be found,” adding that after the 10th of December, the provisional mortgage had been erased (dealt with).&nbsp; Nishimatsu says, “There were no compliance issues with the loan.” The Shin Tokyo Ginko said, “We cannot discuss individual transactions.”</p>
<h3>Rokkasho HQ for Nyutekku</h3>
<p>What kind of company is Nyutekku? Their headquarters are located in Aomori Prefecture Rokkasho Village. They have branch offices in Tokyo Minato-Ward Nishishinbashi. With the aid of the former head of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, starting in 1985, they created a company called Nihon Anzen Hosho Keibi, which acted as an inspector and maintenance provider for equipment at nuclear facilities.</p>
<p>The company changed it’s name to Nyutekku in December of 2001. According to a civilian credit ratings firm, for the 2004 March fiscal period, the company had an annual turnover of 2,100,000,000 yen. Mr. Shirakawa became the gatekeeper to profits in the nuclear security business. In March of 2001, Shirakawa resigned, and cut capital ties to the firm but still maintained a silent influence on the firm. A TEPCO subsidiary company,Tokyo Living’s former CEO and the lawyer Hamada Takujiro came on as auditors. The former CEO became Shirakawa’s conduit to TEPCO and his right-hand man. It is said that Shirakawa’s power comes from his network of associates connected to TEPCO’s nuclear development. Shirakawa was introduced to Araki Hiroshi, former Chairman of TEPCO by Diet member Kamei Shizuka. Included in the TEPCO network, is the former CEO of Nishmatsu Construction, 国沢幹雄 (Kunisawa Mikio). Several years ago, on the sole authority of Kunisawa, it is said that it was decided to loan 4,000,000,000 yen to Nyutekku.</p>
<p>But! In early 2009, the Tokyo District Special Prosecution Office (TPO) arrested Kunisawa for violations of the foreign exchange law (外為法違反). The case expanded to include an investigation of (alleged) illegal political fund contributions from Nishimatsu to Ozawa Ichiro’s political fund Rikuzankai. Nishimatsu decided to radically change the management and in June of 2009, they welcomed on board former Osaka High Prosecutor Osaka Sadao (逢坂貞夫）as an outside director. Mr. Osaka took issue with past financing by Nyutekku and urged them to put up collateral on their loans and repay them in a short time, according to some reports. Isn’t it likely that the result was the 4,000,000,000 yen mortgage registered on the real estate deeds?</p>
<h3>Kamei Shizuka and Shirakawa</h3>
<p>Shirakawa was born in 1945 in Kagawa Prefecture. He was a salaried worker and moved onto to become a self-employed businessman. He became close to a power diet member, Hiroshi Mitsuka, and took the titles of his secretary. He became a conduit between the political and financial world for his boss. He also had the role as a go-between between the underworld and the political-economic sphere.He was particularly close to Kamei Shizuka, and this is well known.</p>
<p>He also became very close to the former chairman of Mizutani Kensetsu, a mid-level construction firm undergoing financial restructuring. Chairman Mizutani Isao was arrested by the TPO for 11,00,000,000 yen in tax evasion in July of 2006. Mizutani was sentenced to two years of hard labor. It was suspected (but never proved) that the bulk of the unpaid taxes came from TEPCO related contracts on soil disposal for the Fukushima Dai Ni reactor. Roughly 600,000,000 yen was allegedly used in bribes. (Related to the Soil disposal for Fukushima Dai Ni contracts and work it is known that…) Maeda Kensetsu was the primary contractor, Mizutani Kensetsu the subcontractor and there were several sub-subcontractors, amongst which Shirakawa connected companies were included.</p>
<p>The prosecutors at first envisioned a scenario in which in the process of contracting and subcontracting that large amounts of money were siphoned off to pay off Shirakawa related companies and Takeuchi Youichi (a former Yamaguchi-gumi boss) and his company Gyosei Kenkyujo, and finally some of it going as unreported political donations. The investigation went as far as Shirakawa and former TEPCO chairman Araki. However, the prosecutors couldn’t close the deal.&nbsp; The prosecution having raised their fists in anger found themselves with no one to punch, and finally settled for prosecuting the governor of Fukushima Prefecture (at that time) Sato Eisaku and conducted a desperate investigation. The final result being the conviction of the governor for taking a bribe, in which the amount of the bribe he took was recognized as “zero yen”—an unprecedented verdict. Shirakawa’s source of wealth comes from the group of companies of which Nyutekku is the center and the powerful bonds he forged with other companies in his field.</p>
<p>Other than Nyutekku we can list the following:<br />Nihon Tekusa (100% subsidiary of Nyutekku)<br />The company leases, does security for, and protects nuclear related facilities.<br />Nyutekku Technology Services (100% subsidiary of Nihon Tekusa). It does construction work relating to security at nuclear facilities. It was formerly called 日安建設.<br />Rokkasho Gennen Keibi, partially funded by Nyutekku and does security for Rokkasho Nuclear Reprocessing Plant and interim storage facilities. <br />J.S.S. (Tokyo, Shinjuku)<br />Kamei Shizuka, other politicians and capital from JAL played a central part in forming the company. The firm handles airport security. <br />36 employees from Nyutekku were transferred to the company in 1988.&nbsp; <br />For some odd reason, JSS is located right next to the home of TEPCO former Chairman Katsumata Tsunehisa. In the small space between JSS and Katsumata’s home there is a small police box, where a policeman stands guard 24 hours a day. It is questionable whether tax money should be spent on what amounts to Mr. Katsumata’s personal security. <br />In this tangled way, with Nyutekku at the center, Shirakawa has a complicated role in profiting from the nuclear industry.</p>
<p><cite title="title">The Last Fixer</cite> Shirakawa Shiro/Taking a bite of the TEPCO Nuclear Interests By <cite title="author">Tanaka Minoru</cite> from <cite title="source">Weekly Friday Magazine (週刊金曜日） Number 876 December 16th 2011</cite> Unofficial translation for reference only. Please refer to <a href="media/ce40f622.zhou_kan_jin_yao_ri_2012.12.16_0.pdf" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/medias/documents/zhou_kan_jin_yao_ri_2012.12.16_0.pdf">the original Japanese article</a> for quotations.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Minoru Tanaka explains his story and how publishing it on WeFightcensorship can help him as a journalist during the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxgyHcuOasQ">press conference</a> organised by RSF :</p>
<p><video tabindex="0" controls="controls" width="640"> <source src="media/6c5ac830.minoru_tanaka.mp4" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/minoru_tanaka.mp4" type="video/mp4" /> <source src="media/3804e480.minoru_tanaka.ogg" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/minoru_tanaka.ogg" type="video/ogg" /></video></p>
<blockquote>I want RSF and this website, WeFightCensorship, to spread this hidden story to the rest of the world and to as many readers as possible. <a href="#j2">[2]</a></blockquote>
<hr /><ol class="small">
<li id="j1">TEPCO is a japanese electric utilities servicing Japan's Kanto region, Yamanashi Prefecture, and the eastern portion of Shizuoka Prefecture. This area include Tokyo.</li>
<li id="j2">Get involved in Minoru's Tanaka's fight and <a href="how-create-wefightcensorship-mirror-site">create a WefightCensorship mirror site</a>.</li>
</ol> </div>
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feed_id: 83 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: India cannot stand media neutrality on Kashmir border disputes
uri: India-cannot-stand-media-neutrality-on-Kashmir-border-disputes
url:
https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/india-cannot-stand-media-neutrality-kashmir-border-disputes

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          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/themes/politics-and-securtiy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Politics and Securtiy</a></div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <p>In May 2011, the Indian customs forced The Economist to doctor 28,000 copies of its 21 May issue before permitting their distribution.</p> </div>
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          <div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>The problem was a cover story about the border dispute between India and Pakistan in Kashmir, one of the world’s most militarized regions. The report included a map showing the territory claimed by either side without taking a position on their territorial claims. The Indian authorities nonetheless insisted on a white sticker being placed over the map in each copy sold in India, depriving the country’s readers of a factual analysis of the border dispute.</p>
<p><img alt="L&#039;article de The Economist censuré avec du sparadrap" class="media-image" height="260" title="L&#039;article de The Economist censuré avec du sparadrap" width="194" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/sites/default/files/images.jpg" /></p>
<p>Ever since the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947 and the proclamation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, Kashmir’s border have been both a cause and symptom of the tension between India and its Pakistani and Chinese neighbours. Ever since the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947 and the proclamation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, Kashmir’s border have been both a cause and symptom of the tension between India and its Pakistani and Chinese neighbours.</p>
<p>The Indian government often uses a 1961 law amending the criminal code’s national security provisions in order to censor maps showing Kashmir’s disputed border. It has usually settled for putting a “not recognized by India” sticker on the maps, but in recent years it has toughened its information control policies, going so far as to block the import and distribution of copies of the Financial Times and The Economist in December 2010 because they contained maps of Asia that were “not consistent” with the government’s position.</p>
<p>"We Fight Censorship" is reprinting the censored map with the kind permission of <em><a href="http://www.economist.com">The Economist</a></em>.</p>
<p><img alt="Carte des fronitères entre l&#039;Inde et le Pakistan" class="media-image" height="705" title="Carte des fronitères entre l&#039;Inde et le Pakistan" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/sites/default/files/20110521_bbm960_kashmir.jpg" /></p>
<p>Anticipating the censorship of the regional map in its 21 May 2011 issue, The Economist added a box entitled “Missing map?” at the end of report. The box said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Sadly India censors maps that show the current effective border, insisting instead that only its full territorial claims be shown. It is more intolerant on this issue than either China or Pakistan. Indian readers will probably be deprived of the map on the second page of this special report. Unlike their government, we think our Indian readers can face political reality. Those who want to see an accurate depiction of the various territorial claims can do so using our interactive map at <a href="http://www.economist.com/asianborders">Economist.com/asianborders</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Territorial disputes continue to be a highly sensitive subject for India’s government. When the Chinese foreign ministry issued new passports in November 2012 with a map of China on pages 8 and 46 showing territory claimed by Vietnam, Taiwan, Philippines and India as Chinese, all of these countries protested but India was the only one to respond by producing new visas for Chinese citizens with a map of India that showed its version of the Sino-Indian border dispute.<br /><br /></p> </div>
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feed_id: 79 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Radio silence on cholera epidemic?
uri: Radio-silence-on-cholera-epidemic
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/radio-silence-cholera-epidemic
content:
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          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/285" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Cuba</a></div>
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          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/themes/public-health" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Public health</a></div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <p>Calixto Ramón Martínez Arias, a journalist who works for Hablemos Press, a Havana-based independent information centre, was arrested on 16 September 2012 after writing about cholera and dengue epidemics in Cuba. Two months later, he managed to call Hablemos Press from Havana’s Combinado del Este prison, defying an order by the prison authorities forbidding him to use the phone. During the call, which Hablemos Press recorded, he talked about the degrading conditions inside the prison. After the call, the Hablemos Press phone line was temporarily disconnected and Martínez was placed in solitary confinement. But the Combinado del Este’s political prisoners have managed to keep the outside world informed about his plight.</p> </div>
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          <div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>WeFightCensorship is posting <a href="#forbidden-content">the articles</a> that prompted Martínez’s arrest and&nbsp; <a href="#forbidden-content">the recordings of the phone calls</a> in which he and another detainee, Alexander Roberto Fernández Rico, described conditions in the prison.</p>
<p>The case began in June 2012, when eastern Cuba was hit by a cholera epidemic.&nbsp; Even after two people had died of cholera and more than 50 had been hospitalized in the eastern city of Manzanillo, the authorities continued to say nothing on the subject although the public clearly needed to be informed.</p>
<p>Mosquito-borne dengue fever appeared in the eastern city of Camagüey in August. Four hundred people were initially hit but the number rose to 3,000 in the Camagüey alone in the space of a few weeks. The epidemic also spread to the rest of the country, infecting up to 90 people a day in Havana. Nonetheless, the authorities said nothing about the number of dead or infected.</p>
<p>Martínez was the first Cuban journalist to write about the <a href="http://cafefuerte.com/cuba/noticias-de-cuba/sociedad/1960-dos-muertos-por-colera-en-el-oriente-de-cuba">cholera</a> and <a href="http://www.cubanet.org/noticias/alarma-en-camaguey-por-alta-incidencia-de-dengue/">dengue</a> epidemics. His articles reported that <a href="http://www.cubanet.org/noticias/casos-de-dengue-abarrotan-hospital-pediatrico-de-camaguey/">health centres were overwhelmed</a>, the <a href="http://www.cubanet.org/noticias/reportan-otro-muerto-por-dengue-en-camaguey/">authorities were saying nothing</a>, diagnoses were being falsified in the records, and that officials from the Department for State Security (DSE) were everywhere, obstructing access to information.</p>
<p>He was arrested when he went to Havana’s José Martí international airport on 16 September to enquire about damage to a shipment of medicine that had been abandoned after being sent to Cuba by the World Health Organization. During his transfer to Santiago de las Vegas police station in the nearby municipality of Boyeros, the police hit Martínez repeatedly and he responded during the beating by cursing the Cuban regime. The police used this as grounds for detaining him on a charge of “disrespect” for Fidel and Raúl Castro.</p>
<h2>Treated as a common criminal</h2>
<p>On 10 November, Martínez was transferred to the Combinado del Este prison on the DSE’s orders. Once there, all of his personal effects were taken from him, he was denied the use of a phone, and he was forced to wear the uniform of a convicted common criminal. He began a hunger strike the same day to protest against the mistreatment and to demonstrate his refusal to be treated as a convict while in pre-trial detention.</p>
<p>Martínez managed to phone Hablemos Press three days later and in the ensuing conversation, the recording of which is posted immediately below, he gave the reasons for his hunger strike and described the conditions in the prison. After the call, the Hablemos Press phone line was temporarily disconnected, something that has been happening repeatedly since 23 September. The line goes down five or six times a day, each time for two or three hours. Hablemos Press director Roberto de Jesús Guerra Pérez’s mobile phone no longer works at all.</p>
<p><audio tabindex="0" controls="controls" preload="auto"><source src="sites/default/files/calixto_2012_11_13.mp3" /><source src="sites/default/files/calixto_2012_11_13.ogg" /></audio></p>
<p>Martínez managed to call Hablemos Press again on 17 November, providing details of his physical condition after one week on hunger strike. He said he had a high fever and pains in his joints but was otherwise all right.</p>
<h2>Support from fellow-inmates</h2>
<p>There was no further news of Martínez until 21 November, when a political prisoner, Alexander Roberto Fernández Rico, managed to reach Hablemos Press. He said Martínez had been transferred the previous day to a punishment cell in “Area 47.” It also known as “Death Row” because, until 2005, inmates under sentence of death were held there pending execution. He said Martínez was naked in a cell on his own and was consuming just a litre of fetid water a day.</p>
<p>Hablemos Press managed to record this call, which is posted below. After the call, its line was disconnected for eight hours.</p>
<p><audio tabindex="0" controls="controls" preload="auto"> <source src="sites/default/files/alexander_2012_11_21.mp3" /> <source src="sites/default/files/alexander_2012_11_21.ogg" /></audio></p>
<p>Fernández, who has been blind and paraplegic since a hunger strike in April 2012, was himself transferred to a punishment cell in Area 47 the next day. Another political prisoner, Ramón Alejandro Muñoz called Hablemos Press the same day and said: “They are cracking down hard on the Combinado del Este’s political prisoners, because we reported what happened to Martínez. Worse still, they are threatening to put other inmates in punishment cells if they don’t identify the political prisoners who are making the phone calls.”</p>
<p>Hablemos Press is waging an all-out campaign for Martínez’s release, circulating the recordings of the phone calls by email and urging NGOs to draw attention to the case.</p>
<p>Martínez has not been <a href="https://twitter.com/yoanisanchez/status/277077865831481345">in a punishment cell since 6 December</a>. He is continuing his hunger strike.</p>
<h2 id="tr1">Calixto Ramón call on November 13th 2012</h2>
<blockquote>Les habla Calixto Ramón Martínez Arias, recluido en la prisión Combinado del Este, piso tercero sur, compañía 3309. Me encuentro aquí desde el sábado, día 10, y me abstengo de alimentarme debido a que se me quitó toda la ropa de civil que traía y a que se me había prohibido la comunicación telefónica.<br />&nbsp;<br />Quiero decir que las condiciones de vida en esta prisión son pésimas, debe ser declarada inhabitable. Lo denuncio ante las organizaciones internacionales que velan por el respeto de los Derechos Humanos. Pido que visiten esta prisión, que hagan hincapié en visitar esta prisión debido a las pésimas condiciones, y que el gobierno cubano se llene de dignidad y declare esta prisión inhabitable. Debo denunciar el estado de hacinamiento que se está viviendo en esta prisión, pues en un espacio de 13 a 14 metros de largo por 6 de ancho conviven unos 36 reos.<br />&nbsp;<br />El primer día que llegué aquí tuve que dormir en el piso por la sobrepoblación penal que hay. Un oficial me explicó que yo no era el único que dormía en el piso, que en casi todas las compañías había 1 o 2 reos durmiendo en el piso.<br />&nbsp;<br />En estas compañías los presos han tenido que ingeniárselas porque la construcción es de losa doble T de fabricación rusa y tiene filtraciones. Los reos han tenido que colocar nailon, tipo canal, que desemboque en el baño para que el agua que gotee no caiga encima de su cama.<br />&nbsp;<br />Son también pésimas las condiciones sanitarias, pues en este espacio de 13 o 14 metros de largo por 6 de ancho hay que contar que está el baño, que no tienen tazas sanitarias. Son dos&nbsp; turcos, uno para orinar y otro para defecar, y un lavamanos doble.<br />&nbsp;<br />Se vive en estrechez. Es una aglomeración de presos en un espacio reducido, muy pequeño, además del mal estado, la mala higiene y el mal aspecto con que se vive en estas pequeñas compañías.<br />&nbsp;<br />En este momento ya tengo cama, dormí dos días en el piso; esta mañana me la cedieron. El primer día, como cosa de privilegio, quisieron bajarme a un piso que tenía una cama, pero simplemente para dormir, y por la mañana tenía que subir a la compañía a donde pertenecía, a estar tirado en el piso. Me negué rotunamente, no quiero privilegios para mi persona. Ahora me niego a comer, estoy reclamando que se me suba a aquí la ropa de civil, pues en ropa de preso no salgo a ningún lado.<br />&nbsp;<br />Hasta que no me entreguen la ropa, no como. Me habían prohibido el teléfono, oí cuando el oficial de la Seguridad del Estado le&nbsp; dijo a los de la prisión que yo tenía que estar distante del teléfono en todo momento. Pero hoy me colé entre los reos y logré venir acá.</blockquote>
<h2 id="tr2">Alexander Roberto Fernández Rico call on Novembre 22nd 2012.</h2>
<blockquote>Yo, Alexander Roberto Fernández Rico, recluido en Combinado del Este, en el edificio número 3, denuncio las arbitrariedades que se están cometiendo con el prisionero político Calixto Ramón. Por el motivo de la libre emisión de pensamiento, se encuentra Calixto Ramón en cautiverio, en estos momentos se encuentra en la celda de castigo. Calixto Ramón está reclamándole a la autoridad penitenciaria no llevar la ropa de recluso, como lo expresa el libro primero de procesamiento penal, que él es inocente hasta que no se pruebe lo contrario. En estos momentos, Calixto Ramón se encuentra en huelga de hambre, se encuentra en estos momentos dormitando en el suelo, porque todas las personas que se plantan en huelga de hambre, debido a las arbitrariedades que se cometen, que cometen las autoridades penitenciarias mandadas por la Dirección General de Cárceles y Prisiones (DGCP), donde quién dirige a las Cárceles y Prisiones de Cuba, se llama el General de Brigada Marcos Hernández Alcaraz, la Dirección General de Cárceles y Prisiones en Cuba se encuentra en la dirección de Quincica, ellos tienen conocimiento de estas torturas que están haciendo pasar a Calixto Ramón. En este momento Calixto Ramón se encuentra en huelga de hambre, repito, repito, se encuentra en huelga de hambre porque quieren que él use la ropa de recluso, cuando él se encuentra en estos momentos bajo prisión provisional, y está siendo torturado : le quitan la tabla, el colchón, las dos sábanas para taparse, toda su ropa, toda su ropa. Y, sólo le suministran un pomo de agua, en qué, este recipiente, es agua estancada, el recipiente mide 1,5 litros. Hasta el momento esto es todo lo que sabemos del hermano Calixto Ramón, este periodista independiente de la agencia de prensa Hablemos Press.&nbsp;</blockquote>
<p><small>You can help ! We need help us to translate the audio call transcriptions and the <a href="#forbidden-content">documents below</a> to English or to any other language. Please, <a href="contact">Contact us</a> !<br /></small></p> </div>
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feed_id: 75 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Morocco bans saying “close friend of the king”
uri: Morocco-bans-saying-close-friend-of-the-king
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/morocco-bans-saying-close-friend-king
content:
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          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/geo-zone/morocco" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Morocco</a></div>
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<div id="node-field-thematique" class="field field-name-field-thematique field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
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          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/themes/politics-and-securtiy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Politics and Securtiy</a></div>
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          <div class="field-item even">The Moroccan government withdrew its accreditation from Omar Brouksy, one of Agence France-Presse’s journalists in Rabat, on 4 October 2012. Issued by the communication ministry, this accreditation is what allows professional journalists to work in Morocco.</div>
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          <div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>Why was it withdrawn? Because of <a href="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/sites/default/files/medias/documents/afp_maroc_4oct_en.txt">an AFP report</a> on partial elections in Tangiers that was headlined <cite title="title">A crucial test for PJD leaves Moroccans indifferent The elections were organized after the Constitutional Council invalidated the previous elections in three Tangiers-Asilah seats and one Gueliz-Annakhil seat. </cite>The offending dispatch mentioned the PJD and the other parties participating in the elections, including the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) and its founder Fouad Ali El Himma, who was described as a <q>friend of the king.</q></p><p>The government withdrew Brouksy’s accreditation on the same day as his dispatch. Brouksy learned of the decision from a dispatch published by the Moroccan press agency MAP. Headlined <cite title="titre">Government withdraws AFP journalist’s accreditation because of unprofessional dispatch</cite>, it quoted a government communiqué:</p><blockquote><p>The AFP dispatch carried allegations implicating the monarchy in an election that took place in an atmosphere of transparency, thereby undermining the monarchy’s position of neutrality and its role as arbiter keeping a distance from all electoral competitions between political parties.</p></blockquote><p>The story does not end there. The next day AFP news director Philippe Massonet voiced his support for Brouksy. An <a href="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/sites/default/files/medias/documents/afp_maroc_5oct_en.txt">AFP dispatch</a> headlined <cite title="titre">Moroccan authorities withdraw AFP reporter’s accreditation</cite> quoted Massonet as saying:</p><blockquote><p>The offending report’s sole aim was to inform and put a situation in context, with no intention of causing prejudice to anyone at all. The AFP bureau in Rabat continued to enjoy the full confidence of the news agency’s management, Massonet added.</p></blockquote><p>But Brouksy still has no accreditation.</p> </div>
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feed_id: 72 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Sending encrypted emails using Thunderbird and PGP
uri: Sending-encrypted-emails-using-Thunderbird-and-PGP
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sending-encrypted-emails-using-thunderbird-and-pgp
content:
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          <div class="field-item even">Online Survival Kit</div>
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          <div class="field-item even">More than 200 billion e-mails are sent worldwide every day. Although it is a very practical tool for exchanging information, it is also vulnerable and users can encounter problems such as interception, identity theft and monitoring. Yet there are easy ways to ensure your Internet activities remain confidential.</div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <h2>Use an email client, not webmail</h2><p>One way of enhancing the confidentiality of your email is to use an application to send and receive email, such as Thunderbird.<br /><br />One of the most important security factors when you send emails is the method you use to log into your email provider. Thunderbird allows you to control how you log in. Whenever possible, you should use an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) or TLS (Transport Layer Security) connection. These protocols protect your email password from possible interception by any third-party software installed on your system or at any point between Thunderbird and your email server.</p><h2>How to configure Thunderbird</h2><p>Thunderbird is free software. You can download it free of charge from the Mozilla project website. Once you have installed it, you need to configure it to connect to your email provider. Don’t worry, Thunderbird does most of this by itself.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;<img alt="" class="media-image" height="484" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/sites/default/files/1.png" /></p><p>When you launch Thunderbird for the first time, a wizard helps you configure the link between your account and the email client. If you already have an email address, when the assistant is launched choose “Skip this and use my existing email”. All you need to know is your email address, username and password. Enter these on the next page. Thunderbird retrieves the data from the mail server. The software automatically configures the most widely used email address such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail. The screenshot below shows an example of a Gmail address.</p><h1><img alt="" class="media-image" height="444" width="502" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/sites/default/files/2.png" /></h1><p>However, if your address is not in the Thunderbird email database, you will have to configure your account manually. In that case you will need:</p><ul><li>your email address</li><li>your username</li><li>your password</li><li>the name and the protocol of the receiving server (for example IMAP will be imap.example.com and POP will be pop.example.com)</li><li>the name of the outgoing mail server (smtp.example.com)</li></ul><p>You can find this information in the help pages of your email provider</p><p>To see for yourself whether Thunderbird uses SSL or TLS, go to Tools-&gt;Account settings&gt;Server settings and check the section “Security settings”.</p><p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="605" width="650" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/sites/default/files/3.png" /></p><p>Using Thunderbird and the TSS or SSL protocol only protects the connection between your computer and the email server. They do not ensure the security of your exchanges with a third party. Your emails may be intercepted at various points between the server and the recipient’s computer. To remedy this, it is possible to encrypt one’s emails end-to-end by using the protocol PGP (pretty good privacy).&nbsp;</p><h2>How to encrypt email using PGP</h2><p>Cryptography, from the Greek for “hidden writing”, is the main technique used to ensure effective confidentiality of electronic communications.</p><p>PGP is the protocol that we shall use to encrypt our emails end-to-end. Its use excludes any possibility of interception. Your emails are encrypted from start to finish and only the addressee is able to decrypt it. Note that the “subject” line and the other header fields of a PGP-encrypted email are not encrypted.</p><div class="messages warning"><strong>Beware</strong>: Encryption attracts attention.<p>&nbsp;</p><p>Sending encrypted emails can sound the alarm for the authorities and may lead to unwanted attention. There is another way of sending email securely and anonymously: disposable email addressing.</p></div><p>In order to understand how to implement PGP in Thunderbird, it is important first of all to cast an eye over the principle of asymmetric encryption on which PGP is based.</p><h2>Classic encryption</h2><p>Ann and Michael want to exchange secret messages, so they agree on an encryption and decryption code and a key. Then they exchange messages using them. The snag with this method is that if a third person intercepts the messages in which Ann and Michael exchange their key, that person can see it and use it, perhaps to send bogus e-mails to Ann and Michael. So Ann and Michael have to exchange their key when nobody else can see it, by meeting in person, for example.&nbsp;</p><h2>Asymmetric encryption</h2><p>The best way to fix the problem is to use “asymmetric” encryption. Two keys are needed<br />for this, one to encrypt, the other to decrypt. Details of the encrypting key (the “public<br />key”) can be exchanged without risk over the Internet because it can’t be used to decrypt messages. The decrypting key (the “secret key”) must never be communicated.</p><p>With asymmetric encryption, Ann has her own pair of keys (a public key that she gives out and a secret one that she keeps). Ann sends her key to Michael, who uses it to encrypt his messages to her. Only Ann, with her secret key, can then decrypt Michael’s messages. Michael, with his own pair of keys, in turn sends his public key to Ann, who can then reply to his messages in complete privacy.</p><p>But since the public key is exchanged over the Internet without special protection, it’s best to check its validity with its owner. Each key has a “fingerprint” (a short string of characters), which it’s easy to communicate in person or over the phone.</p><p>An unverified key may be a false one issued by a third person with evil intent, making the encryption totally useless. The reliability of asymmetric encryption depends entirely on protecting the secret key and checking the public key of the other person.&nbsp;OpenPGP (Open Pretty Good Privacy) is the standard asymmetric encryption. The most&nbsp;popular software to generate and use a pair of keys and manage the public keys of its correspondents is GnuPG (GNU Privacy Guard), which can be used with email clients as well as Macs, Windows and Linux.</p><h2>Using PGP with Thunderbird</h2><h3>How to install PGP on Windows</h3><p>To be able to send encrypted emails, there are three things you need:</p><ol><li>Software that allows you to generate your secret key and the manage the public keys of your contacts: gpg4win</li><li>An email client installed on your computer: Thunderbird&nbsp;</li><li>A plug-in that allows the encryption of emails: enigmail</li></ol><p>After downloading and installing gpg4win, install the enigmail plug-in for Thunderbird.</p><ol><li>Got to the Thunderbird menu Tools-&gt;Add-ons, which opens the plug-ins window.</li><li>Write “Enigmail” in the search window and click the search button.</li><li>Click the “install” button.</li><li>Once installation is completed, relaunch Thunderbird.</li></ol><p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="483" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/sites/default/files/4_0.png" /></p><h3>How to install PGP on Mac OS X</h3><p>To install PGP on a Mac, all you need to do is download the suite of free and open source tools at <a href="http://www.gpgtools.org">GPGtools</a>. These include all the necessary tools for using PGP on Mac OS X.</p><h3>Generate a PGP key</h3><p>To encrypt your emails using PGP, you need to generate a public key and a private key. This is done easily in Thunderbird by following the steps suggested by the PGP key wizard. To launch it, choose OpenPGP-&gt;Setup wizard.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="500" width="600" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/sites/default/files/5_0.png" /></p><p>Once the wizard has been launched, follow the instructions, choosing the default options:</p><p><strong>Signing</strong>: “Yes, I want to sign all of my email” – you will authenticate all the emails you send using your private key.</p><p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="500" width="600" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/sites/default/files/6.png" /></p><p><br /><strong>Encryption</strong>: “No, I will create per-recipient rules or those that sent me their public key” – not all the emails you send will be encrypted, i.e. you decide whose messages you will encrypt.</p><p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="500" width="600" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/sites/default/files/7.png" /></p><p><strong>Preferences:</strong>&nbsp;“Yes” – you authorize the wizard to make changes to the default formatting of you emails, which should be in plain text in order to be compatible with PGP.</p><p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="515" width="614" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/sites/default/files/8.png" /></p><p><strong>Open PGP key not found</strong>: If you have no PGP key, this screen shows you how to generate one.</p><p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="500" width="600" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/sites/default/files/9.png" /></p><p><strong>Creating a key</strong>: To prevent your secret key being used by anyone else, the wizard suggests you protect it with a password. Enter a password in both fields. Using fast words is good method of creating secure passwords.</p><p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="500" width="600" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/sites/default/files/10.png" /></p><p>Everything is ready. To launch the creation of your PGP key, click “next”.</p><p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="500" width="600" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/sites/default/files/11.png" /></p><p><strong>Optional</strong>: You can create a revocation certificate. This will allow you to disable your key if you lose it. Keep it somewhere safe on your hard disk</p><p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="161" width="606" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/sites/default/files/12.png" /></p><p><em>Note: If the wizard ask for the path to the GnuPG application, this was installed at the same time as GPG4win and is on your disk in Program Files (x86) &gt; GNU &gt; GnuPG &gt; gpg2.exe.</em></p><p>The creation of your PGP is complete and you can now sent encrypted emails, so long as you have the recipients’ public keys.</p><h3>Sending an encrypted message</h3><p>In Thunderbird, click the “write” button, which opens a message window. At the bottom right there are two symbols, a pencil and a key.</p><p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="92" width="131" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/sites/default/files/pgp_image10.png" /></p><p>These allow you to sign or encrypt a message. Click on the key, which will turn yellow, and write your message.&nbsp;</p><p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="515" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/sites/default/files/13.png" /></p><p>If you click on “send” and you have not retrieved the addressee’s public key, Thunderbird will suggest downloading if for you. In the screen below, click on&nbsp;<br />“Download missing keys”.</p><p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="513" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/sites/default/files/14_0.png" /></p><p>A window appears showing a choice of servers that host public keys.</p><p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="188" width="624" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/sites/default/files/17.png" /></p><p>Thunderbird suggests standard directories of the most commonly used public keys. Choose one of the servers and click OK. If the addressee has published his key in one of the suggested directories, you should be able to retrieve it easily.</p><p>Click OK to download the key.</p><p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="442" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/sites/default/files/16.png" />&nbsp;</p><p>Once it is completed, the result is shown in a window.&nbsp;Close this window. The addressee’s key will now appear in the list offered by the application. Choose it and click OK.</p><p>If you have protected your own key with a password (which you should have done if you have generated a key following this tutorial), Thunderbird will ask you to enter your password to encrypt the message using your secret key. Enter the password and click OK.</p><p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="205" width="486" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/sites/default/files/pgp_image02.png" /></p><p>The message has been sent.</p><p>There are other methods for importing addressees’ public keys. For example they could send it to you by email and provide you with the fingerprint. The fingerprint is a unique number that allows you to identify a public key. By verifying a key’s fingerprint you can ensure you are sending the message to the intended recipient.</p><p>For more information on using PGP and key management, see the <a href="http://enigmail.net/documentation/handbook.php">Enigmail handbook</a>.</p> </div>
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feed_id: 74 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Human rights defender, enemy of the state
uri: Human-rights-defender-enemy-of-the-state
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/human-rights-defender-enemy-state
content:
<div id="node-field-pays" class="field field-name-field-pays field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
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          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/geo-zone/vietnam" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Vietnam</a></div>
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<div id="node-field-thematique" class="field field-name-field-thematique field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
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          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/themes/politics-and-securtiy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Politics and Securtiy</a></div>
      </div>
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<div id="node-field-chapeau" class="field field-name-field-chapeau field-type-text-long field-label-hidden">
    <div class="field-items">
          <div class="field-item even">In Vietnam, all it takes to be defined as an enemy of the government is to raise human rights issues or speak out about politics. Espousing an alternative to the Communist Party’s social vision is to stand against the state. Those who defend freedom risk losing it.</div>
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<div id="node-body" class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
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          <div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>In an article of 10 March of last year, blogger Paul Le Van Son analyzed the term “propaganda against the state,” which the authorities systematically deploy against critics. He published this courageous piece on <a href="http://paulusleson.wordpress.com">his blog</a>, denouncing the use of Article 88 of the penal code against Vietnamese citizens who call for reforms. The families of these critics often have devoted their lives to the Communist Party. He concluded that instead of rejecting the criticism, the government should take it to heart: “On reflection, those whom the autorities accuse of opposing the regime are instead trying their best to contribute to improving conditions and to building a stronger state.”</p><p>That piece, among others, led to Van Son’s arrest and imprisonment. He has spent more than one year behind bars, though he has not been sentenced. He is the target of exactly the kind of charges that he denounced in the article, though formally speaking he was not charged under article 88. According to the provisional detention order, the only legal document we have seen because his lawyer has no access to his file, he was charged under Article 79, specifically with “membership in the reactionary organization, ‘Reform Party of Vietnam,’ which aims to overthrow the people’s government.”</p><p>In all, 18 netizens are presently imprisoned for having tried to provide information to their fellow citizens, according to Reporters Without Borders. No trial date has been scheduled. Van Son’s article, which represents a point of view common to many local bloggers of pacifist orientation, is blocked by some internet service providers in Vietnam.</p><h2>A young Catholic blogger is scapegoated</h2><p>Paulus Le Van Son, 27 years old, covers social and political issues in his country, especially those involving religion and human rights. He participates in the collective blog <a href="http://baokhongle.wordpress.com/">Baokhongle</a>&nbsp;and contributes to <a href="http://www.chuacuuthe.com/">Vietnam Redemptorist News</a>.&nbsp;His accounts of anti-Chinese demonstrations and police violence apparently contributed to his 3 August 2011 arrest in Hanoi, which amounted to a police kidnapping.</p><p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="510" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="sites/default/files/paulus-arrestation2.jpg" /></p><p>The day before, the blogger had attended the trial of another netizen, lawyer Cu Huy Ha Vu. Van Son had covered the first session of the trial the previous April. He was violently arrested on that occasion. In the article below/attached, he writes of his visit to the lawyer’s family and the reprisals against them.</p><p>Recently, prison conditions for Van Son have deteriorated. Held since early July of this year in the B14 prison in Hanoi, he was then transfered to the run-down Hoa Lo prison, in the city center, where prisoners face greater hardships than in B14.</p><h2>Dragged through the mud</h2><p>Meanwhile, Van Son is the target of a systematic defamation campaign in the official press. He is accused, along with <a href="http://lenguyenhong.blogspot.com/2012/10/lua-viet-tan-van-chay.html">other</a> <a href="http://thanhnienconggiao.blogspot.fr/2012/10/vai-dong-nghi-voi-khi-nhan-uoc-tin.html">young</a> <a href="http://nguoibuongio1972.multiply.com/journal/item/548/548">Catholics</a>, of plotting against the regime.&nbsp;</p><p>An article on 13 October 2012 in “Cong An,” an official security service publication in Ho Chi Minh City, describes a so-called plot involving young Catholics from Nghe An and Thanh Hoa provinces, who had been arrested in July 2011. According to the publication, the large-scale plot had been fomented with help from abroad. Numerous fictitious details concerning the group’s members were provided.</p><p>One passage focused on Van Son. In translation, it reads:</p><blockquote><p>Le Van Son, a native of Thanh Hoa, is in close contact with a group of opponents of the State such as Le Quoc Quan and a number of religious extremists. In this regard, Son constantly gathers information concerning various complaints involving security forces’ fight against oppositionists, and of various problems that prompt discontent and are considered sensitive. This information-gathering was conducted to aid propaganda efforts against the Vietnamese government. As a member of the group, “Republican entrepreneurs and intellectuals,” led by Le Qyoc Quan, Son participated in training sessions for Catholic information work. On 12-13 July 2011 he traveled to Thailand to participate in a training program entitled “Quang Trung.” Following his arrest, he has displayed rebellious conduct, distorting information in his responses and denying his crimes.</p></blockquote><p>In an article posted on the Thanh Nien Con Giao website, journalist-blogger Jean-Baptiste Nguyen Hu Vinh republishes the passage above, along with his comments. He notes in particular that the group to which Van Son belonged was not “Republican businessmen and intellectuals,” but “Catholic entrepreneurs and intellectuals,” a group launched by Cardinal Tung, archbishop of Hanoi, to encourage the social advancement of Catholics, that resumed activities within the past two years.</p> </div>
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feed_id: 73 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Nékim case – a three-part story of censorship in Chad
uri: Nékim-case-a-three-part-story-of-censorship-in-Chad
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/nekim-case-three-part-story-censorship-chad
content:
<div id="node-field-pays" class="field field-name-field-pays field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
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          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/geo-zone/chad" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Chad</a></div>
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<div id="node-field-thematique" class="field field-name-field-thematique field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
    <div class="field-items">
          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/themes/politics-and-securtiy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Politics and Securtiy</a></div>
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</div>
<div id="node-field-chapeau" class="field field-name-field-chapeau field-type-text-long field-label-hidden">
    <div class="field-items">
          <div class="field-item even"> <p>Jean-Claude Nékim is the publisher of N'Djaména Bi-hebdo, Chad’s oldest opposition newspaper.</p> </div>
      </div>
</div>
<div id="node-body" class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
    <div class="field-items">
          <div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>He was fined 1 million CFA francs (1,500 euros) and given a one-year suspended jail sentence on a libel charge on 18 September 2012 for publishing a brief in his 6-9 September issue about a petition against “misgovernance” and “the Deby government’s arbitrary rule.” The petition’s authors, the president, vice-president and general secretary of the Federation of Chad Unions (UST), were also sentenced to suspended jail terms and fines.</p><p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="357" width="513" typeof="foaf:Image" src="sites/default/files/breve_ndjamena_unique.jpg" /></p><p>Although there were absolutely no grounds for a defamation prosecution, the Chadian judicial system rounded off the first stage of its persecution of N'Djaména Bi-hebdo by suspending the newspaper for three months. Other news media that had reported the existence of the petition were meanwhile left in peace.<br /><br />Nékim immediately appealed against the three-month suspension order and continued to publish pending the outcome of his appeal, as permitted under Chadian law. On 20 September, he published a cartoon about his trial on the front page but the justice system did not appreciate his sense of humour and responded by banning the newspaper and charging him with contempt of court.</p><p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="842" width="595" typeof="foaf:Image" src="sites/default/files/ndjh_caricature_20092012.jpg" /><br />To protest against this judicial censorship, all of Chad’s independent and opposition print media suspended publication for a week and prepared a special single-issue “Newspaper of Newspapers” in support of Nékim with “We’ve had enough” as its title and a print run of 5,000 copies.<br /><br />The entire issue was seized from the printing press on the orders of the public prosecutor, who – after some hesitation – said he had taken this action because it lacked the High Council for Communication’s permission and the certificate normally issued by the prosecutor’s office for this kind of publication.</p> </div>
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feed_id: 67 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: First battle in “Information 2.0” war
uri: First-battle-in-Information-2-0-war
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/first-battle-information-20-war
content:
<div id="node-field-pays" class="field field-name-field-pays field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
    <div class="field-items">
          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/geo-zone/turkmenistan-0" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Turkmenistan</a></div>
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<div id="node-field-thematique" class="field field-name-field-thematique field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
    <div class="field-items">
          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/themes/politics-and-securtiy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Politics and Securtiy</a></div>
      </div>
</div>
<div id="node-field-chapeau" class="field field-name-field-chapeau field-type-text-long field-label-hidden">
    <div class="field-items">
          <div class="field-item even"> <p>Turkmenistan is renowned as one of the world’s most repressive and closed countries but, in the summer of 2011, ordinary citizens risked imprisonment to inform the world about a deadly explosion at an arms depot near the capital, delivering the country’s first battle in the “Information 2.0” war.</p> </div>
      </div>
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<div id="node-body" class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
    <div class="field-items">
          <div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>In the late afternoon of 7 July 2011, a huge explosion shook a military depot in Abadan, a town 20 km outside Ashgabat, starting a fire that triggered even more violent explosions in the hours that followed. </p><p>The media, which are tightly controlled by the authorities, said nothing until the foreign ministry issued a terse communiqué the next day claiming that hot weather had caused “pyrotechnic material … intended for fireworks” to catch fire. There were “no victims or major destruction” and the population was receiving all the necessary medical and social assistance, the <a href="http://easttime.info/news/turkmenistan/fireworks-explode-near-turkmen-town-abadan-foreign-ministry">reassuring communiqué</a> added.</p><p>Nonetheless, the town was surrounded, no one was allowed in, and the Internet was disconnected throughout the country. Alarming reports had already begun to circulate on independent news websites based abroad (such as Radio Azatlyk, Khroniki Turkmenistana and Fergananews) and in the Russian media.</p><p>Eye-witness accounts described scenes of chaos and panic, homes flattened and dozens or even hundreds of dead and wounded. Amateur videos quickly confirmed the scale of the disaster and extent of the damage. They showed massive explosions, buildings destroyed and military projectiles raining down on areas kilometres away.</p><p>While <a href="http://www.turkmenembassy.ru/?q=node/243">accusing the Russian media of “disinformation” and “provocation</a>,” the authorities finally said that “the pyrotechnic material fire extended to military depots” and that “15 people died in the accident – 16 soldiers and two civilians.” </p><p>At the same time, a crackdown was launched on bloggers, journalists and netizens. Some were arrested. Others were interrogated by the security services. The mobiles phones of residents in surrounding areas were examined. And there were cyber-attacks on independent news websites, access to which was already blocked in Turkmenistan.</p><p>One of the first journalists to cover the disaster, Dovletmyrat Yazkuliyev, a reporter for Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty’s Turkmen service, was sentenced to five years in prison on a trumped-up charge at the end of a sham trial but was released a few weeks later thanks to international pressure.</p><p>Under a 2012 presidential decree, <a href="http://www.turkmenistan.ru/ru/articles/37359.html">Abadan is to be moved</a> and entirely rebuilt nearer to the capital in Rukhabat (in Akhal province).</p><p>Here are some of the videos that ordinary citizens circulated in the days following the explosion, forcing the Turkmen authorities to recognize at least part of the reality of what had happened.</p> </div>
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feed_id: 70 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Virtual Private Network (VPN)
uri: Virtual-Private-Network-(VPN)
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/virtual-private-network-vpn
content:
<div id="node-field-article-rubrique" class="field field-name-field-article-rubrique field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
    <div class="field-items">
          <div class="field-item even">Online Survival Kit</div>
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<div id="node-field-article-chapeau" class="field field-name-field-article-chapeau field-type-text-long field-label-hidden">
    <div class="field-items">
          <div class="field-item even"> <p>This technology, widely used in the business world, allows the creation of an Internet tunnel (a virtual link) between two physical networks in different locations in a way that is transparent for users. Only they will by allowed access (hence the term “private”) and data sent via the tunnel is encrypted. This guarantees that data sent by VPN users will be illegible to any third party in the event of malicious interception such as espionage or intrusion.</p> </div>
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<div id="node-field-article-texte" class="field field-name-field-article-texte field-type-text-long field-label-hidden">
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          <div class="field-item even"> <h2>How a VPN can be used&nbsp;</h2>
<p>A VPN allows data to be moved from one private network to another using a secure Internet tunnel. Your Web browser cannot access <a href="http://www.google.com">www.google.com</a> via a classic VPN connection. Your email client can only connect to your company’s internal email and not to your own email address. You are sheltered but isolated. The VPN has the functionality it needs for us to protect our communications between A and B using legal means. But there is more to it than this.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Using a VPN as a “virtual escape route” to circumvent censorship</h2>
<p>The Internet is a place for communicating and exchanging information, which does not please everyone. Some states monitor and spy on the content of their citizens’ online activities and, where they feel it is necessary, restrict access to some websites or services that they believe to be contrary to their interests.</p>
<p>The diagram below shows an example of a filtering system put in place by a government to prevent the country’s Internet users from posting videos of demonstrations. This is an ideal scenario for using a VPN to circumvent the filter system.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="304" width="651" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/fe2a1a67.schema2rsfvpn_en.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/schema2rsfvpn_en.png" /><br />The following diagram shows the use of a VPN as a means of bypassing an existing filtering system.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="314" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/e099765f.schema3rsfvpn_en680.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/schema3rsfvpn_en680.png" /></p>
<p>Your workstation is company A and the VPN provider is company B. The main difference is that your real Internet connection is through the VPN provider, so the Internet sees that you are connected from Sweden and not from your own country. This means the filtering system in place in your own country no longer applies. By using a VPN, a legal tool, you can publish your video on YouTube, read your email, surf any part of the Web securely, etc. Your country will no longer be able to see what you are using the Internet for since you are now accessing it via a tunnel with one end in Sweden, a country where the Internet is outside your government’s control.</p>
<p>Setting up this type of service is no simple matter and requires a level of technical knowledge not available to everyone. Fortunately there are companies that provide such services commercially, making the configuration and use of a VPN on your workstation a fairly simple matter.</p>
<h2>Choose a VPN provider carefully</h2>
<p>A VPN connection costs about five euros per month. Avoid free offers. One way or another these so-called free services find a way to make you pay. A free VPN may, for example, be set up with the intention of discreetly spying on your communications, known as a “honeypot”.&nbsp;</p>
<div class="messages status"><strong>VPN providers :<br /></strong><a href="http://www.goldenfrog.com/vyprvpn">VyprVPN<br /></a><a href="https://www.astrill.com/%20">Astrill VPN</a>&nbsp;<br /><a href="http://vpntunnel.se">VPN Tunnel</a></div>
<p>Most VPN services provide documentation and software to install on your computer. Once you sign up, you will receive your login information by email, including your username and password (similar to your mailbox details).</p>
<p>Launch the software, enter your username and password and the application will do the rest. It will create a tunnel connecting you to the country you have previously specified. Once the connection is established, you are virtually in another country.</p>
<p>Here is an example of a connection interface:</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="486" width="400" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/7a1e58b5.vpn_screenshot.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/vpn_screenshot.png" /></p>
<h2>VPN on your mobile phone</h2>
<p>Like any other device that connects to the Internet, your smartphone is subject to restrictions imposed by your telephone provider, if you connect via 3G, or your Internet service provider if you use wifi.</p>
<p>You can install an application on your smartphone, as you can on your computer, to create a VPN tunnel allowing you to connect from your phone. The Android operating system has already launched a VPN client in the menu “Wireless and Networks -&gt; VPN settings”. You can obtain information from your VPN provider that will allow you to set up your Android phone just as easily as your computer.</p>
<p>Text and images kindly provided by <cite title="author">Jean Marc Bourguignon / fo0</cite></p> </div>
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feed_id: 89 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: A practical guide to protecting your identity and security when using mobile phones
uri: A-practical-guide-to-protecting-your-identity-and-security-when-using
url:
https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/practical-guide-protecting-your-identity-and-security-when-using-mobile-phones

content:
<div id="node-field-article-rubrique" class="field field-name-field-article-rubrique field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
    <div class="field-items">
          <div class="field-item even">Online Survival Kit</div>
      </div>
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<div id="node-field-article-chapeau" class="field field-name-field-article-chapeau field-type-text-long field-label-hidden">
    <div class="field-items">
          <div class="field-item even"> <p>Many activists have been tracked via their mobile phones, and <a href="http://en.rsf.org/syria-syria-12-03-2012,42053.html">some</a> <a href="http://en.rsf.org/belarus-belarus-12-03-2012,42057.html">countries</a> <a href="http://en.rsf.org/turkmenistan-turkmenistan-12-03-2012,42069.html">conduct</a> <a href="http://en.rsf.org/iran-iran-12-03-2012,42070.html">surveillance</a> <a href="http://en.rsf.org/china-china-12-03-2012,42077.html">more</a> <a href="http://en.rsf.org/north-korea-north-korea-12-03-2012,42078.html">extensively</a> than others. You need to assess the risk for your own activities given the practices used in your country, how high-profile your work is, and what others in your community have experienced.</p> </div>
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<div id="node-field-article-texte" class="field field-name-field-article-texte field-type-text-long field-label-hidden">
    <div class="field-items">
          <div class="field-item even"> <p>Phone companies have the capability to track and collect information about your use of mobile phones, including your location, and may <a href="http://en.rsf.org/united-kingdom-concern-that-social-networks-to-be-12-08-2011,40776.html">share that information with the government</a> if so requested. There is also the possibility of installing surveillance software on a phone that runs in the background without the user noticing. There is a risk of this, if your handset has been physically out of your hands for a period of time.</p>
<h2>When your phone is on, it is constantly communicating the following information with towers nearby:</h2>
<ul>
<li>The <strong>IMEI number</strong> – a number that uniquely identifies your phone’s hardware</li>
<li>The <strong>IMSI number</strong> – a number that uniquely identifies the SIM card - this is what your phone number is tied to.</li>
<li>The <strong>TMSI number</strong>, a temporary number that is re-assigned regularly according to location or coverage changes but can be tracked by commercially available eavesdropping systems.</li>
<li>The <strong>network cell</strong> in which the phone is currently located. Cells can cover any area from a few meters to several kilometers, with much smaller cells in urban areas and even small cells in buildings that use a repeater aerial to improve signal indoors.</li>
<li>The <strong>location of the subscriber within that cell</strong>, determined by triangulating the signal from nearby masts. Again, location accuracy depends on the size of the cell - the more masts in the area, the more accurate the positioning.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Because of this, when your phone is on and communicating with the network towers, it can be used as a surveillance device for those with access to the information that telecoms collect, including:</h2>
<ul>
<li>Your <strong>phone calls</strong> received and sent</li>
<li>Your <strong>SMS received and sent</strong>, including the information of senders and recipients</li>
<li>Any <strong>data services you use</strong> (e.g., web browsing activities if not using HTTPS, unsecured instant messaging) as well as the <strong>volume of data</strong> transferred e.g., “did you upload to YouTube”)</li>
<li>Your <strong>approximate location</strong> (from within a few meters to a few km depending upon density of towers)</li>
</ul>
<p>It is important to note that if you think you are being tracked, it is not always enough to switch SIM cards, as you can be tracked by the ID (IMEI) of your mobile device/handset alone. There is also a lot of information on your phone that may be used against you if the phone is confiscated or taken from you. All mobile phones have a small amount of storage space on the SIM card, as well as internal phone memory. (In addition, some phones have a SD (or microSD) storage card for multimedia files.) In general, storing data on the SIM card and SD card (if available) is better than storing internally on the phone, because you can more easily remove and destroy</p>
<h2>Data stored on your SIM, internal phone memory, and SD storage card (if present) include:</h2>
<ul>
<li>Your <strong>phone book</strong> - contact names and telephone number</li>
<li>Your <strong>call history</strong> - who you called, who called you, and what time the call was placed</li>
<li><strong>SMS</strong> you have sent or received</li>
<li><strong>Data from any applications you use</strong>, such as a calendar or to-do list</li>
<li><strong>Photos or video</strong> that you have taken using the phone camera, if your phones has one. Most phones store the time the photo was taken, and may also include <a href="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/metadata-your-files-talk-you">location information</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p>For phones that allow web browsing, you should also consider how much of your browsing history is stored on the phone. If possible, do not keep a browsing history. Emails are a further potential danger should an attacker obtain access to the SIM card or phone memory.</p>
<p>Like the hard drive in a computer, the SIM memory of your mobile phone keeps any data ever saved on it until it is full, when old data gets written over. This means that <strong>even deleted SMS, call records and contacts can potentially be recovered from the SIM</strong>. (<a href="http://vidstrom.net/stools/undeletesms/">There is a free application to do this</a> using a smartcard reader). The same applies to phones that have additional memory, either built into the phone or using a memory card. As a rule, the more storage a phone has, the longer deleted items will be retrievable.</p>
<h2>So what does this mean for you?</h2>
<p>Mobile phones can be powerful tools for activists, but they can also be incredible liabilities if the government or security forces are actively working with telecoms to track you. If you are in a country that uses mobiles extensively for surveillance, especially if you think you are being closely watched for high-profile activities, it’s recommended that you don’t use mobile phones to communicate. Conduct meetings face-to-face.</p>
<p>Ultimately, the risks you take are up to you: if you don’t think you’re being targeted as a high- profile activist or as part of a larger surveillance campaign and want to use your phone to communicate with fellow activists, record photos and video, or pass on information, you can use the following tactics:</p>
<ul>
<li>Create and use a <strong>code word system</strong> to communicate with fellow activists. Use “beeping” as a system for communication with fellow activists (calling once or twice and hanging up in order to let someone know you’ve arrived at a location, are safe, etc.)</li>
<li><strong>Don’t use the real names</strong> for fellow activists in your address book; give them numbers or pseudonyms. This way if your phone or SIM card is taken by security forces, they don’t have your entire network of fellow activists in hand.</li>
<li><strong>Bring back-up SIM cards</strong> with you to protests if you know they are being confiscated and it’s important that you have a working cell phone with you at an event. If you have to get rid of a SIM card, try to physically destroy it.</li>
<li><strong>If your phone can be locked with a password, use it</strong>. This can also be your SIM card’s PIN number: SIM cards comes with a default PIN number; if you can, change the default PIN number and enable PIN locking on your SIM. You’ll then be required to enter a password (your PIN number) each time you use your phone.</li>
<li>If you think a protest is going to meet with an increased crackdown by security forces, you may want to <strong>put it in airplane mode while at an event</strong>; you won’t be able to send or receive calls, but you can still capture video and photographs and upload them to online sites later. This tactic is also useful if you think security forces are cracking down on everyone with a cell phone at an event. Later on the government can request call/SMS or data records for all individuals who were in a particular location at a particular time in order to perform mass arrests.</li>
<li><strong>Turn off location tracking and geotagging</strong> for various applications unless you are using this feature as part of a targeted project to geotag certain media at an event as part of an action. If you are using your cell phone to stream video live, turn off the GPS/geotagging option (Directions for <a href="http://bambuser.com/geotagging">Bambuser</a>.)</li>
<li>If you have a phone that runs on the Android Operating System, you can use a number of tools to <strong>encrypt web browsing</strong>, instant messaging, SMS, and voice calls via the tools created by the <a href="https://guardianproject.info/apps/">Guardian Project</a> and <a href="http://www.whispersys.com">Whispersys</a>. When using your mobile device to browse the web, <strong>use HTTPS</strong> whenever possible.</li>
</ul>
<div class="messages warning">
<h3>Note for BlackBerry users:</h3>
<p>BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion (RIM) provides two types of accounts with corresponding levels of encryption. For ordinary individual consumers, there has never been true end-to-end encryption on your BlackBerry communications – RIM or your mobile provider can always intercept your calls, emails, SMS, web browsing, etc. By way of contrast, enterprise users whose company uses a BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) will have end-to- end encryption on their email, messenger (BBM), and web browsing. However, if you’re an Enterprise user, keep in mind that whoever runs your company’s server, typically your IT admin, has the means to decrypt all of your communications, and there are a variety of legal (and not so legal) processes which a government can use to get your decrypted communications. Recently the UAE tried to force Research in Motion to give them the mechanism to decrypt all BlackBerry communications, but RIM has refused to do so. BlackBerry users should keep up to date on any news of negotiations between their government and RIM on these issues. They should also be aware of other attempts to intercept encrypted BlackBerry communications. In 2009, UAE’s Etisalat sent BlackBerry users an unofficial “update” that allowed the telecom to receive copies of all users’ messages. RIM soon sent users an update that removed the fraudulent software, but BlackBerry users should be aware of any suspicious software updates that do not come directly from RIM.</p>
</div>
<p><small>This article is an extract of <a href="https://www.accessnow.org/">Access Now</a> handbook, <a href="https://www.accessnow.org/pages/protecting-your-security-online">A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO PROTECTING YOUR IDENTITY AND SECURITY ONLINE AND WHEN USING MOBILE PHONES</a>. It was written for citizens in the Middle East and North Africa who want to use technology safely to communicate, organize, and share data (news reports, information, media, etc.) – but it can be used by anyone online anywhere who wants to protect their privacy and security. Download the complete handbook <a href="media/23ece466.protecting-security-online-english.pdf" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/sites/default/files/protecting-security-online-english.pdf">English</a>, <a href="media/5b8ad330.protecting-security-online-russian.pdf" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/sites/default/files/protecting-security-online-russian.pdf">Russian</a>, <a href="media/c7eba75d.protecting-security-online-vietnamese.pdf" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/sites/default/files/protecting-security-online-vietnamese.pdf">Vietnamese</a>, <a href="media/c2920dfb.protecting-security-online-korean.pdf" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/sites/default/files/protecting-security-online-korean.pdf">Korean</a>, <a href="media/d4919ee1.protecting-security-online-polski.pdf" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/sites/default/files/protecting-security-online-polski.pdf">Polski</a>, <a href="media/3b2485d0.protecting-security-online-indonesian.pdf" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/sites/default/files/protecting-security-online-indonesian.pdf">Indonesian</a>.</small></p>
<h3>More resources:</h3>
<ul>
<li>Tactical Tech’s <a href="https://securityinabox.org/en/mobile_security">Security in a Box</a> (English)</li>
<li><a href="https://securityinabox.org/en/chapter-10">How to use mobile phones as securely as possible</a></li>
<li><a href="https://securityinabox.org/en/chapter-11">How to use smartphones as securely as possible</a></li>
<li><a href="http://jhack.info">Jhack.info</a> (English, French)</li>
</ul> </div>
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feed_id: 81 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Kazakhstan : Zhanaozen – a city cut off from the rest of the world a year ago
uri: Kazakhstan-Zhanaozen-a-city-cut-off-from-the-rest-of-the-world-a
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/kazakhstan-zhanaozen-city-cut-rest-world-year-ago
content:
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          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/geo-zone/kazakhstan" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Kazakhstan</a></div>
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          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/themes/society" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Society</a></div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <p>A strike by oil workers snowballed a year ago in Zhanaozen, in western Kazakhstan, and ended up being crushed brutally by the security forces on 16 December 2011. The authorities skilfully imposed a news blackout on the event at the local, regional and national levels. Opposition media that tried to cover this highly sensitive story were subjected to growing harassment that culminated a year later with their being banned outright.</p> </div>
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          <div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <h2>How a censored event was used as grounds for censorship</h2>
<p>The video presented here was one of the first amateur videos of the events in Zhanaozen that circulated on social networks before being picked up by independent and opposition media. It clearly shows something that the authorities initially tried to cover up at all costs – the fact that the police fired live rounds at protesters and then beat the wounded as they lay on the ground. The National Security Committee (KNB) put a great deal of pressure on the media in an attempt to identify the authors of this and similar videos.</p>
<p><video tabindex="0" controls="controls" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" height="360" width="640"> <source src="media/b29e7e52.janaozen_3.mp4" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/sites/default/files/janaozen_3.mp4" type="video/mp4" /> <source src="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/sites/default/files/janaozen_3.ogv" type="video/ogg" /></video></p>
<p>Evidence of this kind forced the authorities to recognize the use of disproportionate force and to punish the police officers responsible. But this has not stopped President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s autocratic government from blaming the violence on opposition parties and media and accusing them of deliberately trying to destabilize the country. The events in Zhanaozen ended up being used as grounds for an increased crackdown. National opposition media were closed in December 2012.</p>
<h2>Means of communication selectively disconnected</h2>
<p>Kazakhstan’s 20th independence anniversary celebrations were disrupted in Zhanaozen by oil workers who had been hounded and fired for going on strike. They occupied the city’s central square but were expelled in order to make way for the festivities. When police used live rounds to fire on a crowd of protesters, riots broke out and spread throughout the city. Most government buildings were set on fire.</p>
<p>The official toll was 15 dead and around 100 wounded. A demonstrator was killed the next day at the railway station in the nearby town of Shetpe as a detachment of special forces were passing through on their way to Zhanaozen. The Kazakh judicial system’s incomplete and biased investigations failed to explain exactly how the events unfolded.</p>
<p>Zhanaozen and the surrounding region were cut off from the world. For several days, the Internet and telecommunications were disconnected in a radius of about 65 km around the city – on the official grounds that cables had been damaged. Throughout the region, including its capital, Aktau, where tense demonstrations were held, it was impossible to send or receive SMS messages or access the Internet using a smartphone.</p>
<p>Twitter was blocked throughout the country on 16 December and was not restored until the following day. Several leading news websites such Guljan.org, the Russian citizen news agency Ridus.ru and the opposition newspaper Respublika’s news portal were also inaccessible.</p>
<h2>From blocking to control of journalist</h2>
<p>A 20-day state of emergency and curfew were declared in Zhanaozen. Checkpoints were established all around both Zhanaozen and Aktau. Journalists needed to obtain accreditation from the regional government in order to visit the region. The first journalists to go there were given a military escort. They described a deserted city patrolled by heavily-armed men. It was very hard in these circumstances to talk to residents, who were reluctant to talk for a long time.</p>
<p>The authorities loosened the restrictions on journalists a bit after several days but continued to monitor their movements closely. Russian journalists were held at a police station in Zhanaozen for several hours on 18 December while the contents of their computers, USB flash drives and audio recorders were carefully examined.&nbsp; Considerable constraints were placed on the movements of Stan TV, Radio Azattyk, Associated Press and Al-Jazeera reporters by special forces the same day in Shetpe.</p>
<h2>One year on – pluralism close to death</h2>
<p>The government portrayed the events in Zhanaozen as a destabilization attempt orchestrated by the opposition, and quickly used this interpretation as grounds for gagging its critics. The leaders of several opposition parties were arrested and the head of the Alga party, Vladimir Kozlov, was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison and confiscation of all of his assets. Throughout 2012, reporters of independent and opposition media found themselves being arrested, summoned for questioning by the security services, physically attacked or the targets of intimidation attempts.</p>
<p>The escalation reached a tipping point on the first anniversary of the Zhanaozen unrest. Prosecutors in the capital Almaty brought “extremism” charges against the main opposition national news media. Within a few weeks, the Respublika and Vzglyad newspapers, the satellite TV station K+ and the Stan TV news agency had all been forced to suspend activities. The news website Guljan.org was suspended. What with rushed trials, convictions in absentia and violation of defence rights, the judicial system no longer even tries to maintain a semblance of respectability.</p>
<ol>
<li>Stan TV : mirror website <a href="http://stan.rsf.org/">http://stan.rsf.org/</a>, download <a href="http://stan.rsf.org/archive.tar.gz">the full website</a></li>
<li>K+ : mirror website <a href="http://kplus-tv.rsf.org/">http://kplus-tv.rsf.org/</a>, download <a href="http://kplus-tv.rsf.org/archive.tar.gz">the full website</a></li>
<li>Respublika : mirror website <a href="http://respublika-kz.rsf.org/">http://respublika-kz.rsf.org/</a>, download <a href="http://respublica-kz.rsf.org/archive.tar.gz">the full website</a></li>
<li>Vzglyad : mirror website <a href="http://vzglyad.rsf.org/">http://vzglyad.rsf.org/</a>,&nbsp; download <a href="http://vzglyad.rsf.org/archive.tar.gz">the full website</a></li>
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feed_id: 92 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Tails: The amnesic Incognito Live System
uri: Tails-The-amnesic-Incognito-Live-System
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/tails-amnesic-incognito-live-system
content:
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          <div class="field-item even">Online Survival Kit</div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <p>Tails is an operating system like Windows or Mac OS, but one specially designed to preserve your anonymity and privacy. It allows you to use the Internet anonymously almost everywhere online and on any computer, but leaves no trace of what you have done, unless you want to.</p> </div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <p>Tails is a “live” system, that is to say, it is meant to be run from a DVD or USB stick independently of the system installed on the computer’s hard disk. It is <a href="https://tails.boum.org/doc/about/license/index.en.html">free software</a> based on <a href="http://www.debian.org/">Debian</a> GNU/Linux. Tails comes with applications that have been configured with security in mind: web browser, instant messaging client, email client, office suite, image and sound editor and so on.</p>
<h2>Use it everywhere, leave no traces</h2>
<p>Using Tails does not affect the operating system installed on the computer. You can use it at home, at a friend’s or at the local library. Once you have removed the Tails DVD or USB stick from the computer, it can restart with its usual operating system. Tails is configured so as not to use the computer hard disk or even its swap space. The only space use by Tails is the RAM memory, which is automatically erased when the computer is turned off. So your use of Tails will leave no trace. That is why it is called “amnesic.” This allows you to work on a sensitive file on any computer and prevent the data being recovered after the computer is turned off. And you can of course always save your files on a USB stick or an external hard disk.</p>
<div class="messages warning">
<p>Although the Tails development community is doing its best to provide effective tools to protect your privacy when using a computer, there is no perfect solution to such a complex problem. <a href="https://tails.boum.org/doc/about/warning/index.en.html">Understanding the limits of the tools provided with Tails</a> is a crucial step in, firstly, deciding whether Tails is the tool you need and, secondly, helping you to make good use of it.</p>
</div>
<h2>Online anonymity with Tor</h2>
<p>Tails relies on the Tor networks to protect your online privacy. All software is configured to connect through Tor and direct connections (that do not guarantee your anonymity) are blocked.</p>
<p>Tor is free software that allows you to protect your privacy and guarantee your confidentiality online. It protects you by sending your communications around a distributed network of relays run by volunteers all over the world. It prevents anyone who may be monitoring your Internet connection from discovering which sites you visit, and it prevents the sites you visit from discovering where you are.</p>
<h2>Best encryption tools</h2>
<p>Tails also includes a range of tools for protecting your data by means of strong encryption:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://tails.boum.org/doc/encryption_and_privacy/encrypted_volumes/index.en.html">Encrypt your USB stick or external hard disks</a> with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux%5FUnified%5FKey%5FSetup">LUKS</a>, the Linux standard for&nbsp;&nbsp; volume encryption.</li>
<li>Automatically encrypt your communications with websites using <a href="https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere">HTTPS Everywhere</a>, a Firefox extension developed by the <a href="https://www.eff.org/">Electronic Frontier Foundation</a>.</li>
<li>Use <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenPGP">OpenPGP</a>, the standard in its field, to encrypt and sign your emails and documents from the Tails email client, text editor or file browser.</li>
<li>Protect your instant messaging conversations using <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off%2Dthe%2DRecord%5FMessaging">OTR</a>, a cryptographic tool that provides encryption, authentication and deniability.</li>
<li><a href="https://tails.boum.org/doc/encryption_and_privacy/secure_deletion/index.en.html">Delete your files safely</a> and clean your disk space using <a href="http://wipetools.tuxfamily.org/nautilus-wipe.html">Nautilus Wipe</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://tails.boum.org/doc/encryption_and_privacy/index.en.html">Learn more about these tools by reading the documentation</a>.</p>
<div class="messages warning">
<p>The purpose of this handbook is not to explain how to create a Tails live CD or USB key but to provide an overview of the tool. If you want to go further, you can <a href="https://tails.boum.org/download/index.en.html#download_iso">download Tails OS</a> and have a look at the full <a href="https://tails.boum.org/doc/index.fr.html">user manual</a> on tails.boum.org.</p>
</div>
<p><small>This article is freely based on the official Tails documentation. Like the original documentation, it is published under the <a href="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/quick-guide-gplv3.html">GPLv3 public license</a>. </small></p> </div>
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feed_id: 95 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Brazil: Fábio Pannunzio’s blog – from censorship to shutdown
uri: Brazil-Fábio-Pannunzio-s-blog-from-censorship-to-shutdown
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/brazil-fabio-pannunzios-blog-censorship-shutdown
content:
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          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/geo-zone/brazil" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Brazil</a></div>
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<div id="node-field-thematique" class="field field-name-field-thematique field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
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          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/themes/politics-and-securtiy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Politics and Securtiy</a></div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <p>The journalist Fábio Pannunzio announced the death of his blog, O Blog do Pannunzio, on 26 September 2012. By shutting down his online showcase on his own initiative amid harassment by the courts, he took judicial censorship to its logical conclusion.</p> </div>
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<div id="node-body" class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
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          <div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>It continues to be risky for a Brazilian journalist or blogger to tackle sensitive stories such as corruption, drug trafficking or police abuses. A reporter and presenter on the national TV station Bandeirantes, Pannunzio specializes in public security issues and he did not hesitate to report alleged abuses by the São Paulo civilian and military police either on the air or on his <a href="http://www.pannunzio.com.br/archives/14392">blog</a>, which he began in 2009.</p>
<p>Sued only once in connection with his TV work, he was sued eight times as a blogger. On 5 September 2012, he was subjected to so-called “<strong>preventive</strong>” censorship, <strong>under which a single judge</strong>, before examination of the substance of the case, can order a blog or news outlet to remove information even though it is available through other outlets.</p>
<p>Pannunzio had already angered the São Paulo authorities in February 2012 when he <a href="http://www.pannunzio.com.br/archives/7718">posted a report, accompanied by a video</a>, about the humiliating treatment of a young female civilian police officer by male colleagues. Suspected of stealing money and hiding it on her person, she was subjected to a body search in public despite demanding her right to be searched in private by a female police officer.</p>
<p>In an article posted on 17 June 2012, Pannunzio accused São Paulo state public security secretary Antônio Ferreira Pinto of covering up serious human rights violations by the São Paulo military police, especially during operations to “pacify” favelas. He cited the case of a man allegedly executed by police officers simply because he was suspected of being a member of Primeiro Comando da Capital (an urban guerrilla group formed in the city of São Paulo during the military dictatorship that evolved into a criminal organization after democracy was restored in 1985).</p>
<p>Pannunzio’s article accused Ferreira Pinto not only of covering up this case but also of turning a blind eye to the creation of “militias” within that police that operate as uncontrolled death squads responsible for human rights violations as grave as those by criminal gangs. He also cited death threats against several journalists including himself that are thought to have been made by corrupt members of the civilian police.</p>
<p>The article was headlined “Geraldo Alckmin’s inaction on public security barbarity” because it blamed the situation on São Paulo state governor Geraldo Alckmin, Lula’s unsuccessful rival in the 2006 presidential race. Noting that Alckmin had failed to explain why he removed 32 police and soldiers assigned to protecting the governor’s palace, Pannunzio reported that they were said to have been spying on him.</p>
<p>Ferreira Pinto responded to the article by bringing both civil and criminal defamation proceedings against Pannunzio. <strong>Just three months after the article was posted</strong>, São Paulo civil court judge Jacira Jacinto ordered its removal from O Blog do Pannunzio <strong>before any court decision</strong> on its defamatory nature, and said failure to comply or any republication or reposting of the article would be subject to a fine of 80,000 réais (40,000 dollars).</p>
<p>As the court order was disproportionate and was issued without hearing defence arguments and without examining the substance of the article, Reporters Without Borders has decided to publish both the article and <a href="#forbidden-content">the order</a>. Reporters Without Borders takes no position on the substance of the lawsuit against Pannunzio, but condemns this form of judicial censorship, which is widely used in Brazil and imposes grave constraints on the free flow of information.</p>
<blockquote>
<h2>Geraldo Alckmin’s inaction on public security barbarity</h2>
<p>It’s not just strange, it’s incomprehensible that Governor Geraldo Alckmin has not yet fired his public security secretary, Antônio Ferreira Pinto, both because of the barbarity that has taken hold within the military police under his command and because of the authoritarian, undemocratic and illegal methods he has been using until now.</p>
<p>By his explicit support for use of excessive violence, his actions deliberately designed to excuse police officers accused of the most serious crimes and his inaction in the face of the creation of militias by military police officers, Mr. Ferreira Pinto is exposing the entire state’s population to the ferocity of the criminal organization known as the Primeiro Comando de la Capital (PCC) as well as uniformed bandits protected by the Military Police. The dramatic rise in the (supposedly manipulated) crime figures is there for all to gauge the scale of the prevailing chaos.</p>
<p>Anyone daring to oppose this Napoléon of [the central São Paulo district of] Higienópolis should beware! Journalists are routinely exposed to all kinds of threats and constraints. Two Rede Record reporters are currently under threat of being killed by the rotten sector of the Civilian Police. A police chief has been punished for refusing to search the homes of four journalists, including the publisher of this blog. It’s also no secret to anyone that Ferreira Pinto makes ample use of the press to conspire against the governor’s place, as the sociologist Túlio Khan’s resignation showed.</p>
<p>He has now assailed the prosecutor’s office, whose job it is to supervise the police that he commands with an iron hand. The aim of the attack, made during an interview on Rádio Jovem Pan, was to denigrate the only institution that is not afraid to stand up to him. It was done to discredit the careful work carried out by the prosecutor’s office after the police attempt to clean up the district of Cracolândia, a disastrous operation that consumed fabulous sums of taxpayers’ money and set figures for drug seizures and treatment of addicts back to zero.</p>
<p>Similarly, Mr. Ferreira Pinto has clearly tried to obstruct the investigation into the cowardly execution of a man suspected of being a PCC member, a case known as the Barracuda Bar Murder. The man was taken in a Military Police ROTA Battalion vehicle to a vacant lot by the Ayrton Senna freeway, where he was beaten and then killed in cold blood. Ferreira Pinto showed up at the Civilian Police Homicide Department, which is in charge of the case, and gave explicit orders to obstruct the department of prosecutions’ access to the investigation as much as possible. A confidentiality order has also strangely been imposed on the investigation, depriving the public of inside information about a public security matter.</p>
<p>Governor Geraldo Alckmin is fully aware of all of this. About a month ago, he had to replace 32 policemen who were responsible for his safety at the governor’s palace. The reasons for the replacement of these police officers and Military Police soldiers are still not known but, behind the scenes, it is said that they were part of a network spying on the movements of the governor and his family within the residential wing of the palace.</p>
<p>Give all of this, society must hold the governor to account for everything that is happening – from the increase in the figures for the most barbaric crimes to the emergence of new forms of criminal activity including collective robberies of buildings and restaurants, which are forcing the public to shut themselves inside their homes while the robbers take over the streets.</p>
</blockquote> </div>
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feed_id: 102 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Internet governance and net neutrality
uri: Internet-governance-and-net-neutrality
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/internet-governance-and-net-neutrality
content:
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          <div class="field-item even">Online Censorship</div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <p>The United Nations Human Rights Council affirmed the right to freedom of expression on the Internet for the first time in a resolution on 5 July 2012, taking the position that "the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online (...) regardless of frontiers and through any media." The resolution called on all countries "to promote and facilitate access to the Internet and international cooperation aimed at the development of media and information and communications facilities in all countries."</p> </div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <h2>World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT)</h2>
<p>Different visions of Internet governance and, indirectly, the future of online news and information competed and clashed at the World Conference on International Telecommunications, which the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) staged in Dubai in December 2012. At the end of the conference,<a href="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121214/14133321389/who-signed-itu-wcit-treaty-who-didnt.shtml">&nbsp;fewer than half of the ITU’s member countries (89 out of 193)</a>&nbsp;signed a<a href="media/7387bf09.final-acts-wcit-12-fr.pdf" data-original-source="http://www.itu.int/en/wcit-12/Documents/final-acts-wcit-12-fr.pdf">&nbsp;new treaty</a>&nbsp;revising the International Telecommunications Regulations (ITR).</p>
<p><a href="http://fr.rsf.org/l-avenir-d-internet-en-jeu-a-la-10-12-2012,43775.html">A coalition of 55 countries, including the United States and European Union countries</a>, refused to sign it on the grounds that some of its provisions on spam management and Internet security, and a separate text that was adopted in a chaotic manner, Internet Resolution PLEN/3, would be used by countries that traditionally control the Internet to justify their censorship, filtering and blocking. The lack of civil society participation and procedural transparency was strongly criticized by many NGOs, with support from<a href="http://www.ohchr.org/FR/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=12903&amp;LangID=E">&nbsp;UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression and Opinion Frank La Rue</a>.</p>
<p>The Dubai summit should have been used to defend the Internet as a place of freedom, as a place for the free exchange of views and information. But instead it highlighted the fight between different countries for influence over the Internet. More information:<a href="https://www.cdt.org/pr_statement/consensus-crumbles-nations-split-internet-governance">&nbsp;</a><a href="https://www.cdt.org/pr_statement/consensus-crumbles-nations-split-internet-governance">Centre for Technology and Democracy</a>&nbsp;and an<a href="https://www.accessnow.org/blog/2012/12/14/wcit-watch-analysis-of-the-new-itrs-part-i#When:22:26:33Z">&nbsp;analysis of the new ITR</a>&nbsp;by Access.</p>
<h2>EU rejects Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement</h2>
<p>On 4 July 2012, the<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/union-europeenne-finissons-en-avec-acta-l-ue-doit-02-07-2012,42931.html">&nbsp;European Parliament rejected</a>&nbsp;the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), which threatened fundamental online freedoms including access, freedom of information, <a href="http://surveillance.rsf.org/en/glossary/#net">Net Neutrality</a>, innovation, and the sharing of free technology. Its rejection was a victory for citizen campaigning, which was mobilized by advocacy groups such as<a href="http://www.laquadrature.net/">&nbsp;La Quadrature du Net</a>&nbsp;and<a href="http://panoptykon.org/">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://panoptykon.org/">Panoptikon</a>.</p>
<h2>Netherlands and Slovenia back Net Neutrality, Brazil drags its feet</h2>
<p>In December 2012,<a href="http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number11.2/slovenia-net-neutrality">&nbsp;Slovenia</a>&nbsp;followed Netherlands and Chile in adopting a law that enshrines <a href="http://surveillance.rsf.org/en/glossary/#net">Net Neutrality</a>&nbsp;and prohibits Internet Service Providers from discriminating against any kind of online traffic.</p>
<p>But<a href="media/c25c4250.rapport_bre_sil.pdf" data-original-source="http://fr.rsf.org/IMG/pdf/rapport_bre_sil.pdf">&nbsp;adoption of a proposed Internet “Civil Framework” law</a>&nbsp;continues to be postponed in Brazil because of pressure from the film and music industries. Widely<a href="http://www.peticaopublica.com.br/?pi=olinda">&nbsp;supported by Brazilian civil society</a>, which regards it as a model law, the so-called “Marco Civil” would define the rights and responsibilities of the state, Internet Service Providers (and other technical intermediaries) and Internet users as regards Internet usage, copyright and personal data protection, while safeguarding <a href="http://surveillance.rsf.org/en/glossary/#net">Net Neutrality</a>, privacy and the free flow of information online.</p>
<h2>Filtering violates fundamental rights</h2>
<p>In a<a href="http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/fra/pages/search.aspx?i=001-115705">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/fra/pages/search.aspx?i=001-115705">decision</a>&nbsp;against Turkey on 18 December 2012, the European Court of Human Rights ruled for the first time that blocking a website violated article 10 (on freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights.&nbsp;The Strasbourg-based court said: “The Internet has now become one of the main means for individuals to exercise their right to freedom of expression and information; it offers essential tools for participating in activities and debates on political matters and issues of public interest.”&nbsp;The Court of Justice of the European Union already<a href="http://en.rsf.org/european-union-eu-court-says-internet-filtering-28-11-2011,41472.html">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://en.rsf.org/european-union-eu-court-says-internet-filtering-28-11-2011,41472.html">ruled</a>&nbsp;on 24 November 2011 that generalized content filtering violates fundamental rights.</p>
<h2>Internet companies stress transparency</h2>
<p>The latest issue of Google’s<a href="http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/">&nbsp;“Transparency Report,”</a>&nbsp;released in November 2012, points to a big increase in government surveillance. Google said government requests for user data had risen steadily since the&nbsp;publication of its first Transparency Report.&nbsp;In June 2012, Google voiced concern about an<a href="http://www.telerama.fr/medias/google-inquiet-par-la-censure-politique-sur-internet,83298.php">&nbsp;increase in requests for the removal of pages with political content</a>. The country by country&nbsp;evolution of user data requests can be seen<a href="http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/userdatarequests/">&nbsp;here</a>&nbsp;and removal requests can be seen<a href="http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/removals/government/">&nbsp;here</a>.</p>
<p>Google’s transparency initiative has been adopted by others.&nbsp;Twitter launched its own<a href="http://blog.twitter.com/2012/07/twitter-transparency-report.html">&nbsp;transparency report</a>&nbsp;in July 2012. It focuses on user data requests by governments (the United States made the most requests) and on content removal requests by governments or copyright holders. Twitter has also undertaken to<a href="http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/internet/3408979/twitter-leaves-placeholder-message-for-copyright-violations/">&nbsp;leave a “Tweet withheld” message</a>&nbsp;whenever a Tweet is removed in response to a complaint from a copyright holder and to send a copy of each takedown notice to the<a href="http://www.chillingeffects.org/twitter">&nbsp;Chilling Effects</a>&nbsp;website.</p> </div>
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feed_id: 103 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Legislative offensives
uri: Legislative-offensives
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/legislative-offensives
content:
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          <div class="field-item even">Online Censorship</div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <p>Repressive legislative initiatives by authoritarian regimes have been compounded by parallel initiatives in countries that claim to be democratic and to respect individual freedoms. The latter are all the more disturbing as they provide authoritarian regimes with justification for their own initiatives.</p> </div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <h3>Great Britain</h3>
<p>The British Communications Data Bill<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20668953">&nbsp;will have to be revised after Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced in December 2012 that he would block it</a>. The version of the bill that was published in the spring of 2012 would give<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/royaume-uni-la-surveillance-generalisee-des-02-04-2012,42230.html">&nbsp;the police and intelligence services</a>&nbsp;extensive access to phone records, emails and Internet browsing history on the grounds of the need to combat terrorism and other serious crimes.</p>
<h3>United States</h3>
<p>Opponents of the proposed Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2011 (CISPA) say it will allow privacy to be violated in order to protect cyber-security. Although it seemed to have broad support in the US Congress, it caused such an outcry that substantial revisions were made to increase protection for privacy, the White House threatened a veto and a sizeable number of representatives ended up voting against it. A new version of<a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/285773-rogers-aiming-for-markup-on-cyber-information-sharing-bill-in-april">&nbsp;CISPA was resubmitted in January 2013</a>&nbsp;and could come before Congress as early as April 2013.</p>
<h3>Netherlands</h3>
<p>Claiming that anonymization tools such as<a href="https://www.torproject.org/">&nbsp;Tor</a>&nbsp;are hampering the work of tracking down cyber-criminals and pedophiles, the Dutch government has been<a href="https://www.bof.nl/2012/10/18/dutch-proposal-to-search-and-destroy-foreign-computers/">&nbsp;pressuring legislators</a>&nbsp;to pass a law that will reinforce police cyber-surveillance powers regardless of whether the target computer is located in the Netherlands or abroad. The proposed law would allow the police to remotely search computers, install <a href="http://surveillance.rsf.org/en/glossary/#rat">spyware</a> and delete illegal content without having to submit a legal assistance request to the country concerned if the target computer is located abroad. Read the<a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/10/dutch-government-proposes-cyberattacks-against-everyone">&nbsp;Electronic Frontier Foundation</a>&nbsp;analysis.</p>
<h3>Philippines</h3>
<p><a href="http://fr.rsf.org/philippines-la-loi-sur-le-cybercriminalite-une-09-10-2012,43505.html">The supreme court of the Philippines voted unanimously</a>&nbsp;on 9 October 2012 to stay implementation of the<a href="http://www.gov.ph/2012/09/12/republic-act-no-10175/">&nbsp;Cybercrime Prevention Act 2012</a>&nbsp;(Republic Act No, 10175) after receiving more than a dozen<a href="https://www.accessnow.org/page/s/stop-cyber-martial-law">&nbsp;petitions</a>&nbsp;asking it to rule on the law’s constitutionality. Reporters Without Borders calls for its repeal because its attempt to combat cyber-crime poses a major threat to freedom of information.<a href="http://raissarobles.com/2012/09/18/who-inserted-that-libel-clause-in-the-cybercrime-law-at-the-last-minute/">&nbsp;Online defamation was added to the law’s list of “cyber-crimes”</a>&nbsp;at the last minute, before adoption.</p>
<h3>Malawi</h3>
<p>The<a href="http://www.mw.misa.org/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=136:malawi-alert-bill-puts-online-freedom-of-expression-in-cross-hairs-">&nbsp;Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)</a>&nbsp;has criticized a government attempt to regulate and control online publications in the form of a so-called E-Bill that would force online publication editors to publish their names, addresses and phone numbers and would create a cyber-police with the job of monitoring the Internet for illegal activity.</p>
<h3>Peru</h3>
<p>A<a href="http://advocacy.globalvoicesonline.org/2012/07/27/peru-concerns-over-computer-crime-bill/">&nbsp;proposed cyber-crime law</a>&nbsp;is likely to restrict online freedom. On the initiative of the NGO<a href="https://www.accessnow.org/policy-activism/press-blog/civil-society-speaks-out-on-dangerous-new-cybercrime-law-in-peru">&nbsp;Access</a>, university academics and civil society representatives have written an<a href="media/2c5c0c75.Peru20Open20Letter20-20Spanish.pdf" data-original-source="https://www.accessnow.org/page/-/docs/Peru%20Open%20Letter%20-%20Spanish.pdf">&nbsp;open letter</a>&nbsp;to parliament criticizing the bill.</p>
<h3>Iraq</h3>
<p>In January 2012, the Iraqi parliament repealed a&nbsp;cyber-crime law that was criticized for its overly broad definition of the crimes it intended to punish (for example, “violating religious, moral and social principles”) and for draconian penalties that included life imprisonment for using a computer to besmirch the country’s reputation. Read the<a href="https://www.accessnow.org/blog/iraqs-internet-on-the-brink">&nbsp;Access Now</a>&nbsp;analysis.</p>
<h2>Protecting minors, the perfect pretext</h2>
<h3>Russia</h3>
<p>In the name of “protecting minors,” a federal government agency began on 1 November 2012 to<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/russie-entree-en-vigueur-d-une-liste-01-11-2012,43626.html">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://fr.rsf.org/russie-entree-en-vigueur-d-une-liste-01-11-2012,43626.html">compile a blacklist</a>&nbsp;of<a href="http://en.rsf.org/russia-freedom-of-information-threatened-13-07-2012,43019.html">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://en.rsf.org/russia-freedom-of-information-threatened-13-07-2012,43019.html">“harmful” websites</a>&nbsp;liable to be blocked without reference to a court and without any right of defence. The vague and broad definition of the targeted content (pornography, extremism, defending suicide, encouraging drug use and so on) and the supervisory body’s lack of independence open the way to overblocking. Age category labelling – “banned for minors under the age of” 6, 12, 16 or 18 – was also imposed on all news websites. A bill banning online censorship circumvention tools has also been submitted to a Duma committee.</p>
<h3>Canada</h3>
<p>Draft<a href="http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Docid=5380965&amp;file=4">&nbsp;Federal Law C-30</a>, also known as the Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act, which the public safety ministry submitted to parliament on 14 February 2012, would&nbsp;place Internet users under close surveillance. It would allow the police to request phone records without first seeking a court warrant. Internet Service Providers and mobile phone operators could be forced to install surveillance devices and record subscribers’ communications. The police could also, without a court warrant, install a device that could capture the IP address of any device connected to the Internet.</p>
<h2>Copyright v. online freedom of expression</h2>
<h3>United States</h3>
<p>The proposed "Stop Online Piracy Act" (SOPA) and "Protect IP Act" (PIPA) elicited<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/etats-unis-reporters-sans-frontieres-ferme-17-01-2012,41696.html">&nbsp;a great deal of domestic and international criticism</a>&nbsp;of the danger of unprecedented Internet censorship. Their opponents said they would prejudice countless Internet users who had never violated intellectual property by forcing websites to block access to other sites accused of vaguely defined copyright violations. The bills were finally shelved, but for how long?</p>
<h3>Panama</h3>
<p>In September 2012, parliament passed Law 510, which restricts freedom of expression and access to online information and creates a<a href="http://tecnomenia.com/2012/09/ley510-internacionalmente-la-peor-ley-de-copyright-creada-en-la-historia.html">&nbsp;General Directorate for Copyright</a>&nbsp;with the task of tracking down violators and imposing heavy fines on them without reference to a court. NGOs and civil society representatives wrote an<a href="https://www.accessnow.org/blog/civil-society-calls-for-panamanian-president-to-halt-dangerous-copyright-bi">&nbsp;open letter</a>&nbsp;to President Ricardo Martinelli urging him not to sign what they called the<a href="http://globalvoicesonline.org/2012/09/28/panama-controversial-510-copyright-bill-approved/">&nbsp;“worst copyright protection law in history.”</a>&nbsp;Read comments by netizens on<a href="http://globalvoicesonline.org/2012/09/28/panama-controversial-510-copyright-bill-approved/">&nbsp;Global Voices</a>.</p>
<h2>Other disturbing legislation</h2>
<p>In Malaysia, an amendment to the 1950 Evidence Act makes Internet service operators automatically liable for any posted content or content transiting through their services that is deemed to be defamatory. Owners and managers of Internet cafés and blog platforms are among those affected by this presumption of guilt. The<a href="http://cijmalaysia.org/">&nbsp;Centre for Independent Journalism</a>&nbsp;organized an<a href="http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2012/08/08/cij-launches-internet-blackout-day/">&nbsp;online protest</a>&nbsp;against the amendment.</p> </div>
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feed_id: 104 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: All-out filtering
uri: All-out-filtering
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/all-out-filtering
content:
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          <div class="field-item even">Online Censorship</div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <p>Censorship of the anti-Islamic video “Innocence of Muslims” inflicted major collateral damage on access to online information. The filtering and blocking measures ordered in many countries often resulted in suspension of access to YouTube and in some cases, all communications. Whether as a result of court or administrative decisions, the video has probably been<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/censure-d-un-film-anti-islam-26-09-2012,43411.html"> blocked in more countries</a> than almost any other piece of online content ever. The countries that blocked it include Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Turkey, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, India and Bahrain.</p> </div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <h2>China : race against the clock</h2>
<p>China’s censors had their hands full in recent months trying to block the online dissemination of sensitive stories, including:</p>
<ul>
<li class="tf-first-child"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">The</span><a style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/26/business/global/family-of-wen-jiabao-holds-a-hidden-fortune-in-china.html?pagewanted=all&amp;_r=0">&nbsp;New York Times</a><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">&nbsp;story on Wen Jiaobo’s fortune</span></li>
<li><a href="http://fr.rsf.org/chine-affaire-des-voeux-du-nouvel-an-les-11-01-2013,43906.html">Opposition to censorship</a>&nbsp;of a New Year<a href="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/fr/censored/chine-lincident-voeux-du-nouvelhtml.html">&nbsp;editorial</a>&nbsp;in the newspaper&nbsp;Nanfang Zhoumo&nbsp;that called for constitutional reforms in&nbsp;China</li>
<li>The many cases of<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/chine-quatre-jeunes-tibetains-condamnes-04-10-2012,43486.html">&nbsp;self-immolation in Tibet</a></li>
<li>Corruption</li>
<li class="tf-last-child"><a href="http://fr.rsf.org/chine-interdiction-et-censure-des-26-07-2012,43115.html">Criticism</a>&nbsp;of the government’s handling of flooding in the summer of 2012.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://fr.rsf.org/chine-rsf-demande-a-l-union-europeenne-14-11-2012,43679.html">Censorship was intensified</a>&nbsp;in the run-up to the Communist Party Congress that appointed a new generation of rulers and put Xi Jinping in charge.</p>
<h2>Online censorship gaining ground in Central Asia</h2>
<p>Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have long been classified as “Enemies of the Internet” but cyber-censorship is now becoming more widespread in Central Asia.</p>
<p>In 2012, there were<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/tadjikistan-l-un-des-plus-importants-sites-d-25-07-2012,43108.html">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://fr.rsf.org/tadjikistan-l-un-des-plus-importants-sites-d-25-07-2012,43108.html">several waves of blocking</a>&nbsp;of leading news websites such as<a href="http://news.tj/">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://news.tj/">Asia Plus</a>,<a href="http://fr.rian.ru/">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://fr.rian.ru/">RIA-Novosti</a>,<a href="http://lenta.ru/">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://lenta.ru/">Lenta.ru</a>,<a href="http://www.fergananews.com/">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.fergananews.com/">Fergananews.com</a>,<a href="http://www.centrasia.ru/">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.centrasia.ru/">Centrasia.ru</a>, and the<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/">BBC</a>, as well as YouTube and Facebook. The National Telecommunications Agency is now in the habit of issuing orders to Internet Service Providers to block access to any sensitive content such as news analyses questioning the government’s stability, reports of armed clashes or criticism of the president on social networks.</p>
<p>Sham legal proceedings were used in December 2012 to ban Kazakhstan’s leading opposition media on the grounds of alleged “extremism.” This resulted in the blocking of all websites carrying the online versions of the newspaper&nbsp;Vzglyad&nbsp;and the&nbsp;Respublika&nbsp;network of newspapers, as well as their social network accounts. The online TV station&nbsp;K+&nbsp;and the news portal&nbsp;Stan.tv&nbsp;were also blocked.</p>
<h2>In India, censorship to suppress rumours?</h2>
<p>In an attempt to halt<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/inde-violences-communautaires-le-29-08-2012,43290.html">&nbsp;violent inter-ethnic unrest</a>, the Indian authorities ordered<a href="http://kafila.org/2012/08/23/full-text-the-indian-governments-recent-orders-to-internet-service-providers-to-block-websites-webpages-and-twitter-accounts/">&nbsp;Internet Service Providers</a>&nbsp;to<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/103688733/18-August">&nbsp;block access</a>&nbsp;to more than 300 pieces of online content in August 2012. Some did encourage violence by relaying baseless rumours, but others, such as content on the websites of&nbsp;AFP,&nbsp;Al-Jazeera&nbsp;and the Australian TV station<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-24/abc-news-online-blocked-in-india/4221578">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-24/abc-news-online-blocked-in-india/4221578">ABC</a>, just consisted of straightforward news photos or news stories. See the list of blocked content published by the<a href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/analysing-blocked-sites-riots-communalism">&nbsp;Centre for Internet and Society</a>.</p>
<h2>Pakistani electronic Great Wall – fact or fiction?</h2>
<p>Plans for a national Internet filtering and blocking system intended to block access to millions of “undesirable” websites using Deep Packet Inspection (<a href="http://surveillance.rsf.org/en/glossarry/#dpi">DPI</a>) were revealed in early 2012. The<a href="http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012%5C02%5C26%5Cstory_26-2-2012_pg5_8">&nbsp;Daily Times</a>&nbsp;reported that the National ICT Research and Development Fund, an offshoot of the information technology ministry, issued an<a href="media/33c47296.RFP-20URL20Filtering202620Blocking.pdf" data-original-source="http://ictrdf.org.pk/RFP-%20URL%20Filtering%20%26%20Blocking.pdf">&nbsp;invitation to submit bids</a>&nbsp;for the creation of the system, expected to cost 10 million dollars, and that several international companies responded. A<a href="http://signon.org/sign/censorship-is-big-business?source=c.url&amp;r_by=1898072">&nbsp;petition</a>&nbsp;was launched urging companies not to respond.<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUxVayH1RHI&amp;list=HL1333351470&amp;feature=mh_lolz">&nbsp;Statements by officials</a>&nbsp;opposing the project were subsequently<a href="http://tribune.com.pk/story/352172/it-ministry-shelves-plan-to-install-massive-url-blocking-system/">&nbsp;reported by the media</a>. Pakistan civil society<a href="http://content.bytesforall.pk/node/47">&nbsp;remains vigilant</a>.</p> </div>
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feed_id: 105 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Restricted access ?
uri: Restricted-access
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/restricted-access
content:
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          <div class="field-item even">Online Censorship</div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <p>Two billion people worldwide now have Internet access but, for a third of them, access is limited by government censorship, filtering and surveillance. Infrastructural development problems and purely political considerations sometimes limit expansion of access.</p> </div>
      </div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <h2>National Internet in Iran</h2>
<p>In September 2012, the government accelerated the creation of a national Internet with a high connection speed but entirely monitored and censored. The grounds cited for speeding up implementation was a wave of cyber-attacks on Iran’s nuclear installations. All Iranian websites are eventually supposed to be hosted on local servers. Applications and services such as email, search engines and social networks are to be developed under government control. So far only government offices are connected to this national Internet, but it is feared that eventually all Iranian citizens will have no choice but to follow suit. (See the Iran chapter of “State enemies”.)</p>
<h2>Frequent Internet cuts in Syria</h2>
<p>Internet and telephone are often deliberately cut in targeted locations, in addition to cuts due to power blackouts. Syria was completely<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20546302">&nbsp;disconnected</a>&nbsp;from the Internet for about two days at the end of November 2012, at a time when the regime was accused of planning a nationwide massacre.</p>
<h2>High-speed fibre-optic broadband finally in Cuba?</h2>
<p>Completed in 2011, the submarine fibre-optic broadband cable from Venezuela to Cuba was finally<a href="http://www.renesys.com/blog/2013/01/cuban-mystery-cable-activated.shtml">&nbsp;put into service</a>&nbsp;in August 2012, the network specialist company Renesys reports. ButGlobal Voices&nbsp;quoted the government daily&nbsp;Granma&nbsp;as saying that, although the<a href="http://laredcubana.blogspot.com/2013/01/cuban-government-acknowledges-test-of.html">&nbsp;test phase</a>&nbsp;has been completed, Cubans should not expect a dramatic increase in the availability of Internet access in the short term. Until then, Cuba was using very limited satellite connections to access the international Internet (see the Cuban chapter of the 2012 Enemies of the Internet report).</p>
<h2>Regional discrimination</h2>
<p>Suspension of Internet access and telecommunications are common in<a href="http://en.rsf.org/chine-tibet-cut-off-from-the-rest-of-the-23-02-2012,41930.html">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://en.rsf.org/chine-tibet-cut-off-from-the-rest-of-the-23-02-2012,41930.html">Tibet</a>&nbsp;and Xinjiang during periods of crisis (see the<a href="http://en.rsf.org/china-china-12-03-2012,42077.html">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://en.rsf.org/china-china-12-03-2012,42077.html">China chapter</a>&nbsp;of the 2012 Enemies of the Internet report).</p>
<p>At the behest of the government of India’s northern state of Jammu and Kashmir, telephone operators suspended service in the Kashmir Valley last August, on the anniversary of India’s independence, which is always a sensitive time.</p>
<p>In Pakistan,<a href="http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/editors-picks/20-Aug-2012/phone-services-cut-to-counter-terror-threats">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/editors-picks/20-Aug-2012/phone-services-cut-to-counter-terror-threats">mobile phone networks were temporarily disconnected in the southwestern province of Balochistan</a>&nbsp;on the anniversary of the country’s independence in August 2012.</p> </div>
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feed_id: 106 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Netizens targeted
uri: Netizens-targeted
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/netizens-targeted
content:
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          <div class="field-item even">Online Censorship</div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <p>A total of 47 netizens and citizen-journalists were killed in 2012, most of them in Syria. They act as reporters, photographers and video-cameramen, documenting their daily lives and the government’s violent crackdown. Without them, the Syrian government would be able to impose a complete news blackout in some regions and carry out massacres undetected.</p> </div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <p>In Iran, the blogger<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/iran-rsf-exige-une-enquete-13-11-2012,43672.html">&nbsp;Sattar Beheshti</a>&nbsp;died in unknown circumstances following his arrest on 31 October 2012. The available information suggests that he died from blows received during interrogation. No one has been arrested for his death.</p>
<p>In Bangladesh, the blogger<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/bangladesh-un-blogueur-egorge-dans-la-18-02-2013,44092.html">&nbsp;Ahmed Rajib Haider was hacked to death</a>&nbsp;near his home in the capital, Dhaka, on 15 February 2013.</p>
<p>In Pakistan, the 14-year-old blogger&nbsp;Malala Yousufzai&nbsp;only<a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/10/opinion/ghitis-malala-yousufzai">&nbsp;narrowly survived</a>&nbsp;being shot in the head by Taliban gunmen on 9 October 2012.</p>
<h2>Mass arrests</h2>
<p>About 180 netizens are currently detained in connection with their provision of news and information. The world’s five biggest prisons for netizens are China (with 69 detained), Oman (32), Vietnam (31), Iran (20) and Syria (18).</p>
<p>Mass arrests and raids on news outlets have taken place not only in Syria but also in the<a href="http://en.rsf.org/oman-supreme-court-upholds-one-year-08-03-2013,44182.html">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://en.rsf.org/oman-supreme-court-upholds-one-year-08-03-2013,44182.html">Sultanate of Oman</a>&nbsp;and in Iran, on<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/iran-treize-journalistes-toujours-29-01-2013,43978.html">&nbsp;“Black Sunday”</a>. In Sri Lanka,<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/sri-lanka-huit-journalistes-en-ligne-et-un-04-07-2012,42924.html">&nbsp;nine employees of the online newspaper Sri Lanka Mirror</a>&nbsp;were arrested in a raid in July 2012.</p>
<p>Vietnam continues to arrest netizens and<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/vietnam-confirmation-de-lourdes-peines-de-28-12-2012,43846.html">&nbsp;give them long prison sentences</a>. The well-known blogger Dieu Cay got 12 years. In China,<a href="http://en.rsf.org/chine-enforced-disappearance-of-three-04-01-2013,43860.html">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://en.rsf.org/chine-enforced-disappearance-of-three-04-01-2013,43860.html">Tibetan monks</a>&nbsp;are jailed for trying to inform the outside world about the many cases of self-immolation.<a href="http://en.rsf.org/azerbaijan-the-international-community-must-19-02-2013,44095.html">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://en.rsf.org/azerbaijan-the-international-community-must-19-02-2013,44095.html">Azerbaijan</a>&nbsp;goes after bloggers who stray from the official line.</p>
<p>The conditions in which netizens are imprisoned are often appalling and mistreatment is frequent. Some detainees, especially in Iran, are denied the medical treatment they need and risk dying in detention.</p>
<h2>Threats and violence</h2>
<p><a href="http://fr.rsf.org/bangladesh-blogueurs-menaces-et-journalistes-26-02-2013,44127.html">Nineteen bloggers were openly threatened</a>&nbsp;on Islamist websites and at demonstrations in Bangladesh in February 2013 in connection with the trial of several former leaders of Islamist parties including Jaamat-e-Islami on war crimes charges.</p>
<p>The “Courage for Tamaulipas” Facebook page, which covers organized crime violence in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, angered drug traffickers, who are<a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/23/world/americas/mexico-violence-blogger">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/23/world/americas/mexico-violence-blogger">offering 600,000 pesos ($46,000)</a>&nbsp;to anyone who could identify the page’s editor or the editor’s family.</p>
<p>Ruy Salgado, a Mexican blogger who ran El Santuario, a website famous for its coverage of corruption, gave up his online activities because of the threats he was getting.</p>
<p>The families of netizens, especially those who are detained, are often subject to harassment, pressure and threats. This is the case in<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/iran-le-vrai-visage-du-regime-menaces-09-01-2013,43882.html">&nbsp;Iran</a>, especially for the families of Iranian journalists and bloggers who are based abroad, and in Vietnam.</p>
<p>Imprisoned Vietnamese blogger Ta Phong Tan, the creator of the “Justice and Truth” blog, suffered a additional blow last July when her mother took her own life by<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/vietnam-30-07-2012-le-durcissement-de-la-30-07-2012,43129.html">&nbsp;setting herself on fire outside the headquarters of the People’s Committee in Bac Lieu</a>, Tan’s home province, in an act of despair about the way Tan was being treated. Tan is now serving a 10-year jail sentence.</p>
<h2>Trial of WikiLeaks source Bradley Manning</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/01/us/bradley-manning-admits-giving-trove-of-military-data-to-wikileaks.html?pagewanted=1&amp;_r=0">US Army Private Bradley Manning confessed before a court martial on 28 February 2013 that he passed military and diplomatic files to WikiLeaks</a>, including US embassy cables, the files of Guantanamo detainees and videos of air strikes in which civilians were killed, in particular the “Collateral Murder” video that showed a US helicopter crew killing&nbsp;Reuters&nbsp;journalists.</p>
<p>He said his motive was to enlighten the public about what goes on and to “spark a debate about foreign policy.” He explained that he initially tried to give the files to the&nbsp;New York Times&nbsp;andWashington Post&nbsp;but could not find anyone who seemed interested. He also claimed that he chose the material with care in order to ensure that it would not cause any harm.</p>
<p>Manning is facing up to 20 years in prison. Many NGOs have<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/09/bradley-manning-wikileaks-mistreated-progressives">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/09/bradley-manning-wikileaks-mistreated-progressives">criticized</a>&nbsp;the conditions in which he was being held as humiliating.</p>
<p>DataCell,&nbsp;a company that collected donations for WikiLeaks,&nbsp;meanwhile<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/nov/27/julian-assange-eu-wikileaks-decision">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/nov/27/julian-assange-eu-wikileaks-decision">complained to the European Commission</a>&nbsp;about Visa<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/europe-news">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/europe-news">Europe</a>, MasterCard Europe and American Express after they stopped processing donations for WikiLeaks in December 2010. In a preliminary decision in November 2012, the commission said a block on processing donations for his organisation by credit card companies was unlikely to have violated EU anti-trust rules.</p> </div>
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feed_id: 107 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Netizens fight back
uri: Netizens-fight-back
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/netizens-fight-back
content:
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          <div class="field-item even">Online Censorship</div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <p>In the face of offensives by governments and interests groups seeking to control the Internet, netizens and online news providers have sought to organize, campaign and resist with varying degrees of success.</p> </div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <p>The most noteworthy initiatives of recent months include:</p>
<ul>
<li class="tf-first-child"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">&nbsp;The</span><a style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;" href="http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/09/photoshopping-dissent-circumventing-chinas-censors-with-internet-memes/261911/#slide1">&nbsp;phenomenon</a><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">&nbsp;of Internet memes, content that passes rapidly from person to person online, going “viral” and often evolving in the process, in a form of spontaneous online popular culture. They typically use humour and Photoshop editing to make fun of social or political issues and, in countries such as China, to evade filtering by censors. Chinese examples include</span><a style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;" href="http://www.chinasmack.com/glossary#%E8%8D%89%E5%B0%BC%E9%A9%AC">&nbsp;</a><a style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;" href="http://www.chinasmack.com/glossary#%E8%8D%89%E5%B0%BC%E9%A9%AC">Grass Mud Horse</a><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">, which uses wordplay in a popular song to mock censorship,&nbsp;and the artist Ai Weiwei’s</span><a style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PueYywpkJW8">&nbsp;</a><a style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PueYywpkJW8">sunflower seeds</a><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">.</span></li>
<li>The<a href="http://chine.aujourdhuilemonde.com/les-chinois-defient-la-censure">&nbsp;online resistance to</a><a href="http://www.courrierinternational.com/revue-de-presse/2013/01/03/les-journalistes-en-guerre-contre-les-services-de-la-propagande">&nbsp;censorship</a>&nbsp;of the Chinese newspaper&nbsp;Nanfang Zhoumo’s New Year editorial calling for constitutional reforms.</li>
<li>The role played by<a href="http://wcitleaks.org/">&nbsp;WCITLeaks</a>&nbsp;in promoting transparency during the negotiations over a new International Telecommunication Union treaty at the World Conference on International Telecommunications in Dubai in December 2012.</li>
<li>The<a href="http://www.laquadrature.net/wiki/Comment_agir_contre_ACTA">&nbsp;campaign</a>&nbsp;by the French advocacy group La Quadrature du Net against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).</li>
<li>The<a href="https://cyberspying.eff.org/archive/cispa/">&nbsp;first Stop Cyber Spying</a>&nbsp;campaign, a week of online protest in the United States against the proposed Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2011 (CISPA), and the<a href="https://cyberspying.eff.org/">&nbsp;new Stop Cyber Spying campaign</a><a href="http://fr.rsf.org/etats-unis-une-semaine-de-mobilisation-contre-01-08-2012,43140.html">&nbsp;in response to the proposed Cybersecurity Act of 2012 (CSA)</a>.</li>
<li>The<a href="https://www.facebook.com/saveyourvoice">&nbsp;Save Your Voice</a>&nbsp;campaign by<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/inde-si-deux-cyber-activistes-mettent-12-05-2012,42612.html">&nbsp;civil society and Internet users in India</a>&nbsp;to demand repeal of the IT Rules, legislation that limits online freedom of expression. Two cyber-activists even went on hunger strike.</li>
<li>The<a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2012/08/jordan-web-blackout-protest-targets-alleged-censorship.html">&nbsp;blackout of 500 websites</a>&nbsp;in Jordan on 29 August 2012 to<a href="http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/08/31/jordans_internet_goes_dark">&nbsp;protest</a>&nbsp; (<a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/search/?q=%23BlackOutJO&amp;src=hash">#BlackoutJO</a>&nbsp;and<a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/search/?q=%23FreeNetJO&amp;src=hash">&nbsp;#FreeNetJO</a>) against<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/jordanie-nouvelle-loi-sur-la-presse-les-21-09-2012,43434.html">&nbsp;repressive amendments to the press and publications law</a>.</li>
<li>The<a href="http://openmedia.ca/StopSpying">&nbsp;Stop Online Spying</a>&nbsp;campaign&nbsp;that the Canadian advocacy group Open Media launched last September with a petition against the C-30 bill.</li>
<li>The campaign for Internet freedom in Azerbaijan waged by the<a href="http://expressiononline.net/">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://expressiononline.net/">ExpressionOnline</a>&nbsp;coalition and other groups during the<a href="http://www.igf2012.com/">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.igf2012.com/">Internet Governance Forum</a>&nbsp;in Baku in November 2012.</li>
<li class="tf-last-child">The <a href="http://rublacklist.net/">Rublacklist</a>, created by the Russian Pirate Party in response to Internet filtering. The group keeps a close watch on blocking, offers online censorship circumvention tools and provides mirror sites and hosting solutions for sites that have been blocked unjustly.</li>
</ul>
<p>Send us information about the campaigns to defend online freedom of expression and information that have impressed you most.</p> </div>
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feed_id: 110 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Looking at reality head-on? “Extremist,” the KGB says
uri: Looking-at-reality-head-on-Extremist-the-KGB-says
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/looking-reality-head-extremist-kgb-says
content:
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          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/geo-zone/belarus-0" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Belarus</a></div>
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          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/themes/society" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Society</a></div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <p>Despite government harassment, independent photojournalism is alive and well in “Europe’s last dictatorship.” <a href="http://pressphoto.by/?p=1610">For the fourth year running</a>, the Belarus Press Photo competition (BPP) is poised to award local photographers who have a gift for covering the most varied range of social issues with an independent approach. But this bold initiative is the victim of censorship. According to the Committee for State Security (KGB), the book of the photos that won prizes in the 2011 competition contains “extremist” works. Two of BPP’s organizers, Yuliya Darashkevich (Юлия Дарашкевич) and Vadim Zamirouski (Вадим Замировский) are to appear in court on 17 April 2013. If the court rules in favour of the KGB, all copies of the book will be seized and destroyed.WeFightCensorship presents photos from the Belarus Press Photo 2011 book here.</p> </div>
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          <div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p><a href="http://pressphoto.by/?p=402#more-402">Belarus Press Photo</a> is particularly remarkable in a country that is ranked 157th out of 179 countries in the latest Reporters Without Borders <a href="http://en.rsf.org/press-freedom-index-2013,1054.html">press freedom index</a>. For the past four years, the project has set itself the mission of “supporting and developing photojournalism in Belarus and contributing to the freedom to exchange professional information and experiences.” Dozens of photographers participate each year. A jury of Belarusian and foreign professional photographers (including Stanley Greene and Yury Kozyrev this year) chooses the best photos, which are then published and displayed in Belarus and abroad.<br />&nbsp;<br />On 12 November 2012, Belarusian customs officials seized 41 copies of the “Belarus Press Photo 2011” book from the car in which three photographers were returning to Belarus after taking part in exhibitions in Lithuania. Although the book had been printed legally and all the custom duties had been paid, the customs officials claimed that <a href="http://baj.by/en/node/18528">“technical standards” had not been respected</a>. The copies were then transferred to the KGB, which asked “experts” to decide whether the book included “extremist” content.<br />&nbsp;<br />No photographer was asked to be part of the “expert committee” that was formed and led by the head of the western region of Hrodna’s ideological department. <a href="http://baj.by/en/node/20367">It found</a> that “Belarus Press Photo 2011” <a href="http://baj.by/en/node/20498">did indeed include “extremist” content</a>. It said that the book contained “deliberately distorted insinuations contrary to the reality of life in the Republic of Belarus (…) which humiliate national honour and the dignity of its citizens.” The committee added that “from the viewpoint of social standards (…) and decency,” the photos undermine “state authority” and “confidence in government officials.”</p>
<p>Yuliya Darashkevich told Reporters Without Borders: “Photojournalism consists of taking snapshots of life as it is, without embellishing it. I don’t see how this can distort reality or conflict with it. I don’t agree with the overall conclusion (by the experts that the book] shows Belarus in a negative light. On the contrary, Belarus is shown from different angles.”<br />&nbsp;<br />One is immediately struck by the variety of subjects and techniques shown in “Belarus Press Photo 2011” – scenes from daily life, news reportage, nature and cultural activities. The viewpoints are varied and the negative aspects of the lives of Belarusians are far from dominant. But this very richness and diversity pose a challenge to the monolithic character of the regime headed by Alexander Lukashenko and his claim to embody his entire nation.<br />&nbsp;<br />The book shows no sign of censorship and devotes a lot of space to the violent crackdown on peaceful demonstrations in 2010. Conditions in the army are revealed in other photos, including Syarhey Gudilin’s cover photo, which won the top prize in 2011. It shows army recruits watching the state TV news programme, as they must every day, overseen by a photo of President Lukashenko on a wall.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="453" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/9b7d6399.conscrits.jpg" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/conscrits.jpg" /></p>
<p><small>Obligatory watching of the evening news under the eye of the president Alexander Lukashenka.<br />Photo by Siarhei Hudzilin. Barysau. August 2010 (Grand-Prix 2011)</small></p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="453" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/37a4388d.manifestant.jpg" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/manifestant.jpg" /></p>
<p><small>Presidential elections. A ot policeman lifts up a participant of the protest action near the broken doors of the House of Government.<br />Photo by Sergey Gapon. Minsk. December 2010.</small></p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="444" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/80649765.fosse_commune.jpg" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/fosse_commune.jpg" /></p>
<p><small>Re-burial ceremony at the German war cemetery. Workers lay coffins with remains of German soldiers killed in Belarus during World War II.<br />Photo by Vasily Fedosenko. Scatkava village. November 2010.</small></p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="566" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/762f3f1f.vpourvictoire.jpg" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/vpourvictoire.jpg" /></p>
<p><small>A man shows the V (Victory) sign out of the prison window.<br />Photo by Viktor Drachev. Minsk. December 2010</small></p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="518" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/95fa8b60.tenniswoman.jpg" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/tenniswoman.jpg" /></p>
<p><small>Tennis player, Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark), takes part in a charity game against Belarusian Victoria Azaranka (Belarus). The experts of KGB think that these photos present elements of Belarusian sport life from the “poor aesthetic perspective”, some of them even “disgraceful” and they “demonstrate the sphere of Belarusian public life from the negative viewpoint”.<br />Photo by Viktor Drachev. Minsk. November 2010.</small></p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="465" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/23c7d156.drapeau-poubelle.jpg" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/drapeau-poubelle.jpg" /></p>
<p><small>A torn-off state flag lies in the street after the protest. KGB thinks that this photo “presents the author’s own invention and belittles the State symbol of Belarus, the honor and dignity of Belarusian people”.<br />Photo by Sergei Grits. Minsk. December 2010.</small></p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="453" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/73aef627.loukachenko.jpg" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/loukachenko.jpg" /></p>
<p><small>Shadows of Christmas decorations fall on the projection screen in the Minks nightclub, The Black Door, during a New Year’s speech of the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenka. The authorities proclaim that this photo “was deliberately shot from the viewpoint, in order to present the Head of state unattractively. The illustration offends the President of Belarus, belittles his authority and undermines confidence in him on the part of foreign states and citizens of the Republic of Belarus”. Photo by Dzmitry Kliapitski. Minsk. 31 décember 2010.</small></p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="812" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/2a6b9a6d.museum.jpg" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/museum.jpg" /></p>
<p><small>Identity. Personal exhibition of famous Belarusian artist, Barys Zaborau, has opened in the National Art Museum. <br />Photo by Viachaslau Tsuranau. Minsk, November 2010.&nbsp;</small></p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="471" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/dffb076d.danse.jpg" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/danse.jpg" /></p>
<p><small>The 23rd International festival of modern choregraphy<br />Photo by Sergei Grits. Viciebsk. November 2010</small>.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="453" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/6373ec14.bapteme.jpg" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/bapteme.jpg" /></p>
<p><small>People dip into the icy waters of Cnianskaje reservoir during the Orthodox Epiphany celebration. <br />Photo by Natallia Ablazhei. Minsk, January 2010.</small></p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="680" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/7251a1f2.squirrel.jpg" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/squirrel.jpg" /></p>
<p><small>From the series "Fake animals", dedicated to portraits of stuffed animals from museums and hunting exhibitions. <br />Photo by Andrei Liankevich. Minsk, 2010.&nbsp;</small></p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="455" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/da8814a7.horses.jpg" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/horses.jpg" /></p>
<p><small>Horses graze in a field <br />Photo by Alexander Vasukovich. Navasiolki village&nbsp; . October 2010.</small></p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="448" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/7791d0f0.14penitentiary_0.jpg" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/14penitentiary_0.jpg" /></p>
<p><small>Penitentiary colony. Women line up near the gate, waiting for the convoys to lead them to the tailor shop to work. <br />Photo by Viachaslau Tsuranau. Recyca, December 2007. <br /></small></p> </div>
      </div>
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feed_id: 120 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Fifteen minutes of online anonymity
uri: Fifteen-minutes-of-online-anonymity
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/fifteen-minutes-online-anonymity
content:
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          <div class="field-item even">Online Survival Kit</div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <p>Making sure that your communications and data are confidential is not easy. Many encryption tools are available but it can take ages to learn how to use them, to learn how to avoid leaving clues or tracks that will allow others to intercept a message or identify who sent it. So that you don’t have to spend the next three years training to become a security expert, <a href="http://jean-marc.manach.net/"><span class="s1">Jean-Marc Manach</span></a>, a journalist specialized in digital privacy and security, has an interesting alternative – how to have 15 minutes of online anonymity.<span class="s2"><br /> </span></p> </div>
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<div id="node-field-article-texte" class="field field-name-field-article-texte field-type-text-long field-label-hidden">
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          <div class="field-item even"> <p><em>Originally written in mid-2012 for France’s National Institute for Broadcasting (INA), the following article was updated and republished on Jean-Marc Manach’s blog with the title of <a hreflang="fr" href="http://bugbrother.blog.lemonde.fr/2013/01/31/comment-ne-pas-etre-espionne">How (not) to be the victim of (cyber-)espionage</a>. What applies one day on the Internet, does not always apply the next. The article aims to provide some advice and suggestions on how to establish a window of anonymity online. <strong>It is not an exhaustive guide</strong>. Readers are urged to verify the validity of the websites and services mentioned in this article.</em></p>
<h2><b>Fifteen minutes of online anonymity</b></h2>
<p>I have often written or translated instructions for Internet users on how to secure their online communications since 1999 whaen, as a journalist, I began trying to find out how to <a hreflang="fr" href="http://bugbrother.blog.lemonde.fr/2010/10/27/journalistes-protegez-vos-sources/">protect my sources</a>. And I came to realize that it is impossible for non-specialists to secure their computers in such a way as to prevent professionals from being able to get into them. Nonetheless, it is perfectly possible for them to create windows of confidentiality, to disappear for the duration of an online connection, to learn to communicate in a discreet, secure and stealthy manner, and to exchange files without being detected.</p>
<p>The KGB and CIA could not prevent each other’s spies from communicating with their sources, just as the FBI could not prevent Daniel Ellsberg from leaking the <a href="http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentagon_Papers">Pentagon Papers</a> and the NSA could not prevent WikiLeaks from shedding some transparency on US and international diplomacy. To paraphrase Andy Warhol, the key nowadays is how to get one’s <a hreflang="fr" href="http://www.internetactu.net/2010/03/09/dans-le-futur-chacun-aura-droit-a-son-quart-dheure-danonymat/">15 minutes of anonymity</a>. It is not only possible but also essential for journalism and for democracy, and it is not necessarily very complicated.</p>
<p>Whatever the type of computer, operating system or software you use, you can secure your communications – and therefore you sources &shy;– via the Internet. The methods and services mentioned below are not as secure as using <a href="article/sending-encrypted-emails-using-thunderbird-and-pgp">GnuPG</a>, but may prove useful if all you are seeking is a window, or 15 minutes, of anonymity. What they have in common is encryption of information at the browser level, before transmission to the website where it will be shared with the person or persons to whom you want to send it.</p>
<p>Several computer security specialists have recently <a href="http://paranoia.dubfire.net/2012/07/tech-journalists-stop-hyping-unproven.html">pointed out</a> the <a href="http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/08/wired_opinion_patrick_ball/all/">limits of such systems</a>, which are based on the concept of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-knowledge_proof">zero-knowledge proof</a>. Their security depends, <a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3871383">among other things</a>, on using computers and websites that have not already been hacked into. Given the technical skills needed to properly secure a computer, these services are probably best used only when your need to transmit something – a message, temporary password, article or photo – in a stealthy manner. And better still, if possible, you should use a dedicated computer for this (netbooks can be bought for €200), one that is connected to the Internet only for this purpose and is not used for any of your other activities, during which it could get infected by a Trojan or other form of malware.</p>
<h2>Secure chatting</h2>
<p><a href="https://crypto.cat/">CryptoCat</a>, the best known of these web services, was designed to allow you to chat and to simultaneously send .zip or image files of up to 600 kb in size, as with standard instant messaging software, but in a secure manner. In response to criticism, its developer decided to add an additional layer of security by allowing users to install CryptoCat as an extension in their browsers (<a href="https://www.google.com/intl/fr/chrome/browser/">Chrome</a> or <a href="https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/">Firefox</a>).</p>
<h2>File exchange</h2>
<p>You want to send or receive a file anonymously and securely?</p>
<p>The <em>dead letterbox</em> technique consists of using a webmail service of which the username and password are known by two (or more) people. Messages can be exchanged by leaving them in the Drafts folder. This way, you and another person can communicate with each other without ever actually sending each other emails.</p>
<p><a href="https://spideroak.com/">SpiderOak</a> and <a href="https://www.wuala.com/">Wuala</a> are “cloud” storage platforms that encrypt your data at the browser level before you send it. You must create an account linked to a secure email address.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.hushmail.com/">Hushmail.com</a> is an encrypted email service that emphasizes ease of use. There are also dozens of <a href="https://anonbox.net">AnonBox</a>, created by the famous German hackers of the <a hreflang="fr" href="http://owni.fr/2011/11/03/30-ans-de-bidouille/">Chaos Computer Club</a> (CCC), but remember to always use https and Tor when you connect to them.</p>
<p><a href="https://mail.riseup.net/">RiseUp</a> is an email service maintained by an activist community. The <a hreflang="fr" href="https://help.riseup.net/fr/%C3%A0-propos">originality of this service</a> is that it does not keep of any log or record of the IP addresses connecting to its servers. RiseUp also stores all email messages in an encrypted form.</p>
<p>Your can also use the <a href="http://www.hidemyass.com/upload/">Hide My Ass</a> file-sharing service, which is one of the many web proxies (or anonymizers) that are used to circumvent Internet censorship or to browse anonymously. For more information on this subject, see <a hreflang="fr" href="http://bugbrother.blog.lemonde.fr/2011/10/06/comment-contourner-la-censure-sur-internet-2/">How to circumvent Internet censorship</a> and <a hreflang="fr" href="http://bugbrother.blog.lemonde.fr/2011/10/06/comment-contourner-la-censure-sur-internet-2/">How to circumvent cyber-surveillance</a>.</p>
<h2>Confidential notes</h2>
<p><a href="https://noplaintext.com/">NoPlainText</a> and <a href="https://privnote.com/">PrivNote</a> (both accessible securely via https) allow you to create short memos that “self-destroy” as soon as they are read. PrivNote can send you an email alert when a memo is read. It is practical for sending a password or any short confidential message without having to use GnuPG. (The password should of course be temporary. Any password you are sent should always be changed. Passwords are never shared with third parties.)</p>
<p>These services cannot prevent an unauthorized third party from intercepting the link – and therefore the memo – before the intended recipient sees it. But they can, on the other hand, allow you to establish whether your channel of communication is being spied on. You just have to send an initial (anodyne) message and see whether or not your source receives it in order to known whether the channel is secure or compromised.</p>
<p><a href="http://sebsauvage.net/paste/">ZeroBin</a> uses the same principle but also allows you to programme the deletion of the memo (in 10 minutes, one hour, one day, one month, a year or never) and allows the other party to comment on it. <a href="https://cryptobin.org/">CryptoBin</a> allows the memo to be protected by a password, which adds another layer of security but requires sharing the password with your source, for which you could use CryptoCat or PrivNote. In order to add more layers of security, try if possible to combine these services and access them using <a href="article/improve-your-privacy-and-security-internet-using-torhtml.html">Tor</a> or an equivalent.</p>
<h2>Phone problems</h2>
<p>There is no really reliable way for communicating confidentially by mobile phone. To be very clear: <strong>NEVER use your mobile phone to call a source’s mobile phone if the source needs to be protected</strong> – see the recent <a hreflang="fr" href="http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2011/12/05/on-trouve-de-tout-dans-les-fadettes_1613356_3224.html">“phone records affair”</a> in France.</p>
<p>If you really have to phone your source, go to a public phone far from your office or use the mobile phone or landline of someone who has no direct contact with you. And call your source on a mobile phone or, preferably, landline with which he or she has no direct connection. Or use one of the techniques that have already been explained. And meanwhile, we should follow the development of <a href="http://www.whispersys.com/">Whisper Systems</a> encryption software, which does not work on all mobile phones and is still in Beta version.</p>
<p>Use of the increasingly popular Internet telephony software Skype should also be ruled out whenever possible. AFP came in for a lot of criticism when it reported in a dispatch that it interviewed a Syrian dissident via Skype in July 2012. Skype’s so-called “security” has repeatedly been violated since the French authorities advised against its use in 2005. It has since been revealed that Skype not only helps certain law enforcement and intelligence agencies to spy on users but also that booby-trapped versions of Skype have been created in order to enable identification of their users.</p>
<p>Do you want to phone your sources via the Internet? No problem, but use <a href="http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jitsi">Jitsi</a>, the “open-source Skype” <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2012/4/23/more_secrets_on_growing_state_surveillance">recommended</a> by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Appelbaum">Jacob Appelbaum</a>, a hacker and Tor developer who supports WikiLeaks and is therefore well up on source protection issues, or <a href="http://mumble.sourceforge.net/FAQ#Is_Mumble_encrypted.3F">Mumble</a>, which is mainly used by video gamers but which encrypts communications by default. The Telecomix hackers, who distinguished themselves by helping Arab Spring Internet users and cyber-dissidents to <a href="https://resources.telecomix.ceops.eu/syria/index.2.en.html">secure their telecommunications</a>, have set up two <a href="http://broadcast.telecomix.org/syria/news/eSUl3AtAG7/">secure servers</a> for communicating via Mumble.</p>
<h2>IRL</h2>
<p>Computer and digital security is a profession. If it is not your profession, operate on the assumption not only that you can easily be (or are being) monitored – ISPs keep records of all your Internet connections and Internet activity, while phone companies keeps records of all the numbers you call or call you – but also that someone could, without too much difficulty, actually be spying on you.</p>
<p>In other words, your preferred method of communication should be “IRL” (In Real Life) meetings, physical meetings in public places or the backrooms of cafés, like 20th century spies. Of course, the meetings can also be compromised if they have been set up by phone or email. It is an irony of history that in this technologically hyper-connected 21st century, we have invented no better way of protecting sources and professional confidentiality than old-fashioned paper mail, which is much less monitored and spied on than phone or Internet communications.</p>
<h2>Going further</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://cyphercat.eu/">Encrypt everything!</a> – a digital security software directory</li>
<li><a href="http://openpgp.vie-privee.org/">How to encrypt your email?</a> – the ABC of privacy protection</li>
<li><a href="http://free.korben.info/" hreflang="fr">Free.korben.info</a> – the open-source Internet wiki</li>
<li><a href="http://guide.boum.org/">The digital self-defence manual guide</a> – should be read and reread, on your own or shared with others. How to fine-tune the art of navigating the digital world’s troubled waters.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.howtobypassinternetcensorship.org">How to circumvent Internet censorship</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.bugbrother.com/security.tao.ca/index.html">Computer and Internet security and privacy</a> – anonymity etc</li>
<li><a href="http://jhack.info/wiki/doku.php?id=jhack1:protection_elementaire_des_sources/">Basic protection of sources</a> – by #JHack. Workshops, conferences and meetings between journalist, activists and hackers.</li>
<li><a href="https://securityinabox.org">Security in-a-box</a> – Digital security tools and strategies</li>
<li><a href="http://sebsauvage.net/safehex/" hreflang="fr">The basics</a> – for any Windows user connected to the Internet</li>
</ul>
<h2>About the author</h2>
<p>Jean-Marc Manach has been covering the rise of the “surveillance society” for nearly ten years, both as a journalist and as a defender of human rights, freedoms and privacy. He has participated in:</p>
<ul>
<li>The <a href="http://www.bigbrotherawards.eu.org/" hreflang="fr">Big Brother Awards</a>, which give “Orwell prizes” each year to those who have distinguished themselves by their violation of privacy.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.bugbrother.com/" hreflang="fr">Bugbrother.com</a> (to learn about making communications secure and protecting privacy).</li>
<li><a href="http://renseignementsgeneraux.net/" hreflang="fr">Renseignementsgeneraux.net</a> (to learn how to defend one’s rights against abuses committed by the police in the course of gathering information on the population).</li>
<li><a href="http://www.vie-privee.org/" hreflang="fr">Vie-privee.org</a> (for its <a href="http://listes.samizdat.net/sympa/info/actus_l">press review</a> on information technology and freedoms).</li>
</ul> </div>
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feed_id: 129 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Syria tightens grip on Internet
uri: Syria-tightens-grip-on-Internet
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/syria-tightens-grip-internet
content:
<div id="node-field-pays" class="field field-name-field-pays field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
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          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/geo-zone/syrie" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Syrie</a></div>
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<div id="node-field-thematique" class="field field-name-field-thematique field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
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          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/themes/politics-and-securtiy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Politics and Security</a></div>
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<div id="node-field-chapeau" class="field field-name-field-chapeau field-type-text-long field-label-hidden">
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          <div class="field-item even"> <p>Reporters Without Borders is publishing an analysis of the Syrian Internet network that was carried out on 22 May 2013. It shows that the Syrian authorities have installed more than 30 Blue Coat servers on their network. These servers are dedicated to intercepting communications and data circulating on the Internet.</p> </div>
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          <div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p lang="en-US"><a href="http://surveillance.rsf.org/blue-coat/">Blue Coat</a> is a US company specializing in interception software and hardware. Their products are based on technology that analyses the content of network packets. Called <a href="http://surveillance.rsf.org/lexique/#dpi"><em>Deep Packet Inspection</em></a>, the technology is used by many Internet Service providers to regulate network traffic. But it can also be used to analyse the browsing activities of individual Internet users, including their Twitter, YouTube and Facebook activities, and the content of their emails.</p>
<p lang="en-GB">Carried out by the Telecomix hactivist group, this network analysis has revealed the existence of <b>34 </b>new Blue Coat servers in Syria. Each server is identified by:</p>
<ul>
<li>an IP address: Nmap scan report for <b>188.160.1.189</b></li>
<li>the ports on which the servers are connected, in this case <b>port 80</b>, assigned to web traffic (http)</li>
<li>the server name, in this case <b>Blue Coat proxy server </b>or <b>Blue Coat PacketShaper 3500 firewall</b></li>
</ul>
<p lang="en-US">In 2012, Telecomix already revealed the presence <a href="http://surveillance.rsf.org/syrie/">15 Blue Coat servers on the Syrian Internet network</a>.</p>
<p lang="en-GB">Its latest report shows not only that Syria continues to acquire monitoring and interception equipment – the Syrian Internet shutdown on 7 May was probably used to install the new surveillance infrastructure – but also that Western companies continue to provide authoritarian regimes with dual-use technology.</p>
<p lang="en-US">On 12 March 2013, World Day Against Cyber-Censorship, Reporters Without Borders classified Blue Coat as one of the private-sector companies that are <i><a href="http://surveillance.rsf.org/category/societes-ennemis-internet/">“Enemies of the Internet</a>.”</i></p>
<pre>Nmap scan report for 188.160.1.52
Host is up (0.16s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for 188.160.1.54
Host is up (0.17s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for 188.160.1.60
Host is up (0.15s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for 188.160.1.62
Host is up (0.17s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for 188.160.1.161
Host is up (0.15s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for 188.160.1.162
Host is up (0.16s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for 188.160.1.163
Host is up (0.17s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for 188.160.1.164
Host is up (0.17s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for 188.160.1.165
Host is up (0.16s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for 188.160.1.166
Host is up (0.16s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for 188.160.1.167
Host is up (0.15s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for 188.160.1.168
Host is up (0.15s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for 188.160.1.169
Host is up (0.16s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for 188.160.1.170
Host is up (0.16s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for 188.160.1.172
Host is up (0.17s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for 188.160.1.173
Host is up (0.17s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for 188.160.1.174
Host is up (0.16s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for 188.160.1.175
Host is up (0.16s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for 188.160.1.184
Host is up (0.15s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for 188.160.1.185
Host is up (0.16s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for 188.160.1.186
Host is up (0.16s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for 188.160.1.187
Host is up (0.17s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for 188.160.1.188
Host is up (0.17s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for 188.160.1.189
Host is up (0.16s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for 188.160.1.190
Host is up (0.16s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for inet-ip-243.inet.sy (91.144.8.243)
Host is up (0.16s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE	VERSION
80/tcp open  http-proxy thttpd (Blue Coat PacketShaper 3500 firewall)
--
Nmap scan report for 82.137.217.16
Host is up (0.16s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for 82.137.217.17
Host is up (0.17s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for 82.137.217.18
Host is up (0.16s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for 82.137.217.19
Host is up (0.15s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for 82.137.217.20
Host is up (0.15s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for 82.137.217.21
Host is up (0.16s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for 82.137.217.22
Host is up (0.16s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server
--
Nmap scan report for 82.137.217.23
Host is up (0.17s latency).
PORT   STATE SERVICE VERSION
80/tcp open  http	Blue Coat proxy server</pre> </div>
      </div>
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feed_id: 132 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Tips for journalists visiting Iran
uri: Tips-for-journalists-visiting-Iran
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/tips-journalists-visiting-iran
content:
<div id="node-field-article-rubrique" class="field field-name-field-article-rubrique field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
    <div class="field-items">
          <div class="field-item even">Online Survival Kit</div>
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    <div class="field-items">
          <div class="field-item even"> <p>Many foreign journalists will be going to Tehran for the 14 June presidential election. Iran is one of the five countries named in a special Reporters Without Borders report on surveillance. Its Internet is subject to close surveillance when it is not disconnected or slowed down. We are posting a few tips that will help foreign journalists to protect the confidentiality of their data and communications.</p> </div>
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</div>
<div id="node-field-article-texte" class="field field-name-field-article-texte field-type-text-long field-label-hidden">
    <div class="field-items">
          <div class="field-item even"> <h2 class="western" lang="en-GB">Before leaving</h2>
<ul>
<li>If possible, travel with a virgin computer. Ideally, you should completely reinstall your operating system (Window, OS X or Linux).</li>
<li>If you need to take files with you on your computer, take only those that will be absolutely necessary while you are there and encrypt them using <a href="article/sending-encrypted-emails-using-thunderbird-and-pgp">PGP</a> or <a href="http://www.truecrypt.org/">TrueCrypt</a>, which is simpler to use.</li>
<li>Update your operating system and, while you are there, don’t accept any updates even if Windows ask you to.</li>
<li>Turn on your firewall (software that blocks unwanted incoming and outgoing connections, allowing your to ward off some kinds of intrusion).</li>
<li>Install antivirus software and make sure it is updated with the latest virus definitions.</li>
<li>Protect your computer and mobile phones with passwords. They will help to deny access to your work.</li>
<li>Encrypt your hard drive. Protecting your computer and mobile phone with passwords is pointless if you do not also encrypt your entire hard disk. In Windows, use <a href="http://windows.microsoft.com/fr-fr/windows7/products/features/bitlocker">Bitlocker</a> or <a href="http://www.truecrypt.org/">TrueCrypt</a>. In Apple Mac’s OS X, use <a href="http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4790">FileVault</a> (Preferences &gt; System &gt; Security).</li>
<li>Install a <a href="article/virtual-private-network-vpn">VPN</a>, which is an application that allows you to establish an encrypted communication tunnel between your computer and a server located outside the country. Using a VPN will make it extremely difficult to intercept your communications. It will also enable you to circumvent any blocking of websites and online services imposed by the authorities. You should install a VPN before you go because unofficial VPNs, meaning those not controlled by the regime, are banned in Iran and access to sites offering unofficial VPNs is blocked.</li>
</ul>
<h2 class="western" lang="en-GB">Measures to take while in Iran</h2>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB">Good “electronic hygiene” should be practiced to avoid installing any malware on your computer:</p>
<ul>
<li>Don’t click on links sent by a stranger.</li>
<li>Don’t download any software if you don’t know where it comes from.</li>
<li>Don’t accept contact requests from strangers on social networks.</li>
<li>Always identify the sender of an email before opening any attachments.</li>
<li>When you connect to the Internet, always use your previously installed VPN.</li>
<li>Secure your browsing by using the <a href="http://surveillance.rsf.org/en/glossary/#https">https</a> protocol. It prevents your website passwords from being visible on the network.</li>
<li>Don’t use Skype to sent sensitive information. <a href="http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/05/think-your-skype-messages-get-end-to-end-encryption-think-again/">The confidentiality of communication via Skype is not guaranteed</a> and, because of its widespread use, Skype is the target of a great deal of malware.</li>
<li>Encrypt your communications. Email is often intercepted in Iran. To guarantee the confidentiality of the messages you exchange with your editors, <a href="article/sending-encrypted-emails-using-thunderbird-and-pgp">encrypt your emails with PGP</a> or encrypt your chats with <a href="http://adium.im/">Adium</a> (Mac) or <a href="http://www.pidgin.im/">Pidgin</a> and the <a href="http://www.cypherpunks.ca/otr/">OTR</a> plugin (Windows, Linux).</li>
<li>The sending of an encrypted email is visible on the network. Although the regime may not be able to access the content of an encrypted email, it may know who sent it and to whom it was sent. Take care when you send an encrypted email. Take account of the situation of the person you are emailing.</li>
<li>Create one or two email address that are not associated with the media that you work for, and use only these addresses. As a result, your emails will be more discreet and will be more likely to pass unnoticed by the authorities.</li>
<li>You can also send your emails to a specially-created email address, from which they can be removed by a trusted third party with password access and forwarded to their final destination from another email address. This will protect the identity of the recipients of your emails while you are inside Iran.</li>
</ul>
<h2 class="western" lang="en-GB">In the event of Internet cuts or drastic slowdowns</h2>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB">It is not uncommon for the Internet to get much slower during demonstrations or in the run-up to major events. But Internet slowdowns or cuts do not last long. Keep filming or writing and store your work on an encrypted USB flash drive (encrypted with TrueCrypt, for example). A USB stick is easier to conceal and carry than a computer.</p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB">You can use a satellite connection to send your work but, be careful, because satellite transmissions are easily spotted. Don’t stay too long in the same place while transmitting files. Change location frequently. If you must sent big files, send them in stages. There is software than can break a big file down into smaller parts.</p>
<h2 class="western" lang="en-GB">Mobile phones</h2>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB">Your mobile phone <a href="article/practical-guide-protecting-your-identity-and-security-when-using-mobile-phones">contains a lot of important information</a>. Iran’s two main mobile phone service operators, <a href="http://www.mci.ir/web/en/home">Mobile Communication Company of Iran</a> and <a href="http://www.irancell.ir/">Irancell</a>, are controlled by the Revolutionary Guards. As well as data sent or received, you mobile phone or smartphone has a lot of information on the SIM card, its internal memory and any memory card that may be installed.</p>
<ul>
<li>Protect your phone with a password, if it has this feature. All SIM cards have a PIN installed by default. Change it and block access to your SIM card with this SIM code.</li>
<li>If your phone uses the Android operating system, you can use the many applications created by the <a href="https://guardianproject.info/">Guardian Project</a> and <a href="http://www.whispersystems.org/">Whispersys</a> to encrypt your browsing, chats, SMS and voice messages.</li>
<li>Turn off GPS in the apps that use it. But make sure that someone is kept abreast of your movements.</li>
<li>If possible, don’t keep any browsing history. If you are in country that monitors mobile phones or if you think you are under close surveillance because of your activities, it is better not to use a mobile phone to communicate. Use face-to-face meetings instead.</li>
<li>If you want to keep your phone with you even during sensitive meetings, remove the battery before going. Even without a SIM card, mobile phones send a lot of information (IMEI, IMSI or TMSI numbers and network cell) to nearby relay antennae that allows them to be located. Using IMSI catcher software, the authorities can intercept these signals and locate a previously identified SIM card holder. Unfortunately, a battery cannot be removed from an iPhone.</li>
</ul> </div>
      </div>
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feed_id: 136 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Local news sites blocked
uri: Local-news-sites-blocked
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/local-news-sites-blocked
content:
<div id="node-field-pays" class="field field-name-field-pays field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
    <div class="field-items">
          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/geo-zone/jordanie" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Jordanie</a></div>
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</div>
<div id="node-field-thematique" class="field field-name-field-thematique field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
    <div class="field-items">
          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/themes/society" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Society</a></div>
      </div>
</div>
<div id="node-field-chapeau" class="field field-name-field-chapeau field-type-text-long field-label-hidden">
    <div class="field-items">
          <div class="field-item even"> <p>Jordanian government blocks access to 291 news websites.<br />The memo from Fazey Shawabkeh, the head of the Press and Publications Department, to Mohamed Azzat Ta’ani, the head of the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, was short and to the point. Access to news websites that had not obtained a government licence must henceforth be blocked.</p> </div>
      </div>
</div>
<div id="node-body" class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
    <div class="field-items">
          <div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>Shawabkeh at first denied issuing the order but it was <a href="http://www.petranews.gov.jo/nepras/2013/Jun/02/12000.htm">confirmed</a> later the same day by the <a href="http://www.petranews.gov.jo/">government news agency Petra</a>, which quoted a statement by the Press and Publications Department giving its grounds for blocking the sites:<br /><br />"<em>The blockage was not meant to restrict freedoms. Is regulation and law enforcement and abidance a restriction? The ultimate goal of this action is to regulate the work of these websites and protect them, and not allow those outside the media profession to claim they are journalists and take the role of journalists, which is highly respected.</em>"<br /><br />Article 49 of the amended version of the 1998 Press and Publications Act requires all online publications to register with the authorities. When the latest amendments were published by royal decree in September 2012, <a href="http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/06/04/jordan-rescind-order-block-websites">many news sites refused to register</a> as a protest against what they regarded as a threat to their independence and freedom.<br /><br />When the Press and Publications Department issued its memo on 2 June, the <strong>Telecommunication Regulatory Commission</strong> immediately complied, instructing Jordan’s Internet Service Providers to block access to the <strong>291 sites</strong> that had not yet obtained a licence.<br /><br />Independent news websites expressing political views have grown in number and popularity in recent years. <em>Sarayanews</em>, one of the blocked sites, has more online readers that the leading pro-government daily newspapers such as <em>Al-Rai</em> and <em>Al-Dustour.</em><br /><br />The source of news and views that stray from the official line, these websites have become the one of the main bugbears for the government, which has repeatedly tried to control and censor online publications. Hence the latest version of the Press and Publications Act, adopted in September, and the decision to block the 291 sites.<br /><br />The decision came two weeks after the International Press Institute held its annual world congress in Amman from 19 to 21 May, during which Jordanian Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour praised the role played by the media and claimed that the protection of freedoms, including media freedom, was one of the priorities of his government’s ongoing reforms.<br /><br />The <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/06/jordan-takes-disappointing-turn-to">Electronic Frontier Foundation</a> said the Jordanian authorities seem to have deliberately waited until after the congress to block the websites.<br /><br />The ISPs are for the time being used domain names to block the sites (DNS blocking). So far, not all of the sites have been blocked and the IPSs may eventually use a more drastic form of blocking, such as IP blocking.<br />Reporters Without Borders wrote an <a href="http://en.rsf.org/jordan-letter-to-king-abdullah-about-18-06-2013,44791.html">open letter to King Abdullah</a> on 12 June asking him to lift the blocking on these websites.<br /><br />Below, we are posting the complete list of websites earmarked for blocking, Fazey Shawabkeh’s memo and the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission’s directive to the ISPs, ordering them to block the 291 listed websites. These documents <a href="http://7iber.com/2013/06/internet-blocking-begins-in-jordan/">were first published by 7iber.com</a>, and we thank them for their cooperation.<br /><br />Please <a href="contact">contact</a> us if you would like to help translate any of these documents.<br /><br /></p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="962" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/796a9fe8.1_0.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/1_0.png" /></p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="962" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/613b5cc3.2_0.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/2_0.png" /></p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="961" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/f95241db.3_copy.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/3_copy.png" /></p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="961" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/a162b756.4_copy.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/4_copy.png" /></p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="961" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/b84a2474.5_copy.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/5_copy.png" /></p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="961" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/48e25ccb.6_copy_0.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/6_copy_0.png" /></p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="961" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/cfcea11d.7_copy.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/7_copy.png" /></p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="961" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/abebb166.8_copy.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/8_copy.png" /></p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="961" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/c96c8ad3.9_copy.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/9_copy.png" /></p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="961" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/3f137c5e.10_copy.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/10_copy.png" /></p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="961" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/b15d5b12.11_copy.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/11_copy.png" /></p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="961" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/20d3b345.12_copy_0.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/12_copy_0.png" /></p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="961" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/261d4eae.13_copy_0.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/13_copy_0.png" /></p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="961" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/a3be303d.14_1.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/14_1.png" /></p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="961" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/60cd3be8.15_0.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/15_0.png" /></p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="961" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/1a05ce17.16_0.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/16_0.png" /></p> </div>
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feed_id: 146 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Courts censor Bettencourt recordings
uri: Courts-censor-Bettencourt-recordings
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/courts-censor-bettencourt-recordings
content:
<div id="node-field-pays" class="field field-name-field-pays field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
    <div class="field-items">
          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/geo-zone/france" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">France</a></div>
      </div>
</div>
<div id="node-field-thematique" class="field field-name-field-thematique field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
    <div class="field-items">
          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/themes/corruption-0" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Corruption</a></div>
      </div>
</div>
<div id="node-field-chapeau" class="field field-name-field-chapeau field-type-text-long field-label-hidden">
    <div class="field-items">
          <div class="field-item even"> <p>After finding them guilty of invading privacy, a Versailles appeal court ordered Mediapart and Le Point to purge their websites of all the recordings (and transcripts of the recordings) made by billionaire heiress Liliane Bettencourt’s butler in her home without her knowledge in 2009 and 2010. If Mediapart had not complied by midnight on 22 July, the deadline set by the court, it would have had to pay a fine of 10,000 euros a day. Nonetheless, this content, which exposed conflicts of interest and abusive requests for donations from Bettencourt, a major shareholder in the French cosmetics company L’Oreal, was of public interest. The importance of the suppressed content – more than 100 written, audio and video files – sets a dangerous precedent for freedom of information. News websites and human rights organizations including WeFightCensorship have decided to post this content online because they believe that, as the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights have established, a legitimate right to privacy should not automatically prevail over a legitimate right to information.</p> </div>
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<div id="node-body" class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
    <div class="field-items">
          <div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <h2 class="c2">An “affaire d’état”</h2>
<p class="c2">The “Bettencourt affair” began to make the headlines in 2007, when Liliane Bettencourt’s daughter set about trying to get Bettencourt declared a ward of court on the grounds those around her were exploiting her mental and physical frailty for personal gain. But what started out as a family affair quickly became an “affaire d’état.”</p>
<p class="c2">Recordings secretly made in her living room in 2009 and 2010 exposed dubious tax manoeuvres and links with politicians and judicial officials. What with secret funding of a political party, tax evasion, influence peddling, abuse of a person’s frailty, fraud and misuse of assets, the “Bettencourt affair” became a leading news story from the summer of 2010 onwards. <br /><br />The judicial case was transferred to Bordeaux, where it resulted in more than ten formal investigations, including an investigation into former President Nicolas Sarkozy on suspicion of exploiting Bettencourt’s frailty for personal gain.</p>
<h2 class="c2">Affair within the affair – the recordings</h2>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" lang="en-GB"><i>Mediapart </i>and <i>Le Point </i>published extracts from the secret recordings on 16 June 2010. The man responsible for them was the billionaire heiress’ butler, Pascal Bonnefoy, who wanted to provide evidence that advantage was being taken of his employer, then aged 86.</p>
<p class="c2">He handed the recordings over to Liliane Bettencourt’s daughter, Françoise, who in turn gave them to the Fraud Squad, which had been investigating suspected abuse of Bettencourt’s frailty since 2007.</p>
<p class="c2">Mediapart learned of their existence a few days later and, on the grounds that they contained information of public interest, decided to publish extracts that excluded “all allusions to personal privacy and intimacy.” Of more than 20 hours of recordings, Mediapart and Le Point published only one hour.</p>
<h2 class="c2">Court censorship and disproportionate sanctions</h2>
<p class="c2">The removal of the recordings from the Mediapart and Le Point websites is the result a court’s opinion on the relative importance of privacy and the right to information of public interest. In its 4 July decision, the Versailles appeal court argued that revealing information of public interest can never justify an invasion of privacy.</p>
<p class="c2">“<strong>The requirement to inform the public</strong> in a democratic society, specified in article 10 of the aforementioned convention [European Convention on Human Rights], which could have been satisfied by investigative and analytic reporting carried out under the right to confidentiality of sources,<strong> cannot be justified by the dissemination of recordings or even extracts of recordings that were obtained by violating the right to privacy</strong> as affirmed by article 8 of the same convention.”</p>
<p class="c2">This ruling violates media freedom and does not accord with the judicial precedents established by the European Court of Human rights. The ruling in <a href="media/83643af7.19990121_fressoz-roire_c_france.pdf" data-original-source="http://www.rtdh.eu/pdf/19990121_fressoz-roire_c_france.pdf">Fressoz and Roire v. France</a> established that revealing information of public interest can justify a violation of privacy, contrary to the Versailles appeal court’s ruling.</p>
<p class="c2">The Versailles appeal court ordered Mediapart and Le Point to remove all the extracts of the recordings, even <a href="http://www.courdecassation.fr/jurisprudence_2/chambre_criminelle_578/497_31_22097.html">those</a> <a href="http://www.courdecassation.fr/jurisprudence_2/chambre_criminelle_578/497_31_22097.html">that constituted evidence in other cases</a> and <a href="http://www.mediapart.fr/journal/france/140610/sarkozy-woerth-fraude-fiscale-les-secrets-voles-de-laffaire-bettencourt?onglet=full">allowed the public to learn of scandals involving leading politicians</a> such as then budget minister Eric Woerth and former President Nicolas Sarkozy.</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" lang="en-GB">The Versailles appeal court’s decision also contradicts other European case law such as <a href="http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/eng/pages/search.aspx?i=001-62477#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-62477%22]}">Vereniging Weekblad Bluf! v. The Netherlands</a> (§43 and §44), on the absence of any requirement to prevent the publication of information that has already been widely disseminated, and <a href="http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/fra/pages/search.aspx?i=001-105409#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-105409%22]}">Pinto Coelho v. Portugal</a> (§38) on the journalist’s right to produce evidence of his claims.</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" lang="en-GB">The ruling in <a href="http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/eng/pages/search.aspx?i=001-102129#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-102129%22]}">Público - Comunicação Social, S.A. and others v. Portugal</a> made it clear that draconian financial sanctions – such as 10,000 euros a day – tend to push journalists to censor themselves. The court ruled: “Such an award [of damages of 75,000 euros each against four persons] would inevitably be likely to deter journalists from contributing to public discussion of issues affecting the life of the community and was liable to hamper the media in performing their task as a purveyor of information and public watchdog.”</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" lang="en-GB">For all these reasons, WeFightCensorship is publishing the content censored by the French judicial system.</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" lang="en-GB">Download <a href="#forbidden-content">all the recordings and transcripts</a>.</p>
<h2>Listen to a selection of extracts:</h2>
<ol>
<li>
<p><audio tabindex="0" controls="controls" preload="auto" autobuffer=""> <source src="media/5d9a7386.raetat2.mp3" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/raetat2.mp3" /> <source src="media/248f6218.raetat2.ogg" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/raetat2.ogg" /> Download the <a href="media/5d9a7386.raetat2.mp3" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/raetat2.mp3">mp3 file</a> </audio></p>
<p title="date">This passage from the Bettencourt recordings reveals the links that existed at the time between Nicolas Sarkozy’s legal adviser, the manager of Liliane Bettencourt’s fortune, Patrice de Maistre, and then Nanterre prosecutor Philippe Courroye. It concerns a judicial decision in the dispute between Bettencourt and her daughter. There are grounds for thinking that the Elysée Palace and De Maistre may have learned of this decision more than a month before it became public.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><audio tabindex="0" controls="controls" preload="auto" autobuffer=""> <source src="media/3507aad5.etat7.mp3" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/etat7.mp3" /> <source src="media/839c8281.etat7.ogg" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/etat7.ogg" /> Download the <a href="media/3507aad5.etat7.mp3" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/etat7.mp3">mp3 file</a></audio></p>
<p>Cheques for three leading politicians are being signed. Liliane Bettencourt is giving 7,500 euros each to Eric Woerth, Nicolas Sarkozy and Valérie Pécresse (who at the time was a candidate for Paris mayor).</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><audio tabindex="0" controls="controls" preload="auto" autobuffer=""> <source src="media/303bf011.fisc3.mp3" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/fisc3.mp3" /> <source src="media/56c3811e.fisc3.ogg" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/fisc3.ogg" /><a href="media/303bf011.fisc3.mp3" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/fisc3.mp3">mp3 file</a></audio></p>
<p>In this extract, De Maistre explains to his employer, Liliane Bettencourt, that he must go to Switzerland to close her bank accounts “before Christmas” because, on 1 January, the French government could obtain information from the Swiss authorities about the accounts of French taxpayers who are tax exiles. He is ready to transfer money from Bettencourt’s Swiss accounts to Singapore, another tax haven. As a result of the Mediapart and Le Point revelations, Bettencourt will have to pay the French government 100 million euros in readjusted back taxes.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<h2>The Versailles appeal court decision of 4 July 2013:</h2>
<p class="c2">PDF :<a class="c4" href="media/f5500e2b.ArretVersailes-Bettencourt.pdf" data-original-source="http://www.mediapart.fr/files/ArretVersailes-Bettencourt.pdf"> </a><a class="c4" href="media/f5500e2b.ArretVersailes-Bettencourt.pdf" data-original-source="http://www.mediapart.fr/files/ArretVersailes-Bettencourt.pdf">http://www.mediapart.fr/files/ArretVersailes-Bettencourt.pdf</a></p>
<h2 class="c2">Preceding court decisions</h2>
<h3>First decision: Paris high court</h3>
<p class="c2">Liliane Bettencourt and her financial adviser, Patrice de Maistre, responded to the publication of the recordings by suing Mediapart and Le Point for violation of privacy on 22 June 2010. A Paris high court judge ruled on 1 July 2010 that the violation of privacy had to be defined by the content of the recordings and not just by the way they were obtained. Finding that the content was of legitimate public interest, the judge referred to article 11 of the <a href="http://www.textes.justice.gouv.fr/textes-fondamentaux-10086/droits-de-lhomme-et-libertes-fondamentales-10087/declaration-des-droits-de-lhomme-et-du-citoyen-de-1789-10116.html">Declaration of Human Rights and the Citizen</a> and article 10 of the <a href="media/cde49156.Convention_FRA.pdf" data-original-source="http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Convention_FRA.pdf">European Convention on Human Rights</a> expressing the need to reconcile freedom of expression and information with respect for privacy. He concluded that removing the recordings would constitute “an act of censorship contrary to the public interest.”</p>
<p class="c2">PDF :<a class="c4" href="media/8d360302.Ordonnance_Tribunal_de_Paris_0.pdf" data-original-source="http://www.mediapart.fr/files/Ordonnance_Tribunal_de_Paris_0.pdf"> </a><a class="c4" href="media/8d360302.Ordonnance_Tribunal_de_Paris_0.pdf" data-original-source="http://www.mediapart.fr/files/Ordonnance_Tribunal_de_Paris_0.pdf">http://www.mediapart.fr/files/Ordonnance_Tribunal_de_Paris_0.pdf</a></p>
<h3 class="c2">Second decision: Paris appeal court</h3>
<p>A few days later, on 23 July, a Paris appeal court upheld the high court judge’s decision, finding that the violation of privacy was minimal because the content published by Mediapart and Le Point concerned the management of Liliane Bettencourt’s assets and Patrice de Maistre’s professional activities. Mediapart had selected the content posted in order not to violate Bettencourt’s privacy.</p>
<p class="c2">PDF :<a class="c4" href="media/fe675b21.Arret_Cour_dAppel_de_Paris_0.pdf" data-original-source="http://www.mediapart.fr/files/Arret_Cour_dAppel_de_Paris_0.pdf"> </a><a class="c4" href="media/fe675b21.Arret_Cour_dAppel_de_Paris_0.pdf" data-original-source="http://www.mediapart.fr/files/Arret_Cour_dAppel_de_Paris_0.pdf">http://www.mediapart.fr/files/Arret_Cour_dAppel_de_Paris_0.pdf</a></p>
<h3 class="c2">Third decision: Court of Cassation</h3>
<p class="c2">The Court of Cassation quashed the appeal court’s decision on 6 October 2011 and transferred the case to the Versailles appeal court. The Court of Cassation found that recording private or confidential conversations without consent constituted a violation privacy that was not justified by the public right to information.</p>
<p class="c2">PDF :<a class="c4" href="http://www.courdecassation.fr/jurisprudence_2/premiere_chambre_civile_568/898_6_21184.html"> </a><a class="c4" href="http://www.courdecassation.fr/jurisprudence_2/premiere_chambre_civile_568/898_6_21184.html">http://www.courdecassation.fr/jurisprudence_2/premiere_chambre_civile_568/898_6_21184.html</a></p> </div>
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feed_id: 148 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Zambia: offensive against independent news websites
uri: Zambia-offensive-against-independent-news-websites
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/zambia-offensive-against-independent-news-websites
content:
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          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/geo-zone/zambia" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Zambia</a></div>
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          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/themes/politics-and-securtiy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Politics and Security</a></div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <p>During the 2011 presidential election campaign, Patriotic Front leader Michael Sata, the opposition challenger, promised to rid the Zambian media of government interference if elected. It was an attractive promise in a country with just three national dailies and little tradition of media pluralism. Nonetheless, the situation has not improved since Sata’s September 2011 election victory. On the contrary, the Zambian authorities are currently waging a witchhunt against journalists and dealing a series of blows to independent news reporting.</p> </div>
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          <div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <h2 class="western" lang="en-GB">Website blocking and arrests</h2>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB">The old saying that “promises only mean something to those who believe them” has been well and truly confirmed in Zambia during the past two months. In June and July, the authorities blocked two news websites and arrested three journalists presumed to have been working for them or providing them with information.</p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB">On 24 June, the government blocked access to <i><a href="http://zambianwatchdog.com">Zambian Watchdog</a></i>, an independent news website that is based abroad and is critical of the current government. Its technicians reacted immediately by moving the site to a new domain name (<a href="http://zwd.cums.in">http://zwd.cums.in</a>) and Reporters Without Borders created a <a href="http://en.rsf.org/rwb-mirror-censorship-04-09-2012,41825.html">mirror of the site</a>. Despite these measures, <i>Zambian Watchdog</i> is still inaccessible from within Zambia.</p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB">The authorities also arrested <a href="http://en.rsf.org/zambie-another-news-website-blocked-23-07-2013,44932.html">three of <i>Zambian Watchdog</i>’s presumed contributors</a>: Thomas Zyambo, Clayson Hamasaka and Wilson Pondamali.</p>
<ul>
<li>Hamasaka is charged with possessing obscene material.</li>
<li>Zyambo was freed provisionally after 48 hours in detention. He is facing up to seven years in prison on charges of sedition and “possession of seditious material with intent to publish.”</li>
<li>Pondamali is facing a possible two-year jail term on a charge of “unlawful possession of a restricted military pamphlet.”</li>
</ul>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB">It was the turn of another independent news website, <a href="http://zambiareports.com"><i>Zambia Reports</i></a>, to disappear from the Zambian Internet on 16 July. Its staff received no explanation for this latest act of censorship. The blocking of the site was all the more surprising because in March 2012 the site agreed to a request from a member of the government to remove an article despite being under no legal obligation to do so.</p>
<h2 class="western" lang="en-GB">Rampant surveillance</h2>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB">This recent wave of arrests and website censorship is the culmination of a new policy of intrusive surveillance in Zambia.</p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB">In September 2012, the Zambia Information and Communication Technology Agency (ZICTA) announced that it was implementing a requirement under the 2009 Information and Communication Technologies Act for <a href="http://flavafm.co.zm/2012/08/30/zicta-commences-registration-of-sim-cards/">all mobile phone users to register with their operators</a>.</p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB">Each client now had to provide their name, the numbers of their national registration card and driver’s license (for Zambian subscribers), or passport and work permit number (for non-Zambian subscribers), their postal address, their email address and their SIM serial number.</p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB">The agency said <a href="http://advocacy.globalvoicesonline.org/2012/11/30/zambia-sim-registration-is-for-security-reasons/">the sole aim was to combat criminality</a> but <i>Zambian Watchdog </i>insisted that “the secret service also known as Office of the President (OP)” was <a href="http://zwd.cums.in/zambians-boycott-sim-card-registration/">collecting all the data in order to identify government opponents</a>.</p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB">The new surveillance measures are not limited to mobile phones. The NGO Global Voices reported in February that the Zambian government was working with Chinese specialists to install a <a href="http://advocacy.globalvoicesonline.org/2013/02/23/zambia-chinese-experts-to-monitor-internet/">system of Internet surveillance and control</a>. It quoted an anonymous <i>Zambian Watchdog</i> source as saying:</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB">They have already started their work (…) They have been visiting service providers so as to understand the topology of the network. For those who may not know, [this means] appreciating the network architecture, things like where the servers are so that they know [where] to install their interception devices.</p>
</blockquote>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB">The blocking of <i>Zambia Reports</i> and <i>Zambian Watchdog</i> is clear evidence that the new control devices are now in place. One of the security experts in charge of <i>Zambian Watchdog</i>’s website hosting said it was obvious from the way the Zambian authorities responded to the attempts to bypass the blocking that <a href="https://ooni.torproject.org/zambia-a-country-under-deep-packet-inspection.html">they were using filtering methods based on Deep Packet Inspection</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB">After twelve hours we could confirm that malicious traffic was not generated by the readers but was actively injected into the network when a reader was requesting content from the website <a href="http://www.zambianwatchdog.com">www.zambianwatchdog.com</a> and that this behaviour could only be explained by the presence of Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) equipment inside Zambia.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2 class="western" lang="en-GB">Blurring the lines between government and media</h2>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB">The surveillance measures have been accompanied by pressure on the mainstream media. Shortly after Sata was installed as president, a dozen journalists with <i>The Post Newspaper</i>, one of the national dailies, were offered government jobs and the pay to go with it. One of <i>The Post</i>’s journalists told <i>Zambia Reports</i>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB">We are living in fear because we don’t know whether to continue debriefing our bosses who in return report us to our government sources. What we’ve now resorted to is self-censorship; we kill these stories the moment we realize they implicate government officials.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2 class="western" lang="en-GB">Posts</h2>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB">We are posting two <i>Zambia Reports </i>articles that were published a year apart (<a href="#forbidden-content">available as PDF files</a>). The first is the most recent one. Entitled “<a href="http://zambiareports.com/2013/07/25/zambian-government-requested-to-stop-blocking-access-to-news-websites/">Zambia Requested to Stop Blocking Access to Websites</a>” and published on 25 July 2013, it is an open letter to the information ministry from <i>Zambia Reports </i>in response to the blocking of its website.</p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB">It asks the ministry to explain the blocking. It calls for a National Assembly enquiry into online censorship. And it calls for the unblocking of <i>Zambia Reports </i>and all the other the other blocked sites. It also mentions Zambia’s use of Chinese help with installing an Internet surveillance system.</p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB">We are posting it here so that the Zambian authorities can read it (because <i>Zambia Reports </i>is still blocked within Zambia) and so that they can resolve what is perhaps no more than a misunderstanding.</p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB">The second article, entitled “<a href="http://zambiareports.com/2012/07/25/patriotic-front-heads-toward-confrontation-with-online-media/">Patriotic Front Heads Toward Confrontation with Online Media</a>” and published on 25 July 2012, describes the decline in freedom of information in Zambia. Correctly foreseeing what lay ahead, the author concluded:</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB">Despite a very low Internet penetration rate of just ten per cent, there are many people who fear that the government is determined to silence these Internet publications, depriving opponents of the ruling party of a voice to communicate their positions.</p>
</blockquote> </div>
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feed_id: 160 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Wave of dismissals after Gezi Park protests
uri: Wave-of-dismissals-after-Gezi-Park-protests
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/wave-dismissals-after-gezi-park-protests
content:
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          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/geo-zone/turkey" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Turkey</a></div>
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          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/themes/politics-and-securtiy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Politics and Security</a></div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <p>The conservative Turkish daily <em>Sabah</em> fired well-known journalist Yavuz Baydar as its ombudsman on 23 July after refusing to print his last two commentaries. So Baydar, who held the position for many years, joined the long list of leading journalists to have been dismissed or forced to resign from prominent Turkish media. The liberal daily <em>Milliyet</em> fired its editor, Derya Sazak, five days later and then its well-known columnist, Can Dündar, two days after that.</p> </div>
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          <div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>WeFightCensorship is posting the first of the two commentaries by Baydar that <em>Sabah</em> censored. Entitled “Dangers of swimming in turbulent waters,” it criticizes the way <a href="http://en.rsf.org/turkey-climate-of-hostility-towards-news-20-06-2013,44825.html">some Turkish media demonized the international media</a> for their coverage of the “Occupy Gezi” protests. It urges them to halt the attacks and calls for solidarity among journalists.<br /><br />The commentary was sent to <em>Sabah</em>’s editors on 24 June but, instead of publishing it, <em>Sabah</em> editor-in-chief Erdal Safak ran a scathing editorial about Baydar, who was very upset. He took several days off and wrote an op-ed piece blaming media owners for the self-censorship now widespread in Turkey. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/21/opinion/sunday/in-turkey-media-bosses-are-undermining-democracy.html?pagewanted=all&amp;_r=0">The <em>New York Times</em> published it on 19 July</a>. When he went back to work at <em>Sabah</em>, he offered another commentary on relations between the ombudsman and the editor-in-chief. It too was never published.</p>
<h2>Gezi Park highlights self-censorship</h2>
<p>The demonstrations that began being held in Istanbul’s Gezi Park in late May to defend the park from the threat of demolition quickly grew into a national protest movement against the Erdogan government’s authoritarian tendencies. The protests were unprecedented in their scale and ability to transcend Turkish society’s deep rifts, and the authorities responded by criminalizing them and using force to disperse them.<br /><br />Sometimes attacked by demonstrators,<a href="http://en.rsf.org/turquie-mounting-police-violence-against-17-06-2013,44808.html"> reporters were also the victims of systematic violence and arrests by the police</a>. Outspoken journalists and social network users <a href="http://en.rsf.org/turkey-climate-of-hostility-towards-news-20-06-2013,44825.html">were branded as the Trojan horses of an international conspiracy to bring down the government</a>.<br /><br />The Turkish Union of Journalists (TGS) <a href="http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail_getNewsById.action;jsessionid=2016A93FD502EFF3A56B351673037BB0?newsId=321554&amp;columnistId=0">said that at least 22 journalists were fired during the protests and 37 were driven to resign</a>. Some journalists reported that their editors had censored articles. <br /><br />The Islamist daily <em>Yeni Safak</em>, for example, refused to publish an article by Isin Eliçin, entitled “External forces and Mehmet Ali Alabora,” in which she criticized the campaign of intimidation and disinformation that her newspaper had been waging since 10 June against Alabora, an actor who had expressed support for the demonstrators on Twitter. He was threatened after <em>Yeni Safak</em> portrayed him as one of the leaders of a “conspiracy designed to bring down the government.”<br /><br />Six journalists resigned together from +1, a new privately-owned TV station, on 11 July, accusing the owner of interfering in its editorial policies.<br /><br />Although exacerbated by the polarization resulting from the Gezi Park protests, this tendency is not new. There has been an increase in high-profile dismissals and resignations of leading journalists in recent years. The daily <em>Aksam</em>’s staff were “reined in” after a change of ownership in June 2013. <em>Milliyet</em> columnist Hasan Cemal was forced to resign in March over a controversial article on the Kurdish issue. Ahmet Altan had to resign from Taraf in December 2012. Aysenur Arslan was fired from <em>CNN Türk</em>, Andrew Finkel from <em>Today’s Zaman</em>, Banu Güven from <em>NTV</em>, Ece Temelkuran from<em> Haber Türk</em> and Mehmet Altan from <em>Star</em>. Some little-known journalists have meanwhile enjoyed meteoric promotions.<br /><br />Although politicized, the Turkish media have the merit of being very diverse. But that may not last much longer. There are no safeguards that prevent media owners from meddling in the editorial independence of their staff. The vulnerability of their staff is increased by the fact that most newspapers are nowadays owned by big holdings that are active in such sectors as construction, finance and telecommunications &shy;– sectors in which winning state contracts is crucial.<br /><br />As a result, it has become harder and harder over the years for Turkish business journalists to do in-depth investigative reporting. And to protect their business interests in the most profitable sectors, some media owners exercise all their influence to tone down their media’s criticism of the government.<br /><br />The scale of the growing self-censorship trend was seen when many leading Turkish media ignored the Gezi Park protests for the first few days. The fact that <em>CNN Türk</em> broadcast a wildlife programme at the height of the clashes in Taksim Square on 31 May drew so much comment that the photo of a penguin quickly came to symbolize media connivance with the government. Another 24-hour news channel, <em>NTV</em>, had to apologize to its viewers for failing in its duty to report the news.<br /><br />The contrast between the initial silence from leading Turkish media and the live coverage that the protests received from leading international TV broadcasters resulted in a big surge in the latter’s viewer ratings in Turkey. But it also elicited fierce hostility from government officials and pro-government media, which accused the international media of “disproportionate” and “biased” coverage.</p>
<h2>Anti-foreign media hysteria</h2>
<p>In speech after speech, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan <a href="http://www.yesilgazete.org/blog/2013/06/07/defiant-erdogan-returns-from-africa/">portrayed</a> the demonstrators as “vandals” and “fringe elements” acting at the behest of terrorist organizations and international speculators. <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/world/erdogan-vents-spleen-on-foreign-media-20130617-2oemh.html">He also targeted</a><em> CNN</em>, the <em>BBC</em> and <em>Reuters</em>. “You have been fabricating false information for days,” <a href="http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/police-lock-down-taksim-as-pm-erdogan-shows-off-in-istanbul.aspx?pageID=238&amp;nID=48921&amp;NewsCatID=338">he said at a meeting on 16 July</a>. “But you stand alone with your lies. This is not the nation whose image you have projected to the world.”<br /><br />Some of the Turkish media quickly followed the prime minister’s lead, accusing the international media of deliberately orchestrating a campaign of disinformation against Turkey with the aim of besmirching its image or even bringing the government down. The climate of mistrust was extreme and worse was to follow.<br /><br />The daily newspaper <em>Takvim</em> ran a fake interview with well-known <em>CNN</em> anchor Christiane Amanpour on its front-page on 18 June. Headlined “Dirty confession,” the bogus interview had Amanpour confess that <em>CNN</em> had slanted its coverage of Turkey’s protests “for money” and “under pressure from international lobbies.”<br />&nbsp;<br />Ten days later, Takvim went so far as to file a complaint against CNN and Amanpour, accusing them of denigrating state institutions and using their coverage of the protests and “false news” to stir up hatred within the population. At the same time, a hostile campaign launched by Ankara’s mayor on Twitter against <em>BBC</em> correspondent Selin Girit set media and social networks ablaze and Girit found herself accused of being a British spy.</p> </div>
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feed_id: 165 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Using TrueCrypt to protect your data
uri: Using-TrueCrypt-to-protect-your-data
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/using-truecrypt-protect-your-data
content:
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          <div class="field-item even">Online Survival Kit</div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <p>TrueCrypt is a software application that allows you to encrypt a single file, an entire partition on a hard disk or a storage device such as a USB flash drive. Encrypting data makes information inaccessible to an unauthorized third party. If your computer (or your USB flash drive) is lost or stolen, no one can access the encrypted data without knowing the password you set.</p> </div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <h2>The principle</h2>
<p>This tutorial explains how to create a TrueCrypt volume (or container) that encrypts all the files contained within it. This container or volume can be on a hard disk, a USB flash drive, a memory card and so on.</p>
<p>To understand how it works, it helps to compare a TrueCrypt volume or container to a safe. Each time you want to encrypt a file, you open the TrueCrypt volume, move the file into the volume, and then close the volume. The file is then encrypted and protected.</p>
<h2 class="sectionedit3" id="before_starting">Before starting</h2>
<p>Before starting, <a href="http://www.truaecrypt.org/downloads" class="urlextern" title="http://www.truecrypt.org/downloads" rel="nofollow">download</a> and install TrueCrypt on your computer. TrueCrypt is free, open-source software available for Windows, Mac and Linux. As a TrueCrypt volume is protected by a password, you must now:</p>
<ul>
<li class="level1">Create a strong password: a sequence of letters and numbers of your choosing (not a quote or a line from a film), a random password. Something long and complicated that cannot be found in a dictionary.</li>
<li class="level1">Remember your password. If you forget it, you will not be able to recover the data in your TrueCrypt volume.</li>
<li class="level1">Don’t write your password down anywhere. The best password is useless if someone can find it… stuck to your keyboard, for example.</li>
</ul>
<h2 class="sectionedit4" id="create_the_volume">Create the volume</h2>
<p>To create an encrypted volume, launch the TrueCrypt application and click on the Create Volume button.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="489" width="569" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/ed70eec8.tc1.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/tc1.png" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>You are presented with a choice between three options. The first is to create an encrypted file container, the second is to create an encrypted non-system partition and the third is to encrypt a system partition. Select the first option, Create an encrypted file container, and click on Next.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="369" width="606" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/006e4fb5.tc2.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/tc2.png" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Now you can choose between creating a standard encrypted volume and a hidden encrypted volume (we will explain that later). Click on the first option, Standard TrueCrypt volume, and then click on Next.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="369" width="606" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/681b7a3b.tc3.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/tc3.png" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>You must now choose the location where you want to create your encrypted volume. It can be located in a folder on your computer’s hard disk, in an external storage device (such as a USB flash drive, an external disk drive or NAS device) or in an online storage device. Click on Select File to choose a location.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="369" width="606" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/5bbe6e84.tc4.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/tc4.png" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>In the file selector window that opens, choose a location, give a file name to the volume you are going to create (you may, if you want, give it an explicit name such as “My Photos.tc” or “Encrypted Data.tc”). And then click on Save.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="480" width="625" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/e8848555.tc5.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/tc5.png" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The file name and full path you have chosen are displayed in the Volume Location field. Click on Next.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="369" width="606" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/6a6575b9.tc6.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/tc6.png" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>In the next window, choose AES, the default encryption algorithm. <br />After selecting the desired encryption algorithm, there is a second choice, the hash algorithm. The hash transforms your password into irreversible code. If you don’t know which to choose, select SHA-512 (also used by US governmental organizations). After making your choice, click on Next.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="369" width="606" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/cdaac2bd.tc7.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/tc7.png" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Specify the size of the volume you want to create. The sizes are expressed in KB, MB and GB, the abbreviations of kilobyte, megabyte and gigabyte (1 GB = 1,000 MB = 1,000,000 KB). If you are not sure how space you need, here are some average file sizes:</p>
<ul>
<li class="level1">A Word file: 200 KB</li>
<li class="level1">A photo (taken with a camera): 1 MB</li>
<li class="level1">A sound file (MP3): 4 MB</li>
<li class="level1">A film (encoded in DivX): 700 MB.</li>
</ul>
<p>Nowadays, the hard drive capacity of the average laptop ranges from 160 GB to 320 GB, while USB flash drives range from 2 GB to 16 GB in size. After specifying the size of your volume, click on Next.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="369" width="606" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/65e16a2f.tc9.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/tc9.png" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>You must now set the password that you will use to encrypt and decrypt your data. You are advised to choose one with at least 20 characters. You can choose a phrase that will be easier for you to remember, or you can use a random sequence of characters (which is harder to crack). If you opt for&nbsp; a phrase, it shoud not be a known one (such as a quote, a line from a film or a song title).</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="369" width="606" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/91216662.tc26.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/tc26.png" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>TrueCrypt does not let you use accented letters (such as é à ï ô or ù) in a password. If you want a phrase with accented letters as your password, use the non-accented equivalents. You can use symbols and punctuation marks to make the password more difficult. After choosing your password, click on Next.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="280" width="486" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/f416aa5f.tc11.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/tc11.png" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Optional: This window will only appear if you have chosen to create a volume of more than 4,096 MB (4 GB) in size. The FAT32 file system limits the size to 4,096 MB. For anything bigger, choose Microsoft’s NTFS format. If you have limited understanding of computers, select No. Then click on Next.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="369" width="606" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/5015b7a2.tc27.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/tc27.png" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The TrueCrypt container is now going to be created. If you don’t know what the options in this screen refer to, keep the defaults. We advise experienced users against checking the Dynamic option. It allows the TrueCrypt volume to increase in size dynamically (according to storage needs) but poses a security problem inasmuch as it lets any attacker know the real size of the stored data and poses a problem for plausible deniability of a hidden volume. Your are now going to format the volume. The programme fills the container’s unused space with random data. Click on Format to start the formatting.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="369" width="606" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/792710a5.tc12.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/tc12.png" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>This can take a long time, depending on the size of the volume, the speed of the processor and the performance characteristics of the medium in which it is being created.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="369" width="606" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/b0a785db.tc13.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/tc13.png" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Congratulations. You have just created your encrypted volume. To finish, click on Exit.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="369" width="606" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/5cbdaad6.tc15.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/tc15.png" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2 class="sectionedit5" id="opening_the_encrypted_volume">Opening the encrypted volume</h2>
<p>To access your data, click on Select file.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="489" width="569" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/3197d4bc.tc16.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/tc16.png" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Select the encrypted volume where it has been saved and then click on Open.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="480" width="625" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/4d6d0e43.tc17.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/tc17.png" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>You an also access the encrypted volume by double-clicking on it in File Explorer.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="560" width="800" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/c5ef6ba0.tc22.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/tc22.png" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Your encrypted volume’s filename and path appears in the Volume field. From the list of virtual drive letters, select the drive letter that you will use to access your encrypted data (usually the first one will do). Click on the Mount button.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="489" width="569" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/b347d599.tc18.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/tc18.png" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Enter the password you set when you created the TrueCrypt volume and then click on OK.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="140" width="426" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/c5506cc8.tc19.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/tc19.png" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The encrypted volume is now “mounted” as a standard drive that is accessible from within File Explorer. You can now access the content of your encrypted volume directly from within File Explorer by double-clicking on the drive with the letter you chose, or by clicking on the drive and selecting Open.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="489" width="569" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/f3765f2e.tc20.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/tc20.png" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2 class="sectionedit6" id="using_the_encrypted_volume">Using the encrypted volume</h2>
<p>We are going to encrypt a file on our hard disk: a photo. It is currently in the Pictures folder. After selecting it, we “cut” it so that it will no longer be available in unencrypted form in its original position.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="560" width="800" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/fd4abc5a.tc23.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/tc23.png" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Once we are located in the mounted TrueCrypt volume, we “paste” it. It is now safely in our encrypted volume. Our image and all the files that we henceforth move to this volume will automatically be encrypted. The password that was set when the volume was created will be necessary to access them.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="560" width="800" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/575d0568.tc24.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/tc24.png" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Once the files have been moved to the digital safe (the mounted TrueCrypt volume), it must be closed again by means of an operation called “dismounting.” (It is automatically closed if the computer is turned off.) To do this, select the volume in the list and then click on the Dismount button. You can also just click on the Dismount all button.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="489" width="569" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/f3765f2e.tc20.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/tc20.png" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2 class="sectionedit7" id="truecrypt_and_plausible_deniability">TrueCrypt and plausible deniability</h2>
<p>TrueCrypt offers the possibility of creating a hidden volume for the eventuality that you are forced to surrender your password. It is the principle of the bag with a double bottom or, in cryptography, <strong>plausible deniability</strong>.</p>
<p>Instead of creating a single encrypted volume, you can use TrueCrypt to create two, an outer volume and a hidden second volume within it. Each volume opens with different passwords. The outer one is just a decoy. The really confidential data is inside the inner volume. Even if you reveal the password to the outer volume, it will not provide access to the inner volume, whose existence cannot be detected. It is impossible to know if space encrypted by TrueCrypt contains one or two volumes.</p>
<p>To create a hidden volume, start as you would for creating a regular volume:</p>
<p>Click on the Create Volume button</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="489" width="569" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/ed70eec8.tc1.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/tc1.png" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Select Create an encrypted file container and then click on Next.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="369" width="606" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/006e4fb5.tc2.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/tc2.png" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>You now have the choice between creating a Standard TrueCrypt volume and a Hidden TrueCrypt volume. Click on the latter and then click on Next.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="369" width="606" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/b431c06f.tc28.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/tc28.png" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The procedure is much the same as the one described earlier, except that you create two volumes, first the external one and then the hidden inner one, each with different passwords.</p>
<p>There are several drawbacks to using a hidden volume:</p>
<ul>
<li class="level1">It results in a loss of storage space</li>
<li class="level1">You have to remember an additional password</li>
<li class="level1">If you created the hidden volume some time ago and have not touched the partition since then, your adversary may, if he knows what he is looking for, be alerted to its existence by the date that a file was last modified.</li>
</ul>
<p>There are other ways to conceal data. It is possible, for example, to <a href="http://keyj.emphy.de/real-steganography-with-truecrypt/" class="urlextern" title="http://keyj.emphy.de/real-steganography-with-truecrypt/" rel="nofollow">conceal a TrueCrypt container within video files</a>. This is less easy to execute but offers better camouflage.</p>
<p>Original article published here: <a href="http://wiki.korben.info/truecrypt" class="urlextern" title="http://wiki.korben.info/truecrypt" rel="nofollow">http://wiki.korben.info/truecrypt</a> (in french).</p> </div>
      </div>
</div>


feed_id: 167 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Digital security, the basics
uri: Digital-security-the-basics
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/digital-security-basics
content:
<div id="node-field-article-rubrique" class="field field-name-field-article-rubrique field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
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          <div class="field-item even">Online Survival Kit</div>
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    <div class="field-items">
          <div class="field-item even"> <p>&nbsp;Before you even think about making your computer secure or installing software for encrypting communications or data, you should adopt some good habits by following these common sense tips to help you avoid having your email account or computer hacked. You don't need to be an IT specialist to follow these tips.</p> </div>
      </div>
</div>
<div id="node-field-article-texte" class="field field-name-field-article-texte field-type-text-long field-label-hidden">
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          <div class="field-item even"> <h2 class="level2">Between your chair and your keyboard</h2>
<ul>
<li class="level1">Avoid watchful eyes:
<ul>
<li class="level2">Avoid working with your back to a window</li>
<li class="level2">When you are travelling on a plane or train, attach a <a href="http://www.businesstravel.fr/20071031119/high-tech/actu-high-tech/le-filtre-ecran-de-targus-protege-des-regards-indiscrets.html" class="urlextern" title="http://www.businesstravel.fr/20071031119/high-tech/actu-high-tech/le-filtre-ecran-de-targus-protege-des-regards-indiscrets.html" rel="nofollow">privacy filter</a> to your screen. A privacy filter is a clear film which restricts side-on viewing when applied to your screen. Only the person sitting in front of it (you) can see the screen.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="level1">When travelling, try to keep your equipment with you as much as possible. This prevents anyone from being able to obtain files from your computer or being able to introduce a Trojan horse.</li>
<li class="level1">All operating systems (Windows, Mac <abbr title="Operating System">OS</abbr> and Linux) let you protect your session with a password. Make sure you use this feature.</li>
</ul>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="342" width="316" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/3e3cd453.authorization_0.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/authorization_0.png" /></p>
<p><small>Don't leave your laptop lying around! ! <a class="urlextern" title="https://xkcd.com/1200/" href="https://xkcd.com/1200/" rel="nofollow">xkcd.com</a></small></p>
<h2>Delete your tracks on a public computer</h2>
<p>If you work in an Internet café or on a computer which is not your own, make sure that you do not leave any traces once you've finished your work:</p>
<ol>
<li class="level1">If you have checked your email, Facebook or Twitter account, always make sure you log out.</li>
<li class="level1">Delete your browsing history. This contains various information and an expert could also access some of your online accounts</li>
<li class="level1">Never store your passwords in the browser on a public computer. If you do this by accident, delete them from the browser's memory when you've finished your work.</li>
<li class="level1">Clear form entry fields</li>
<li class="level1">Delete cookies</li>
</ol>
<p>Clearing this data is done differently in different browsers. A good way to avoid mistakes is to use the private browsing mode in Firefox or Chrome.</p>
<!-- EDIT3 SECTION "Delete your tracks on a public computer" [1318-2127] -->
<h2 class="sectionedit4" id="control_access_to_your_information">Control access to your information</h2>
<p>Most online services (Twitter, Facebook, WordPress, Tumblr, Skype, etc.) let you recover a lost password by sending a password to your inbox. You must therefore protect your inbox as much as possible. If it is compromised, all your digital information could be too.</p>
<p>Google's mail service, <a href="https://accounts.google.com/ServiceLogin?service=mail&amp;passive=true&amp;rm=false&amp;continue=https%3A%2F%2Fmail.google.com%2Fmail%2F&amp;ss=1&amp;scc=1&amp;ltmpl=default&amp;ltmplcache=2&amp;emr=1&amp;lp=1&amp;hl=en-GB" class="urlextern" title="https://accounts.google.com/ServiceLogin?service=mail&amp;passive=true&amp;rm=false&amp;continue=https%3A%2F%2Fmail.google.com%2Fmail%2F&amp;ss=1&amp;scc=1&amp;ltmpl=default&amp;ltmplcache=2&amp;emr=1&amp;lp=1&amp;hl=en-GB" rel="nofollow">Gmail</a>, offers an additional layer of security: ”<a href="https://support.google.com/a/bin/answer.py?hl=en&amp;hlrm=fr&amp;answer=175197" class="urlextern" title="https://support.google.com/a/bin/answer.py?hl=en&amp;hlrm=fr&amp;answer=175197" rel="nofollow">two-step verification</a>”. This service lets you protect your mail account with:</p>
<ol>
<li class="level1">a username</li>
<li class="level1">a password</li>
<li class="level1">a code that you receive on your mobile each time you connect to your mailbox.</li>
</ol>
<p>Therefore, without your mobile, you cannot access your mail.</p>
<p>When you log into your Gmail mailbox, remember to click on the “Details” link at the bottom of the page. This opens a window which displays the recent connections to your inbox. This way, you can detect any suspicious activity.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="694" width="643" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/5f407f5d.activite-sur-ce-comtpe.jpg" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/activite-sur-ce-comtpe.jpg" /></p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/?lang=en" class="urlextern" title="https://twitter.com/?lang=en" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/" class="urlextern" title="https://www.facebook.com/" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a> also offer an equivalent service and allow you to view all the applications and sites which are authorised to access your account.</p>
<!-- EDIT4 SECTION "Control access to your information" [2128-3524] -->
<h2 class="sectionedit5" id="use_passphrases">Use passphrases</h2>
<p>Password length is the key factor in creating a strong password which can resist a brute-force crack. Combining numbers, special characters and lower- and upper-case letters often creates weak passwords which are difficult to remember. If you use a “passphrase”, rather than a “password”, you can create a string of characters which is easy to remember and is much longer than your old passwords.</p>
<ul>
<li class="level1">Th$jHTo%46: <strong>short</strong> and <strong>difficult</strong> to remember</li>
<li class="level1">I hear the sound of bells on the green pastures: <strong>easy to remember</strong> and, for an attacker, <strong>very difficult to guess</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="552" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/822bb380.password_strength_1.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/password_strength_1.png" /></p>
<p>The website <a href="http://xkcd.com/936/" class="urlextern" title="http://xkcd.com/936/" rel="nofollow">xkcd</a> explains why it is best to use passphrases rather than passwords in some cases.</p>
<!-- EDIT5 SECTION "Use passphrases" [3525-4299] -->
<h2 class="sectionedit6" id="use_a_different_passphrase_for_each_service">Use a different passphrase for each service</h2>
<p>There is no point in having a long passphrase if you use the same phrase to protect all of your online services. If one of your services is compromised, <a href="http://www.pcinpact.com/news/63924-sony-pictures-lulzsec-piratage-mots-de-passe-vol-donnees.htm" class="urlextern" title="http://www.pcinpact.com/news/63924-sony-pictures-lulzsec-piratage-mots-de-passe-vol-donnees.htm" rel="nofollow">as can sometimes happen</a>, all of your online accounts are compromised. It is therefore crucial to use a different passphrase for each service.</p>
<!-- EDIT6 SECTION "Use a different passphrase for each service" [4300-4752] -->
<h2 class="sectionedit7" id="use_a_passphrase_manager">Use a passphrase manager</h2>
<p>Using a different passphrase per service can be problematic if can't remember them all. Don't panic, there are reliable and secure tools available where you can save all your passwords.</p>
<p><a href="https://lastpass.com/" class="urlextern" title="https://lastpass.com/" rel="nofollow">LastPass</a> is a password manager LastPass is available as an extension for <a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/lastpass-password-manager/" class="urlextern" title="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/lastpass-password-manager/" rel="nofollow">Firefox</a>, <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/lastpass/hdokiejnpimakedhajhdlcegeplioahd?hl=en" class="urlextern" title="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/lastpass/hdokiejnpimakedhajhdlcegeplioahd?hl=en" rel="nofollow">Chrome</a> and <a href="http://extensions.apple.com/" class="urlextern" title="http://extensions.apple.com/" rel="nofollow">Safari</a>, and allows you to save all your passphrases. Access to your LastPass storage is protected with a unique passphrase. So you only have to remember one phrase for access to all your online services. Like Google's mail service, Gmail, LastPass offers <a href="https://helpdesk.lastpass.com/security-options/multifactor-authentication-options/google-authenticator/" class="urlextern" title="https://helpdesk.lastpass.com/security-options/multifactor-authentication-options/google-authenticator/" rel="nofollow">two-step verification</a>. If you use LastPass, it is highly recommended that you choose a long passphrase and set up two-step verification.</p>
<!-- EDIT7 SECTION "Use a passphrase manager" [4753-5802] -->
<h2 class="sectionedit8" id="be_careful_what_you_click_on">Be careful what you click on!</h2>
<p>While it is important to install antivirus software on your computer, it is even more important to use common sense when you receive a link or an attachment by email, Twitter, Facebook or Skype. Social networks and communication tools are the main carriers of viruses.</p>
<p>Malware (malicious software) is also developed by <a href="http://surveillance.rsf.org/en/gamma-international/" class="urlextern" title="http://surveillance.rsf.org/en/gamma-international/" rel="nofollow">specialist hackers</a> which cannot be detected by antivirus software. The best defence is to act early, before malware infects your computer or smartphone.</p>
<ul>
<li class="level1">Don't download files or click on links which you receive from unknown senders.</li>
<li class="level1">Carefully check the email address or Twitter account of anyone who shares a link with you. If you have any doubt, check the sender's identity with other contacts or by using a search engine.</li>
<li class="level1">If the file and sender seem suspicious, get expert assistance. <a href="https://citizenlab.org/contact/" class="urlextern" title="https://citizenlab.org/contact/" rel="nofollow">Citizen Lab</a> is an organisation which analyses the viruses sent by both dissidents and activists and helps them to protect themselves better.</li>
</ul>
<!-- EDIT8 SECTION "Be careful what you click on!" [5803-6910] -->
<h2 class="sectionedit9" id="monitor_your_social_networking_presence">Monitor your social networking presence</h2>
<p>Facebook and Twitter are useful communication tools. However, make sure you control the information that is made public. The following tutorials and online services can help you to manage your online presence better:</p>
<ul>
<li class="level1">Check your Internet presence with <a href="http://namechk.com/" class="urlextern" title="http://namechk.com/" rel="nofollow">namechecker</a></li>
<li class="level1"><a href="https://myshadow.org/facebook-privacy-settings-you-should-know" class="urlextern" title="https://myshadow.org/facebook-privacy-settings-you-should-know" rel="nofollow">Privacy settings in Facebook</a></li>
<li class="level1"><a href="https://myshadow.org/things-know-about-recent-changes-facebook" class="urlextern" title="https://myshadow.org/things-know-about-recent-changes-facebook" rel="nofollow">Recent changes to Facebook that you should know about</a></li>
<li class="level1"><a href="https://myshadow.org/how-secure-your-twitter-account" class="urlextern" title="https://myshadow.org/how-secure-your-twitter-account" rel="nofollow">Securing your Twitter account</a></li>
</ul> </div>
      </div>
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feed_id: 168 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Secure your browsing
uri: Secure-your-browsing
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/secure-your-browsing
content:
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          <div class="field-item even">Online Survival Kit</div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <p>When you access the web on your laptop or computer, you use the http protocol (hyper text transfer protocol). A protocol is a set of rules and requirements that allow two machines to communicate with each other. Https is the secure version of the http protocol.</p> </div>
      </div>
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<div id="node-field-article-texte" class="field field-name-field-article-texte field-type-text-long field-label-hidden">
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          <div class="field-item even"> <h2 class="sectionedit2" id="https">https?</h2>
<p>When you visit a site whose URL begins with https, you can be sure of three things:</p>
<p>The site's authenticity Each https site has a certificate which it presents to your browser when your browser tries to access it. In turn, your browser has a database against which it checks the validity of the certificate presented. The certificate is the site's ID card and is unique for each https site. The confidentiality of data exchanged with the site. There are several intermediaries between you and the sites you visit: the Internet access provider; the server(s); any proxy servers, including malicious parties (particularly when you're connecting over unlocked Wi-Fi hotspots). Once the site's identity had been validated, an encrypted communication channel is established between your browser and the site which guarantees that no intermediaries can intercept the information exchanged, such as requested pages, their content and any passwords sent. The integrity of data Using the https protocol also guarantees that no one can modify the data which is sent.</p>
<h2 class="sectionedit3" id="breaking_https">Breaking https</h2>
<p>There are a few ways of breaking the secure channel which is set up between an https site and your browser.</p>
<h3 class="sectionedit4" id="blocking_https_connections">Blocking https connections</h3>
<p>This is by far the easiest way of breaking https. Sites offering an https version can usually also be accessed via http. An attacker seeking to control the network you are connected to (your access provider or the shared Wi-Fi connection at your hotel, for instance) may simply close the https access and force you to use the unsecured http version.</p>
<h3 class="sectionedit5" id="impersonating_an_https_site">Impersonating an https site</h3>
<p>An attacker may position themselves between you and the site you want to access, and redirect you to a copy of the site using a fake certificate. This is known as a 'man-in-the-middle' attack.</p>
<p>If you go to <a href="https://accounts.google.com/" class="urlextern" title="https://accounts.google.com/" rel="nofollow">Gmail</a>, an attacker seeking to take control of the network and the DNS servers may reroute your request and redirect you to another site which looks just like the Google mail service. The only clue for avoiding such attacks is the security warning in your browser.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="408" width="766" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/1e5a317f.alerte-https-fr.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/sites/default/files/alerte-https-fr.png" /></p>
<p>Your browser will indicate that the site's certificate is not valid and that the site is not what it claims to be.</p>
<p></p>
<h3 class="sectionedit6" id="certificate_theft">Certificate theft</h3>
<p>Within a man-in-the-middle attack, there is a very slight possibility that the attacker has a copy of the targeted site's certificate. This is an extremely sophisticated type of attack as it involves firstly stealing one or more certificates from a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certificate_authority" class="urlextern" title="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certificate_authority" rel="nofollow">certification authority</a>.</p>
<p>In August 2011, certificate authority <strong>DigiNotar</strong> was compromised and certificates were stolen. These were used mainly in Iran to carry out <a href="http://googleonlinesecurity.blogspot.fr/2011/08/update-on-attempted-man-in-middle.html" class="urlextern" title="http://googleonlinesecurity.blogspot.fr/2011/08/update-on-attempted-man-in-middle.html" rel="nofollow">man-in-the-middle attacks on Google services</a>. This type of attack is extremely effective as your browser is unable to detect the fraud and does not display any security warning.</p>
<h2 class="sectionedit7" id="some_solutions">Some solutions</h2>
<p>There are some tips and software which can increase your browsing security.</p>
<h3 class="sectionedit8" id="choose_firefox_or_chrome">Choose Firefox or Chrome</h3>
<p>Mozilla, publisher of Firefox, and Google, publisher of Chrome, take particular care in terms of security. For example, they were the first to update their browser's certificate databases following the above-mentioned DigiNotar security breach. Firefox has the additional advantage of being a free software whose aim is to ensure the security <strong>and</strong> privacy of its users. Chrome also focuses on security but is not free and does not offer the same guarantees in terms of privacy.</p>
<h3 class="sectionedit9" id="deactivate_java">Deactivate Java</h3>
<p>Java is a cross-platform computing language which exists as a plug-in for all browsers. It poses lots of problems in terms of security. According to the publisher of Kaspersky, 50% of attacks reported in 2012 used flaws in the browsers' Java plug-in. If you do not need Java in your browser <strong>deactivate it</strong>, or even better <strong>uninstall it</strong>.</p>
<h3 class="sectionedit10" id="boost_your_browser_with_some_useful_extensions">Boost your browser with some useful extensions</h3>
<p>You can add features to Firefox and Chrome using plug-ins.</p>
<ul>
<li class="level1"><a href="https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere" class="urlextern" title="https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere" rel="nofollow">https everywhere</a>: checks whether there is an https (encrypted) version for each site you visit and if so redirects you to it. This saves you having to manually add the “s” after http to each web address you visit, as in reality nobody actually manages to do this.</li>
<li class="level1"><a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/noscript/" class="urlextern" title="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/noscript/" rel="nofollow">No script</a>: enables you to control JavaScript scripts which are launched on the sites you visit. JavaScript is a programming language which is widely used on the web. It runs in your browser and can sometimes be used in certain attacks (XSS and XSRF). You can authorise certain sites to run JavaScript and the extension remembers your choice. This is tedious at first, but essential for secure browsing. Chrome's equivalent is <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/scriptsafe/oiigbmnaadbkfbmpbfijlflahbdbdgdf?hl=en" class="urlextern" title="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/scriptsafe/oiigbmnaadbkfbmpbfijlflahbdbdgdf?hl=en" rel="nofollow">ScriptSafe</a>.</li>
<li class="level1"><a href="https://www.mywot.com/" class="urlextern" title="https://www.mywot.com/" rel="nofollow">Web of trust</a>: works on a crowdsourcing model (where information is collected from a wide circle of sources) and tells you whether a site is safe or not based on the opinions of other Internet users. If you land on a site known to contain malicious scripts, WOT will display a warning before the page loads.</li>
<li class="level1"><a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/certificate-patrol/" class="urlextern" title="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/certificate-patrol/" rel="nofollow">Certificate Patrol</a>: checks the certificates when you arrive at an https site and warns you when your browser detects a change in certificates. This is very useful against <a href="http://sebsauvage.net/rhaa/index.php?2010/11/08/19/54/41-je-suis-content-d-utiliser-certpatrol" class="urlextern" title="http://sebsauvage.net/rhaa/index.php?2010/11/08/19/54/41-je-suis-content-d-utiliser-certpatrol" rel="nofollow">man-in-the-middle attacks</a>.</li>
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feed_id: 54 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Metadata - your files talk for you
uri: Metadata-your-files-talk-for-you
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/metadata-your-files-talk-you
content:
<div id="node-field-article-rubrique" class="field field-name-field-article-rubrique field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
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          <div class="field-item even">Online Survival Kit</div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <p>Did you know this? When you send a document, a lot of data goes with it. But few Internet users are aware that many file formats contain hidden data, or metadata. Text processing files or PDFs are likely to contain the name of the author, the date and time of the creation of the file, and often even part of its editing history. The hidden data depend on the file format and the software used to create it.</p> </div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <p>Image file formats such as TIFF and JPEG are some of the most talkative ones. Created by digital cameras or mobile phones, these files contain metadata in a format called EXIF that may include the image’s date, time and even GPS coordinates, the model and serial number of the device that took it and a thumbnail of the original image. Image processing applications tend to keep this data intact. The Internet has countless cropped or pixelized images whose EXIF thumbnail still shows the original image. So, how do you rid your files of unwanted metadata and restore their virginity before sending them?</p><h2>Checking and cleaning metadata</h2><p>When you send a sensitive document, it is vital to ensure that its metadata are not compromising. There are various ways to access the metadata. The easiest way is to check the file properties. A simple right-click will give you a lot of information.</p><p>Desktop application files of the Office kind may contain information about the individual or company that that created the file. Whether you are using <a href="http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/remove-hidden-data-and-personal-information-from-office-documents-HA010037593.aspx">Microsoft Word</a> or Open Office, you have the possibility of eliminating this information when you create the file.</p><p>PDF files can also act as snitches. They often contain the author’s name. It is accessible in the file properties and can be changed by using PDF file editing software. Using Acrobat Writer under Windows or Mac, you just have to go to the “File” menu and then “Properties” in order to modify the document author’s name. For GNU/Linux users, there are free alternatives such as <a href="https://live.gnome.org/PdfMod">PDF Mod</a> that offer a simply way to edit PDF file metadata.</p><p>You can use the <a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/fr/firefox/addon/exif-viewer/">Exif Viewer</a> extension for Firefox to display the metadata of JPEG images. It is also <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/exif-viewer/lplmljfembbkocngnlkkdgabpnfokmnl">available for the Chrome browser</a>. All this extension does is display Exif data.</p><h2>Advanced control of metadata</h2><p>There are more sophisticated tools that allow you to edit all kinds of metadata, regardless of the type of file – PDF, JPEG, GIF or anything else: -</p><ul><li><a href="https://mat.boum.org/">MAT</a>, Metadata Anonymisation Toolkit: an application with a graphical interface available under GNU/Linux</li><li><a href="http://woronoi.blogspot.fr/2012/05/metanull-11.html">Metanull</a>: an application with a graphical interface available under Windows</li><li><a href="http://owl.phy.queensu.ca/~phil/exiftool/">ExifTool</a>: a command-line application available under GNU/Linux, Windows and Mac OS X.</li></ul><p>This document was inspired by the <a href="https://tails.boum.org/doc/about/warning/index.en.html">Tails distribution’s official documentation</a>, entitled “The Amnesic Incognito Live System.” Like the original, it is published under the <a href="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/quick-guide-gplv3.html">GPL v 3.0 license</a>.</p> </div>
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feed_id: 172 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Online censorship: ban on reporting parallel exchange rates
uri: Online-censorship-ban-on-reporting-parallel-exchange-rates
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/online-censorship-ban-reporting-parallel-exchange-rates
content:
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          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/geo-zone/venezuela-0" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Venezuela</a></div>
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<div id="node-field-thematique" class="field field-name-field-thematique field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
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          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/themes/politics-and-securtiy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Politics and Security</a></div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <p>The National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL) issued a censorship order on 9 November for websites reporting parallel exchange rates. Administrative proceedings have also been initiated against Internet Service Providers allowing access to these websites. CONATEL chief Pedro Maldonado said 50 websites were concerned by the measure.</p> </div>
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<div id="node-body" class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
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          <div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>In a 9 November televised address, President Nicolas Maduro announced that “through the Ministry of Science and Technology, we are protecting our country’s network and Internet, and we are taking the following websites off line: dolartoday.com, tucavidi.com, lechugaverde.biz, dolarparalelo.org and preciodolar.info…” These websites can no longer be accessed from within Venezuela, however they remain accessible from abroad.</p>
<p>In line with this rhetoric, <a href="http://en.rsf.org/venezuela-government-likens-media-coverage-02-10-2013,45277.html">the government refers to media reports about the parallel dollar rate and the current shortages</a> as a “conspiracy” or a “plot” requiring appropriate reprisals. “The parallel dollar is a fictitious dollar, a fake dollar, created to foster the ongoing economic war,”the President said.</p>
<p>This <a href="http://www.conatel.gob.ve/#http://www.conatel.gob.ve/index.php/principal/noticiacompleta?id_noticia=3320">major act of censorship</a> comes amid a grave economic crisis. The Venezuelan government sets a fixed exchange rate for the US dollar that has differed from the international market rate since 2003. The difference between the official rate and the parallel rate (the real rate) is now enormous.</p>
<p>To justify the measure, the <a href="http://en.rsf.org/venezuela-freedom-of-expression-threatened-22-12-2010,39132.html">authorities are claiming that publishing parallel dollar exchange rates violates article 27 of the Radio, TV and Electronic Media Social Responsibility Law </a>RESORTEMEC.</p>
<p>This article includes a ban on the dissemination of reports liable to “spread panic within the population or disturb public order.” It also holds<a href="http://www.conatel.gob.ve/#http://www.conatel.gob.ve/index.php/principal/noticiacompleta?id_noticia=3319"> Internet Service Providers responsible for the content on the websites they host</a>.</p>
<p>CONATEL added that the law on illicit exchange rates bans currency transfers at rates different from the officially established ones. The <a href="http://espaciopublico.org/index.php/noticias/1-libertad-de-expresi/2769-2013-11-12-15-11-22">NGO Espacio Público</a> has pointed out the law does not prohibit mentioning the unofficial dollar rate, which is furthermore of public interest. While it is true that websites are reporting black-market dollar exchange rates, the publication of such information is not illegal, and the Venezuelan government is clearly applying censorship measures.</p>
<p>Bellow is a screenshot of the exchange rate published by one of the censored websites.<br /><br /></p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="357" width="680" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/19cfee2e.lechugaverde680.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/lechugaverde680.png" /></p>
<p><a href="http://www.lechugaverde.biz/">http://www.lechugaverde.biz/</a></p>
<p>"Since the closure of all brokerage firms in Venezuela by the Bolivarian government in 2010, all foreign currency selling outlets outlets, and even information about foreign currency, have been banned. Persons or businesses using the unoficial exchange rate be punished with seven years in prison or more.</p>
<p>Venezuela is ranked 117th out of 179 countries in the <a href="http://en.rsf.org/press-freedom-index-2013,1054.html">latest Reporters Without Borders press freedom index</a>.</p> </div>
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feed_id: 187 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Iran: writing under a pseudonym to remain independent
uri: Iran-writing-under-a-pseudonym-to-remain-independent
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/iran-writing-under-pseudonym-remain-independent
content:
<div id="node-field-pays" class="field field-name-field-pays field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
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          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/geo-zone/iran-0" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Iran</a></div>
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<div id="node-field-thematique" class="field field-name-field-thematique field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
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          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/themes/politics-and-securtiy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Politics and Security</a></div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <p>The Iranian news website <em>Khabarnegaran.info</em> has just published an article by Nikki Azad entitled “Journalists who worship the government,” which criticizes the lack of neutrality of certain Iranian media since Hassan Rouhani became president. Nikki Azad is not the writer’s real name. <em>Khabarnegaran</em>’s journalists use pseudonyms in order to be able to speak their minds.</p> </div>
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<div id="node-body" class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
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          <div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>Created in 2009, <em>Khabarnegaran</em> is an independent news site run by journalists based in Iran. It covers the day-to-day life of Iranian journalists and the constant harassment and abuses to which they are exposed, and is now one of the leading sources of information about journalism in Iran. The site’s staff agreed to use pseudonyms in order to be able to write freely and avoid additional harassment.<br /><br />“Journalists who worship the government” condemns the tendency of many journalists to idealize the new administration. It quotes journalists such Ali Asgar Rameznapour and Jilatous Banyaghoub, who accuse the Iranian media of being far too accommodating. Rameznapour was forced to flee abroad. After being jailed, Banyaghoub was banned from working as a journalist for 30 years.<br /><br />Iran is one of the world’s most authoritarian countries towards journalists and freedom of information. The regime uses censorship, surveillance and harassment to maintain its grip on the media and keep itself in power.<br /><br />The High Council for National Security and other regulatory authorities such as the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and the Tehran prosecutor’s office ban naming political dissidents, imprisoned journalists, or journalists who have fled the country. Without the anonymity that Khabarnegaran’s journalists use to protect themselves, they would not be able to publish an article mentioning the names of Rameznapour and Banyaghoub<br /><br />A total of 20 journalists and 22 netizens are currently imprisoned in Iran.</p>
<h2>Journalists who became devotees of power institutions (Extracts)</h2>
<p><a href="http://khabarnegaran.info/article.php3?id_article=2632">Translated by</a> : Mehrdad Safa</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A cursory glance at Iranian newspapers would simply reveal their policy.<br /><br />Reformist newspapers are filled with photos of the newly elected President and his cabinet, often accompanied by admiring reports and articles. The number of their critical articles is seen as almost nil. Newspapers affiliated with conservative parties are, on the other hand, filled with hateful, slanderous reports.<br /><br />What functions do journalists serve in the midst of changes in political power? Are they supposed to admire power institutions or incite hatred? Or to enlighten public opinion and closely monitor the functioning of governments?<br /><br />How closely do Iranian journalists adhere to journalism ethics and standards, especially in time of political power changes? Do they apply different self-made principles to certain periods? Should they, like other journalists around the world, adhere to certain well-established principles?<br /><br />We ask a few experienced Iranian journalists, both inside and outside Iran, about these issues.</p>
<h3>Journalism must be free of infatuation, violence</h3>
<p>Admiration and flattering have become so widespread in some reformist newspapers that has raised the objection of politicians and ordinary people to this trend. Conservative newspapers affiliated with the state, on the other hand, are now speaking in a more aggressive tone. “I am talking more specifically to journalists. A monotonous atmosphere prevails that doesn’t let us criticize Mr. Rouhani. Once again, we will be defeated because of idolization, mostly done by the media,” a Facebook user wrote in his page.<br /><br />“The main function of a journalist is to transfer information, and it should be faster, more detailed and more comprehensive than others,” says Reza Veysi, a Radio Farda reporter.<br /><br />“A journalist is not supposed to admire or incite hatred against those in power. It may be a practice of political propagandists, but certainly not of journalists,” he adds.<br /><br />Professional restraint as a way of countering flattering, hatred “Political changes have always been accompanied by changes in the tone of newspapers in Iran,” says Iranian journalist Ali Asghar Ramezanpour.<br /><br />“This is a part of journalism destiny in Iran. With President Rouhani coming to power, conservative dailies have adopted a sharper tone. Reformist newspapers have adopted a more outspoken tone. These changes, due to the innate manner of journalism in Iran, will come with two transformations: rhetoric and polemic arguments, and violent language,” Ramezanpour explains.<br /><br />“And the first evident case of these two features is the journalism of the Constitutional Revolution,” he adds.<br /><br />Ramezanpour believes that journalism is an inseparable part of the sociopolitical setting, and cannot be seen in exclusion.<br /><br />“We have to educate and inform Iranian journalists about their behavior, so that we can sway away from partial tone,” he says. “But let’s not forget that it is rather impossible to do this without enabling political parties and freedom of speech,” Ramezanpour stresses.<br /><br />“The Iranian journalists have learnt from history that an impartial journalism will bring out two undesired effects. One is that they cannot attract thrilled audience looking for openness. The other is that they will be excluded from team-makings of power institutions, which hide their political programs behind the media,” he explains.</p>
<h3>Journalist’s monitoring of political power</h3>
<p>“It’s been a while that I’ve been looking at the flattering tone of fellow journalists who admire government authorities and those in power. I wonder myself isn’t a journalism supposed to monitor those in power,” says Iranian journalist Jila Baniyaghoob, who has been imprisoned by government authorities and sentenced to a 30-year writing ban. “Some of my fellow journalists think that they have to always exclaim hurray for the president who they have voted for; that they have to always admire his behavior and works. They act like they’re the public relations practitioner of the President or one of his ministers,” she criticizes.<br /><br />“I wish to tell them it’s over. You voted him the President on the election day, and now you’re a journalist. People expect something different from you in the media,” she explains.<br /><br />Baniyaghoob criticizes her fellow journalists in Iran for their admiration of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is rarely criticized in the media.<br /><br />“For example when UN human rights higher commissioner asked Zarif about the situation of human rights in Iran, he somehow questioned the Ahmad Shahid’s report on human rights in Iran,” she explains, “however, almost no one asked Mr. Zarif that is really Iran free of human rights violations.”</p>
</blockquote> </div>
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feed_id: 189 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Online censorship in 2012
uri: Online-censorship-in-2012
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/article/online-censorship-2012
content:
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          <div class="field-item even">Online Censorship</div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <p>Cyber-censorship in 2012 overview. Key events in Internet censorship and surveillance in 2012 and first two months of 2013.</p> </div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <h2>INTERNET GOVERNANCE AND NET NEUTRALITY</h2>
<p>The United Nations Human Rights Council affirmed the right to freedom of expression on the Internet for the first time in a resolution on 5 July 2012, taking the position that "the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online (...) regardless of frontiers and through any media." The resolution called on all countries "to promote and facilitate access to the Internet and international cooperation aimed at the development of media and information and communications facilities in all countries."</p>
<h3>World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT)</h3>
<p>Different visions of Internet governance and, indirectly, the future of online news and information competed and clashed at the World Conference on International Telecommunications, which the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) staged in Dubai in December 2012. At the end of the conference,<a href="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121214/14133321389/who-signed-itu-wcit-treaty-who-didnt.shtml">&nbsp;fewer than half of the ITU’s member countries (89 out of 193)</a>&nbsp;signed a<a href="media/7387bf09.final-acts-wcit-12-fr.pdf" data-original-source="http://www.itu.int/en/wcit-12/Documents/final-acts-wcit-12-fr.pdf">&nbsp;new treaty</a>&nbsp;revising the International Telecommunications Regulations (ITR).</p>
<p><a href="http://fr.rsf.org/l-avenir-d-internet-en-jeu-a-la-10-12-2012,43775.html">A coalition of 55 countries, including the United States and European Union countries</a>, refused to sign it on the grounds that some of its provisions on spam management and Internet security, and a separate text that was adopted in a chaotic manner, Internet Resolution PLEN/3, would be used by countries that traditionally control the Internet to justify their censorship, filtering and blocking. The lack of civil society participation and procedural transparency was strongly criticized by many NGOs, with support from<a href="http://www.ohchr.org/FR/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=12903&amp;LangID=E">&nbsp;UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression and Opinion Frank La Rue</a>.</p>
<p>The Dubai summit should have been used to defend the Internet as a place of freedom, as a place for the free exchange of views and information. But instead it highlighted the fight between different countries for influence over the Internet. More information:<a href="https://www.cdt.org/pr_statement/consensus-crumbles-nations-split-internet-governance">&nbsp;</a><a href="https://www.cdt.org/pr_statement/consensus-crumbles-nations-split-internet-governance">Centre for Technology and Democracy</a>&nbsp;and an<a href="https://www.accessnow.org/blog/2012/12/14/wcit-watch-analysis-of-the-new-itrs-part-i#When:22:26:33Z">&nbsp;analysis of the new ITR</a>&nbsp;by Access.</p>
<h3>EU rejects Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement</h3>
<p>On 4 July 2012, the<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/union-europeenne-finissons-en-avec-acta-l-ue-doit-02-07-2012,42931.html">&nbsp;European Parliament rejected</a>&nbsp;the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), which threatened fundamental online freedoms including access, freedom of information, <a href="http://surveillance.rsf.org/en/glossary/#net">Net Neutrality</a>, innovation, and the sharing of free technology. Its rejection was a victory for citizen campaigning, which was mobilized by advocacy groups such as<a href="http://www.laquadrature.net/">&nbsp;La Quadrature du Net</a>&nbsp;and<a href="http://panoptykon.org/">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://panoptykon.org/">Panoptikon</a>.</p>
<h3>Netherlands and Slovenia back Net Neutrality, Brazil drags its feet</h3>
<p>In December 2012,<a href="http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number11.2/slovenia-net-neutrality">&nbsp;Slovenia</a>&nbsp;followed Netherlands and Chile in adopting a law that enshrines <a href="http://surveillance.rsf.org/en/glossary/#net">Net Neutrality</a>&nbsp;and prohibits Internet Service Providers from discriminating against any kind of online traffic.</p>
<p>But<a href="media/c25c4250.rapport_bre_sil.pdf" data-original-source="http://fr.rsf.org/IMG/pdf/rapport_bre_sil.pdf">&nbsp;adoption of a proposed Internet “Civil Framework” law</a>&nbsp;continues to be postponed in Brazil because of pressure from the film and music industries. Widely<a href="http://www.peticaopublica.com.br/?pi=olinda">&nbsp;supported by Brazilian civil society</a>, which regards it as a model law, the so-called “Marco Civil” would define the rights and responsibilities of the state, Internet Service Providers (and other technical intermediaries) and Internet users as regards Internet usage, copyright and personal data protection, while safeguarding <a href="http://surveillance.rsf.org/en/glossary/#net">Net Neutrality</a>, privacy and the free flow of information online.</p>
<h3>Filtering violates fundamental rights</h3>
<p>In a<a href="http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/fra/pages/search.aspx?i=001-115705">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/fra/pages/search.aspx?i=001-115705">decision</a>&nbsp;against Turkey on 18 December 2012, the European Court of Human Rights ruled for the first time that blocking a website violated article 10 (on freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights.&nbsp;The Strasbourg-based court said: “The Internet has now become one of the main means for individuals to exercise their right to freedom of expression and information; it offers essential tools for participating in activities and debates on political matters and issues of public interest.”&nbsp;The Court of Justice of the European Union already<a href="http://en.rsf.org/european-union-eu-court-says-internet-filtering-28-11-2011,41472.html">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://en.rsf.org/european-union-eu-court-says-internet-filtering-28-11-2011,41472.html">ruled</a>&nbsp;on 24 November 2011 that generalized content filtering violates fundamental rights.</p>
<h3>Internet companies stress transparency</h3>
<p>The latest issue of Google’s<a href="http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/">&nbsp;“Transparency Report,”</a>&nbsp;released in November 2012, points to a big increase in government surveillance. Google said government requests for user data had risen steadily since the&nbsp;publication of its first Transparency Report.&nbsp;In June 2012, Google voiced concern about an<a href="http://www.telerama.fr/medias/google-inquiet-par-la-censure-politique-sur-internet,83298.php">&nbsp;increase in requests for the removal of pages with political content</a>. The country by country&nbsp;evolution of user data requests can be seen<a href="http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/userdatarequests/">&nbsp;here</a>&nbsp;and removal requests can be seen<a href="http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/removals/government/">&nbsp;here</a>.</p>
<p>Google’s transparency initiative has been adopted by others.&nbsp;Twitter launched its own<a href="http://blog.twitter.com/2012/07/twitter-transparency-report.html">&nbsp;transparency report</a>&nbsp;in July 2012. It focuses on user data requests by governments (the United States made the most requests) and on content removal requests by governments or copyright holders. Twitter has also undertaken to<a href="http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/internet/3408979/twitter-leaves-placeholder-message-for-copyright-violations/">&nbsp;leave a “Tweet withheld” message</a>&nbsp;whenever a Tweet is removed in response to a complaint from a copyright holder and to send a copy of each takedown notice to the<a href="http://www.chillingeffects.org/twitter">&nbsp;Chilling Effects</a>&nbsp;website.</p>
<h2>LEGISLATIVE OFFENSIVES</h2>
<p>Repressive legislative initiatives by authoritarian regimes have been compounded by parallel initiatives in countries that claim to be democratic and to respect individual freedoms. The latter are all the more disturbing as they provide authoritarian regimes with justification for their own initiatives.</p>
<h4>Great Britain</h4>
<p>The British Communications Data Bill<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20668953">&nbsp;will have to be revised after Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced in December 2012 that he would block it</a>. The version of the bill that was published in the spring of 2012 would give<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/royaume-uni-la-surveillance-generalisee-des-02-04-2012,42230.html">&nbsp;the police and intelligence services</a>&nbsp;extensive access to phone records, emails and Internet browsing history on the grounds of the need to combat terrorism and other serious crimes.</p>
<h4>United States</h4>
<p>Opponents of the proposed Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2011 (CISPA) say it will allow privacy to be violated in order to protect cyber-security. Although it seemed to have broad support in the US Congress, it caused such an outcry that substantial revisions were made to increase protection for privacy, the White House threatened a veto and a sizeable number of representatives ended up voting against it. A new version of<a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/285773-rogers-aiming-for-markup-on-cyber-information-sharing-bill-in-april">&nbsp;CISPA was resubmitted in January 2013</a>&nbsp;and could come before Congress as early as April 2013.</p>
<h4>Netherlands</h4>
<p>Claiming that anonymization tools such as<a href="https://www.torproject.org/">&nbsp;Tor</a>&nbsp;are hampering the work of tracking down cyber-criminals and pedophiles, the Dutch government has been<a href="https://www.bof.nl/2012/10/18/dutch-proposal-to-search-and-destroy-foreign-computers/">&nbsp;pressuring legislators</a>&nbsp;to pass a law that will reinforce police cyber-surveillance powers regardless of whether the target computer is located in the Netherlands or abroad. The proposed law would allow the police to remotely search computers, install <a href="http://surveillance.rsf.org/en/glossary/#rat">spyware</a> and delete illegal content without having to submit a legal assistance request to the country concerned if the target computer is located abroad. Read the<a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/10/dutch-government-proposes-cyberattacks-against-everyone">&nbsp;Electronic Frontier Foundation</a>&nbsp;analysis.</p>
<h4>Philippines</h4>
<p><a href="http://fr.rsf.org/philippines-la-loi-sur-le-cybercriminalite-une-09-10-2012,43505.html">The supreme court of the Philippines voted unanimously</a>&nbsp;on 9 October 2012 to stay implementation of the<a href="http://www.gov.ph/2012/09/12/republic-act-no-10175/">&nbsp;Cybercrime Prevention Act 2012</a>&nbsp;(Republic Act No, 10175) after receiving more than a dozen<a href="https://www.accessnow.org/page/s/stop-cyber-martial-law">&nbsp;petitions</a>&nbsp;asking it to rule on the law’s constitutionality. Reporters Without Borders calls for its repeal because its attempt to combat cyber-crime poses a major threat to freedom of information.<a href="http://raissarobles.com/2012/09/18/who-inserted-that-libel-clause-in-the-cybercrime-law-at-the-last-minute/">&nbsp;Online defamation was added to the law’s list of “cyber-crimes”</a>&nbsp;at the last minute, before adoption.</p>
<h4>Malawi</h4>
<p>The<a href="http://www.mw.misa.org/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=136:malawi-alert-bill-puts-online-freedom-of-expression-in-cross-hairs-">&nbsp;Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)</a>&nbsp;has criticized a government attempt to regulate and control online publications in the form of a so-called E-Bill that would force online publication editors to publish their names, addresses and phone numbers and would create a cyber-police with the job of monitoring the Internet for illegal activity.</p>
<h4>Peru</h4>
<p>A<a href="http://advocacy.globalvoicesonline.org/2012/07/27/peru-concerns-over-computer-crime-bill/">&nbsp;proposed cyber-crime law</a>&nbsp;is likely to restrict online freedom. On the initiative of the NGO<a href="https://www.accessnow.org/policy-activism/press-blog/civil-society-speaks-out-on-dangerous-new-cybercrime-law-in-peru">&nbsp;Access</a>, university academics and civil society representatives have written an<a href="media/2c5c0c75.Peru20Open20Letter20-20Spanish.pdf" data-original-source="https://www.accessnow.org/page/-/docs/Peru%20Open%20Letter%20-%20Spanish.pdf">&nbsp;open letter</a>&nbsp;to parliament criticizing the bill.</p>
<h4>Iraq</h4>
<p>In January 2012, the Iraqi parliament repealed a&nbsp;cyber-crime law that was criticized for its overly broad definition of the crimes it intended to punish (for example, “violating religious, moral and social principles”) and for draconian penalties that included life imprisonment for using a computer to besmirch the country’s reputation. Read the<a href="https://www.accessnow.org/blog/iraqs-internet-on-the-brink">&nbsp;Access Now</a>&nbsp;analysis.</p>
<h3>Protecting minors, the perfect pretext</h3>
<h4>Russia</h4>
<p>In the name of “protecting minors,” a federal government agency began on 1 November 2012 to<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/russie-entree-en-vigueur-d-une-liste-01-11-2012,43626.html">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://fr.rsf.org/russie-entree-en-vigueur-d-une-liste-01-11-2012,43626.html">compile a blacklist</a>&nbsp;of<a href="http://en.rsf.org/russia-freedom-of-information-threatened-13-07-2012,43019.html">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://en.rsf.org/russia-freedom-of-information-threatened-13-07-2012,43019.html">“harmful” websites</a>&nbsp;liable to be blocked without reference to a court and without any right of defence. The vague and broad definition of the targeted content (pornography, extremism, defending suicide, encouraging drug use and so on) and the supervisory body’s lack of independence open the way to overblocking. Age category labelling – “banned for minors under the age of” 6, 12, 16 or 18 – was also imposed on all news websites. A bill banning online censorship circumvention tools has also been submitted to a Duma committee.</p>
<h4>Canada</h4>
<p>Draft<a href="http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Docid=5380965&amp;file=4">&nbsp;Federal Law C-30</a>, also known as the Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act, which the public safety ministry submitted to parliament on 14 February 2012, would&nbsp;place Internet users under close surveillance. It would allow the police to request phone records without first seeking a court warrant. Internet Service Providers and mobile phone operators could be forced to install surveillance devices and record subscribers’ communications. The police could also, without a court warrant, install a device that could capture the IP address of any device connected to the Internet.</p>
<h3>Copyright v. online freedom of expression</h3>
<h4>United States</h4>
<p>The proposed "Stop Online Piracy Act" (SOPA) and "Protect IP Act" (PIPA) elicited<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/etats-unis-reporters-sans-frontieres-ferme-17-01-2012,41696.html">&nbsp;a great deal of domestic and international criticism</a>&nbsp;of the danger of unprecedented Internet censorship. Their opponents said they would prejudice countless Internet users who had never violated intellectual property by forcing websites to block access to other sites accused of vaguely defined copyright violations. The bills were finally shelved, but for how long?</p>
<h4>Panama</h4>
<p>In September 2012, parliament passed Law 510, which restricts freedom of expression and access to online information and creates a<a href="http://tecnomenia.com/2012/09/ley510-internacionalmente-la-peor-ley-de-copyright-creada-en-la-historia.html">&nbsp;General Directorate for Copyright</a>&nbsp;with the task of tracking down violators and imposing heavy fines on them without reference to a court. NGOs and civil society representatives wrote an<a href="https://www.accessnow.org/blog/civil-society-calls-for-panamanian-president-to-halt-dangerous-copyright-bi">&nbsp;open letter</a>&nbsp;to President Ricardo Martinelli urging him not to sign what they called the<a href="http://globalvoicesonline.org/2012/09/28/panama-controversial-510-copyright-bill-approved/">&nbsp;“worst copyright protection law in history.”</a>&nbsp;Read comments by netizens on<a href="http://globalvoicesonline.org/2012/09/28/panama-controversial-510-copyright-bill-approved/">&nbsp;Global Voices</a>.</p>
<h3>Other disturbing legislation</h3>
<p>In Malaysia, an amendment to the 1950 Evidence Act makes Internet service operators automatically liable for any posted content or content transiting through their services that is deemed to be defamatory. Owners and managers of Internet cafés and blog platforms are among those affected by this presumption of guilt. The<a href="http://cijmalaysia.org/">&nbsp;Centre for Independent Journalism</a>&nbsp;organized an<a href="http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2012/08/08/cij-launches-internet-blackout-day/">&nbsp;online protest</a>&nbsp;against the amendment.</p>
<h2>ALL-OUT FILTERING</h2>
<p>Censorship of the anti-Islamic video “Innocence of Muslims” inflicted major collateral damage on access to online information. The filtering and blocking measures ordered in many countries often resulted in suspension of access to YouTube and in some cases, all communications. Whether as a result of court or administrative decisions, the video has probably been<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/censure-d-un-film-anti-islam-26-09-2012,43411.html">&nbsp;blocked in more countries</a>&nbsp;than almost any other piece of online content ever. The countries that blocked it include Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Turkey, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, India and Bahrain.</p>
<h3>China : race against the clock</h3>
<p>China’s censors had their hands full in recent months trying to block the online dissemination of sensitive stories, including:</p>
<ul>
<li class="tf-first-child"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">The</span><a style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/26/business/global/family-of-wen-jiabao-holds-a-hidden-fortune-in-china.html?pagewanted=all&amp;_r=0">&nbsp;New York Times</a><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">&nbsp;story on Wen Jiaobo’s fortune</span></li>
<li><a href="http://fr.rsf.org/chine-affaire-des-voeux-du-nouvel-an-les-11-01-2013,43906.html">Opposition to censorship</a>&nbsp;of a New Year<a href="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/fr/censored/chine-lincident-voeux-du-nouvelhtml.html">&nbsp;editorial</a>&nbsp;in the newspaper&nbsp;Nanfang Zhoumo&nbsp;that called for constitutional reforms in&nbsp;China</li>
<li>The many cases of<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/chine-quatre-jeunes-tibetains-condamnes-04-10-2012,43486.html">&nbsp;self-immolation in Tibet</a></li>
<li>Corruption</li>
<li class="tf-last-child"><a href="http://fr.rsf.org/chine-interdiction-et-censure-des-26-07-2012,43115.html">Criticism</a>&nbsp;of the government’s handling of flooding in the summer of 2012.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://fr.rsf.org/chine-rsf-demande-a-l-union-europeenne-14-11-2012,43679.html">Censorship was intensified</a>&nbsp;in the run-up to the Communist Party Congress that appointed a new generation of rulers and put Xi Jinping in charge.</p>
<h3>Online censorship gaining ground in Central Asia</h3>
<p>Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have long been classified as “Enemies of the Internet” but cyber-censorship is now becoming more widespread in Central Asia.</p>
<p>In 2012, there were<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/tadjikistan-l-un-des-plus-importants-sites-d-25-07-2012,43108.html">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://fr.rsf.org/tadjikistan-l-un-des-plus-importants-sites-d-25-07-2012,43108.html">several waves of blocking</a>&nbsp;of leading news websites such as<a href="http://news.tj/">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://news.tj/">Asia Plus</a>,<a href="http://fr.rian.ru/">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://fr.rian.ru/">RIA-Novosti</a>,<a href="http://lenta.ru/">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://lenta.ru/">Lenta.ru</a>,<a href="http://www.fergananews.com/">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.fergananews.com/">Fergananews.com</a>,<a href="http://www.centrasia.ru/">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.centrasia.ru/">Centrasia.ru</a>, and the<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/">BBC</a>, as well as YouTube and Facebook. The National Telecommunications Agency is now in the habit of issuing orders to Internet Service Providers to block access to any sensitive content such as news analyses questioning the government’s stability, reports of armed clashes or criticism of the president on social networks.</p>
<p>Sham legal proceedings were used in December 2012 to ban Kazakhstan’s leading opposition media on the grounds of alleged “extremism.” This resulted in the blocking of all websites carrying the online versions of the newspaper&nbsp;Vzglyad&nbsp;and the&nbsp;Respublika&nbsp;network of newspapers, as well as their social network accounts. The online TV station&nbsp;K+&nbsp;and the news portal&nbsp;Stan.tv&nbsp;were also blocked.</p>
<h3>In India, censorship to suppress rumours?</h3>
<p>In an attempt to halt<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/inde-violences-communautaires-le-29-08-2012,43290.html">&nbsp;violent inter-ethnic unrest</a>, the Indian authorities ordered<a href="http://kafila.org/2012/08/23/full-text-the-indian-governments-recent-orders-to-internet-service-providers-to-block-websites-webpages-and-twitter-accounts/">&nbsp;Internet Service Providers</a>&nbsp;to<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/103688733/18-August">&nbsp;block access</a>&nbsp;to more than 300 pieces of online content in August 2012. Some did encourage violence by relaying baseless rumours, but others, such as content on the websites of&nbsp;AFP,&nbsp;Al-Jazeera&nbsp;and the Australian TV station<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-24/abc-news-online-blocked-in-india/4221578">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-24/abc-news-online-blocked-in-india/4221578">ABC</a>, just consisted of straightforward news photos or news stories. See the list of blocked content published by the<a href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/analysing-blocked-sites-riots-communalism">&nbsp;Centre for Internet and Society</a>.</p>
<h3>Pakistani electronic Great Wall – fact or fiction?</h3>
<p>Plans for a national Internet filtering and blocking system intended to block access to millions of “undesirable” websites using Deep Packet Inspection (<a href="http://surveillance.rsf.org/en/glossarry/#dpi">DPI</a>) were revealed in early 2012. The<a href="http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012%5C02%5C26%5Cstory_26-2-2012_pg5_8">&nbsp;Daily Times</a>&nbsp;reported that the National ICT Research and Development Fund, an offshoot of the information technology ministry, issued an<a href="media/33c47296.RFP-20URL20Filtering202620Blocking.pdf" data-original-source="http://ictrdf.org.pk/RFP-%20URL%20Filtering%20%26%20Blocking.pdf">&nbsp;invitation to submit bids</a>&nbsp;for the creation of the system, expected to cost 10 million dollars, and that several international companies responded. A<a href="http://signon.org/sign/censorship-is-big-business?source=c.url&amp;r_by=1898072">&nbsp;petition</a>&nbsp;was launched urging companies not to respond.<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUxVayH1RHI&amp;list=HL1333351470&amp;feature=mh_lolz">&nbsp;Statements by officials</a>&nbsp;opposing the project were subsequently<a href="http://tribune.com.pk/story/352172/it-ministry-shelves-plan-to-install-massive-url-blocking-system/">&nbsp;reported by the media</a>. Pakistan civil society<a href="http://content.bytesforall.pk/node/47">&nbsp;remains vigilant</a>.</p>
<h2>RESCTRICTED ACCESS ?</h2>
<p>Two billion people worldwide now have Internet access but, for a third of them, access is limited by government censorship, filtering and surveillance. Infrastructural development problems and purely political considerations sometimes limit expansion of access.</p>
<h3>National Internet in Iran</h3>
<p>In September 2012, the government accelerated the creation of a national Internet with a high connection speed but entirely monitored and censored. The grounds cited for speeding up implementation was a wave of cyber-attacks on Iran’s nuclear installations. All Iranian websites are eventually supposed to be hosted on local servers. Applications and services such as email, search engines and social networks are to be developed under government control. So far only government offices are connected to this national Internet, but it is feared that eventually all Iranian citizens will have no choice but to follow suit. (See the Iran chapter of “State enemies”.)</p>
<h3>Frequent Internet cuts in Syria</h3>
<p>Internet and telephone are often deliberately cut in targeted locations, in addition to cuts due to power blackouts. Syria was completely<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20546302">&nbsp;disconnected</a>&nbsp;from the Internet for about two days at the end of November 2012, at a time when the regime was accused of planning a nationwide massacre.</p>
<h3>High-speed fibre-optic broadband finally in Cuba?</h3>
<p>Completed in 2011, the submarine fibre-optic broadband cable from Venezuela to Cuba was finally<a href="http://www.renesys.com/blog/2013/01/cuban-mystery-cable-activated.shtml">&nbsp;put into service</a>&nbsp;in August 2012, the network specialist company Renesys reports. ButGlobal Voices&nbsp;quoted the government daily&nbsp;Granma&nbsp;as saying that, although the<a href="http://laredcubana.blogspot.com/2013/01/cuban-government-acknowledges-test-of.html">&nbsp;test phase</a>&nbsp;has been completed, Cubans should not expect a dramatic increase in the availability of Internet access in the short term. Until then, Cuba was using very limited satellite connections to access the international Internet (see the Cuban chapter of the 2012 Enemies of the Internet report).</p>
<h3>Regional discrimination</h3>
<p>Suspension of Internet access and telecommunications are common in<a href="http://en.rsf.org/chine-tibet-cut-off-from-the-rest-of-the-23-02-2012,41930.html">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://en.rsf.org/chine-tibet-cut-off-from-the-rest-of-the-23-02-2012,41930.html">Tibet</a>&nbsp;and Xinjiang during periods of crisis (see the<a href="http://en.rsf.org/china-china-12-03-2012,42077.html">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://en.rsf.org/china-china-12-03-2012,42077.html">China chapter</a>&nbsp;of the 2012 Enemies of the Internet report).</p>
<p>At the behest of the government of India’s northern state of Jammu and Kashmir, telephone operators suspended service in the Kashmir Valley last August, on the anniversary of India’s independence, which is always a sensitive time.</p>
<p>In Pakistan,<a href="http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/editors-picks/20-Aug-2012/phone-services-cut-to-counter-terror-threats">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/editors-picks/20-Aug-2012/phone-services-cut-to-counter-terror-threats">mobile phone networks were temporarily disconnected in the southwestern province of Balochistan</a>&nbsp;on the anniversary of the country’s independence in August 2012.</p>
<h2>NETIZENS TARGETED</h2>
<p>A total of 47 netizens and citizen-journalists were killed in 2012, most of them in Syria. They act as reporters, photographers and video-cameramen, documenting their daily lives and the government’s violent crackdown. Without them, the Syrian government would be able to impose a complete news blackout in some regions and carry out massacres undetected.</p>
<p>In Iran, the blogger<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/iran-rsf-exige-une-enquete-13-11-2012,43672.html">&nbsp;Sattar Beheshti</a>&nbsp;died in unknown circumstances following his arrest on 31 October 2012. The available information suggests that he died from blows received during interrogation. No one has been arrested for his death.</p>
<p>In Bangladesh, the blogger<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/bangladesh-un-blogueur-egorge-dans-la-18-02-2013,44092.html">&nbsp;Ahmed Rajib Haider was hacked to death</a>&nbsp;near his home in the capital, Dhaka, on 15 February 2013.</p>
<p>In Pakistan, the 14-year-old blogger&nbsp;Malala Yousufzai&nbsp;only<a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/10/opinion/ghitis-malala-yousufzai">&nbsp;narrowly survived</a>&nbsp;being shot in the head by Taliban gunmen on 9 October 2012.</p>
<h3>Mass arrests</h3>
<p>About 180 netizens are currently detained in connection with their provision of news and information. The world’s five biggest prisons for netizens are China (with 69 detained), Oman (32), Vietnam (31), Iran (20) and Syria (18).</p>
<p>Mass arrests and raids on news outlets have taken place not only in Syria but also in the<a href="http://en.rsf.org/oman-supreme-court-upholds-one-year-08-03-2013,44182.html">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://en.rsf.org/oman-supreme-court-upholds-one-year-08-03-2013,44182.html">Sultanate of Oman</a>&nbsp;and in Iran, on<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/iran-treize-journalistes-toujours-29-01-2013,43978.html">&nbsp;“Black Sunday”</a>. In Sri Lanka,<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/sri-lanka-huit-journalistes-en-ligne-et-un-04-07-2012,42924.html">&nbsp;nine employees of the online newspaper Sri Lanka Mirror</a>&nbsp;were arrested in a raid in July 2012.</p>
<p>Vietnam continues to arrest netizens and<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/vietnam-confirmation-de-lourdes-peines-de-28-12-2012,43846.html">&nbsp;give them long prison sentences</a>. The well-known blogger Dieu Cay got 12 years. In China,<a href="http://en.rsf.org/chine-enforced-disappearance-of-three-04-01-2013,43860.html">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://en.rsf.org/chine-enforced-disappearance-of-three-04-01-2013,43860.html">Tibetan monks</a>&nbsp;are jailed for trying to inform the outside world about the many cases of self-immolation.<a href="http://en.rsf.org/azerbaijan-the-international-community-must-19-02-2013,44095.html">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://en.rsf.org/azerbaijan-the-international-community-must-19-02-2013,44095.html">Azerbaijan</a>&nbsp;goes after bloggers who stray from the official line.</p>
<p>The conditions in which netizens are imprisoned are often appalling and mistreatment is frequent. Some detainees, especially in Iran, are denied the medical treatment they need and risk dying in detention.</p>
<h3>Threats and violence</h3>
<p><a href="http://fr.rsf.org/bangladesh-blogueurs-menaces-et-journalistes-26-02-2013,44127.html">Nineteen bloggers were openly threatened</a>&nbsp;on Islamist websites and at demonstrations in Bangladesh in February 2013 in connection with the trial of several former leaders of Islamist parties including Jaamat-e-Islami on war crimes charges.</p>
<p>The “Courage for Tamaulipas” Facebook page, which covers organized crime violence in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, angered drug traffickers, who are<a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/23/world/americas/mexico-violence-blogger">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/23/world/americas/mexico-violence-blogger">offering 600,000 pesos ($46,000)</a>&nbsp;to anyone who could identify the page’s editor or the editor’s family.</p>
<p>Ruy Salgado, a Mexican blogger who ran El Santuario, a website famous for its coverage of corruption, gave up his online activities because of the threats he was getting.</p>
<p>The families of netizens, especially those who are detained, are often subject to harassment, pressure and threats. This is the case in<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/iran-le-vrai-visage-du-regime-menaces-09-01-2013,43882.html">&nbsp;Iran</a>, especially for the families of Iranian journalists and bloggers who are based abroad, and in Vietnam.</p>
<p>Imprisoned Vietnamese blogger Ta Phong Tan, the creator of the “Justice and Truth” blog, suffered a additional blow last July when her mother took her own life by<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/vietnam-30-07-2012-le-durcissement-de-la-30-07-2012,43129.html">&nbsp;setting herself on fire outside the headquarters of the People’s Committee in Bac Lieu</a>, Tan’s home province, in an act of despair about the way Tan was being treated. Tan is now serving a 10-year jail sentence.</p>
<h3>Trial of WikiLeaks source Bradley Manning</h3>
<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/01/us/bradley-manning-admits-giving-trove-of-military-data-to-wikileaks.html?pagewanted=1&amp;_r=0">US Army Private Bradley Manning confessed before a court martial on 28 February 2013 that he passed military and diplomatic files to WikiLeaks</a>, including US embassy cables, the files of Guantanamo detainees and videos of air strikes in which civilians were killed, in particular the “Collateral Murder” video that showed a US helicopter crew killing&nbsp;Reuters&nbsp;journalists.</p>
<p>He said his motive was to enlighten the public about what goes on and to “spark a debate about foreign policy.” He explained that he initially tried to give the files to the&nbsp;New York Times&nbsp;andWashington Post&nbsp;but could not find anyone who seemed interested. He also claimed that he chose the material with care in order to ensure that it would not cause any harm.</p>
<p>Manning is facing up to 20 years in prison. Many NGOs have<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/09/bradley-manning-wikileaks-mistreated-progressives">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/09/bradley-manning-wikileaks-mistreated-progressives">criticized</a>&nbsp;the conditions in which he was being held as humiliating.</p>
<p>DataCell,&nbsp;a company that collected donations for WikiLeaks,&nbsp;meanwhile<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/nov/27/julian-assange-eu-wikileaks-decision">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/nov/27/julian-assange-eu-wikileaks-decision">complained to the European Commission</a>&nbsp;about Visa<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/europe-news">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/europe-news">Europe</a>, MasterCard Europe and American Express after they stopped processing donations for WikiLeaks in December 2010. In a preliminary decision in November 2012, the commission said a block on processing donations for his organisation by credit card companies was unlikely to have violated EU anti-trust rules.</p>
<h2>NETIZENS FIGHT BACK</h2>
<p>In the face of offensives by governments and interests groups seeking to control the Internet, netizens and online news providers have sought to organize, campaign and resist with varying degrees of success.</p>
<p>The most noteworthy initiatives of recent months include:</p>
<ul>
<li class="tf-first-child"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">&nbsp;The</span><a style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;" href="http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/09/photoshopping-dissent-circumventing-chinas-censors-with-internet-memes/261911/#slide1">&nbsp;phenomenon</a><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">&nbsp;of Internet memes, content that passes rapidly from person to person online, going “viral” and often evolving in the process, in a form of spontaneous online popular culture. They typically use humour and Photoshop editing to make fun of social or political issues and, in countries such as China, to evade filtering by censors. Chinese examples include</span><a style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;" href="http://www.chinasmack.com/glossary#%E8%8D%89%E5%B0%BC%E9%A9%AC">&nbsp;</a><a style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;" href="http://www.chinasmack.com/glossary#%E8%8D%89%E5%B0%BC%E9%A9%AC">Grass Mud Horse</a><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">, which uses wordplay in a popular song to mock censorship,&nbsp;and the artist Ai Weiwei’s</span><a style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PueYywpkJW8">&nbsp;</a><a style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PueYywpkJW8">sunflower seeds</a><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">.</span></li>
<li>The<a href="http://chine.aujourdhuilemonde.com/les-chinois-defient-la-censure">&nbsp;online resistance to</a><a href="http://www.courrierinternational.com/revue-de-presse/2013/01/03/les-journalistes-en-guerre-contre-les-services-de-la-propagande">&nbsp;censorship</a>&nbsp;of the Chinese newspaper&nbsp;Nanfang Zhoumo’s New Year editorial calling for constitutional reforms.</li>
<li>The role played by<a href="http://wcitleaks.org/">&nbsp;WCITLeaks</a>&nbsp;in promoting transparency during the negotiations over a new International Telecommunication Union treaty at the World Conference on International Telecommunications in Dubai in December 2012.</li>
<li>The<a href="http://www.laquadrature.net/wiki/Comment_agir_contre_ACTA">&nbsp;campaign</a>&nbsp;by the French advocacy group La Quadrature du Net against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).</li>
<li>The<a href="https://cyberspying.eff.org/archive/cispa/">&nbsp;first Stop Cyber Spying</a>&nbsp;campaign, a week of online protest in the United States against the proposed Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2011 (CISPA), and the<a href="https://cyberspying.eff.org/">&nbsp;new Stop Cyber Spying campaign</a><a href="http://fr.rsf.org/etats-unis-une-semaine-de-mobilisation-contre-01-08-2012,43140.html">&nbsp;in response to the proposed Cybersecurity Act of 2012 (CSA)</a>.</li>
<li>The<a href="https://www.facebook.com/saveyourvoice">&nbsp;Save Your Voice</a>&nbsp;campaign by<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/inde-si-deux-cyber-activistes-mettent-12-05-2012,42612.html">&nbsp;civil society and Internet users in India</a>&nbsp;to demand repeal of the IT Rules, legislation that limits online freedom of expression. Two cyber-activists even went on hunger strike.</li>
<li>The<a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2012/08/jordan-web-blackout-protest-targets-alleged-censorship.html">&nbsp;blackout of 500 websites</a>&nbsp;in Jordan on 29 August 2012 to<a href="http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/08/31/jordans_internet_goes_dark">&nbsp;protest</a>&nbsp; (<a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/search/?q=%23BlackOutJO&amp;src=hash">#BlackoutJO</a>&nbsp;and<a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/search/?q=%23FreeNetJO&amp;src=hash">&nbsp;#FreeNetJO</a>) against<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/jordanie-nouvelle-loi-sur-la-presse-les-21-09-2012,43434.html">&nbsp;repressive amendments to the press and publications law</a>.</li>
<li>The<a href="http://openmedia.ca/StopSpying">&nbsp;Stop Online Spying</a>&nbsp;campaign&nbsp;that the Canadian advocacy group Open Media launched last September with a petition against the C-30 bill.</li>
<li>The campaign for Internet freedom in Azerbaijan waged by the<a href="http://expressiononline.net/">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://expressiononline.net/">ExpressionOnline</a>&nbsp;coalition and other groups during the<a href="http://www.igf2012.com/">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.igf2012.com/">Internet Governance Forum</a>&nbsp;in Baku in November 2012.</li>
<li class="tf-last-child">The <a href="http://rublacklist.net/">Rublacklist</a>, created by the Russian Pirate Party in response to Internet filtering. The group keeps a close watch on blocking, offers online censorship circumvention tools and provides mirror sites and hosting solutions for sites that have been blocked unjustly.</li>
</ul>
<p>Send us information about the campaigns to defend online freedom of expression and information that have impressed you most.</p> </div>
      </div>
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feed_id: 192 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: China censors media reports about elite’s offshore accounts
uri: China-censors-media-reports-about-elite-s-offshore-accounts
url:
https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/china-censors-media-reports-about-elites-offshore-accounts

content:
<div id="node-field-pays" class="field field-name-field-pays field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
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          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/geo-zone/china" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">China</a></div>
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<div id="node-field-thematique" class="field field-name-field-thematique field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
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          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/themes/corruption-0" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Corruption</a></div>
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<div id="node-field-chapeau" class="field field-name-field-chapeau field-type-text-long field-label-hidden">
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          <div class="field-item even"> <p>More than 22,000 Chinese, including many close relatives of the country’s top leaders, have accounts in offshore tax havens, according to reports this week in various international media based on leaked documents obtained by the <a href="http://www.icij.org/offshore/leaked-records-reveal-offshore-holdings-chinas-elite#people/wu-jianchang">International Consortium of Investigative Journalists</a>. These reports have been censored in China. The websites of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/22/guardian-blocked-china-leaderships-offshore-wealth">the Guardian</a>, <a href="http://elpais.com/elpais/2014/01/22/inenglish/1390385601_512810.html">El País</a> and Süddeutsche Zeitung newspapers are now blocked.</p> </div>
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<div id="node-body" class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
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          <div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>The articles that prompted the blocking of these international media are being reposted by Reporters Without Borders on its WeFightCensorship website and 20 linked mirror sites. The article below has been published on <a href="http://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2014/01/21/les-revelations-chinaleaks-le-texte-en-chinois_4352116_3234.html">LeMonde.fr</a>.</p>
<blockquote>
<p dir="ltr"><strong><a href="http://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2014/01/21/les-revelations-chinaleaks-le-texte-en-chinois_4352116_3234.html">机密文件披露中国精英的海外资产<br />两万多名中国内地及香港投资者在避税天堂注册公司</a></strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">美 国一家独立新闻组织取得的机密档案和资料库显示，中国高层领导的近亲在加勒比海避税天堂持有隐秘的离岸公司，有助中共精英在海外隐藏巨额财富。 这些文件包括国家主席习近平的姐夫在海外与他人合伙的地产公司注册资料，以及前国务院总理温家宝的儿子、女婿注册的BVI（英属维尔京群岛）公司。 国际调查记者同盟（缩写ICIJ）获得的密件显示，近22,000名中国内地和香港的投资者在离岸金融中心注册公司，其中起码有15名包括富豪、全国人大 代表、涉嫌贪污的国企高管等知名人士。</p>
<p dir="ltr">文 件还显示，普华永道、瑞银集团（缩写UBS）等会计事务所和欧美银行扮演了关键性的中间人角色，为中国投资者在英属维尔京群岛、萨摩亚群岛等离岸金融中心 开设资产信托（trust）和公司。例如，瑞士金融巨擘瑞士信贷集团（简称瑞信）曾协助温家宝的儿子注册BVI公司，当时温家宝仍是国务院总理。有关的档 案和数据库来自两家专门为投资者开设离岸公司、信托和银行账户的商业机构，也就是总部设在新加坡的保得利信誉通集团（Portcullis TrustNet）和总部设在英属维尔京群岛的Commonwealth Trust Limited.</p>
<p dir="ltr">ICIJ 两年前获得这批内含250万份文件的离岸密档后，与欧美和亚洲等地50多名记者合作，展开为期一年半的跟进调查与采访。ICIJ与合作的媒体自去年4月起 发表一系列有关离岸金融中心的调查报道，在多个国家触发当地政府立案调查、高官下台。有关的政府因而修订有关公职人员和企业的财务披露政策。半年 前，ICIJ 开始分析密件中有关中国大陆和台、港的离岸金融资料，今天首度发布初步的分析报告。</p>
<p dir="ltr">资 料显示，中国大陆作为世界第二大经济体，对遥远的离岸金融小岛依赖日增。由于隐蔽、免税和方便国际贸易的特点，避税天堂大受中国投资者青睐。中国经济转型 为社会主义和资本主义混合体后，已成为海外避税天堂的主要客户。就ICIJ数据库所见，中国投资者所涉及的行业遍及石油、绿色能源、矿产、武器贸易等。</p>
<p dir="ltr">中国法律未规定政府官员公开个人资产。权贵利用平行经济(parallel economy)来避税、隐藏交易。据估计，2000年以来，流失到境外的资金至少有1 亿，甚至可能高达4 亿美元。具体路线难以追踪。美国加州克莱蒙特·麦肯纳学院政治学者裴敏欣认为，中国精英在境内外资产的增长“不一定违法”，但往往与“公众利益冲突”，有“权力寻租”之嫌。”</p>
<p dir="ltr">政府高层的腐败在中国是高度敏感的话题。不少揭露高层领导隐蔽家族财富的记者和要求官员公开财产的公民都受到打击报复。</p>
<p dir="ltr">ICIJ调查团队的合作伙伴包括香港《明报》、台湾《天下杂志》、德国《南德意志报》和一家中国大陆的新闻机构。去年11月，该大陆媒体退出团队，表示受到政府警告，不得发表有关该数据库的报道。为免记者遭到打击报复，ICIJ决定不公开该大陆媒体的名字。</p>
<p dir="ltr">ICIJ 的团队花了几个月的时间查看密件和离岸金融中心的投资者名单。中国投资者在注册离岸公司时，通常用罗马拼音登记姓名，核实身份不易。要靠档案里注册人所提 供的护照和地址来确认身份。但有些注册人没有提供护照和地址。本文没有包括数据库里疑似的“太子党”和官员，因为无法确认身份。ICIJ的机密档案还包括16,000多名台湾投资者的名单。有关报道将在本周陆续与合作媒体同步发布。ICIJ 将会在本月23日公开大中华地区的离岸解密数据库。</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>太子党的离岸资产</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">中共领导人的血亲或姻亲俗称“红色贵族”或“太子党”。</p>
<p dir="ltr">ICIJ 密档显示，至少5名中共中央政治局现任或前任常委的亲属曾在库克群岛(Cook Island)和英属维尔京群岛注册公司，包括习近平的姐夫邓家贵、温家宝的独子温云松和女婿刘春航。邓家贵是习近平大姐齐桥桥的丈夫。他是地产开发商， 投资过生产手机和电子设备的稀有金属。文件显示，邓家贵曾与李华和李晓平兄弟合伙在英属维尔京群岛成立卓越通力地产发展有限公司（Excellence Effort Property Development），邓与李氏兄弟各占50%股份。去年7月，李氏兄弟出价20亿美元竞标，拿下深圳两块商业用地，成为新闻焦点。习近平从2012 年升任中共中央总书记以来，高调反腐，曾发表讲话要“苍蝇”、“老虎”一起打。但另方面又打击呼吁政府官员公示个人财产的草根运动。</p>
<p dir="ltr">温 家宝的独子温云松留学美国，曾与他人合伙成立新天域资本私募基金，专门投资中国市场，2012年出任央企中国卫星通信集团有限公司（简称“中卫通”）的董 事长。中卫通属国资委管理，有望成为亚洲最大的卫星运营公司。ICIJ密档显示，温云松2006年经瑞信香港协助，成立名为Trend Gold Consultants的BVI公司，自任唯一的董事和股东。公司于2008年解散。投资者通常设立空壳公司，以便用离岸公司的名义开设银行账户，借此掩 盖公司和真正开户人的关系。Trend Gold Consultants成立的原因不明。</p>
<p dir="ltr">ICIJ 多次联系温云松和其他在文中提到的离岸资产持有者，大多数人包括温都没有回复。瑞信集团的发言人则表示“不予置评”。不久前，有媒体爆出温家宝女儿温如春 （又名常丽丽）的公司与美国金融机构商业往来的一些内情。ICIJ现在独家发现，名叫Fullmark Consultants的这家咨询公司在英属维尔京群岛成立。此前未见媒体报道。《纽约时报》<a href="http://cn.nytimes.com/business/20131114/c14chase/">报道</a>摩 根大通（JP Morgan Chase &amp; Co.）曾与Fullmark Consultants签订合同，向其支付180万美元咨询费。美国证券监管机构现正对摩根大通借中国高官子女来发展中国市场展开调查。Fullmark Consultants的注册方式似有意隐藏与温如春的关系。温的丈夫刘春航专长金融，曾在投行摩根士丹利（Morgan Stanley）工作。2004年，刘在英属维尔京群岛注册成立Fullmark Consultants，自任唯一的董事和股东。2006年，刘退出该BVI，同年加入中国银行业监督管理委员会（简称“银监会”）。</p>
<p dir="ltr">资 料显示，刘退出后，Fullmark Consultants的全部股份转移给与温家宝家族关系密切的女富商张玉宏。张是温家宝弟弟温家宏的同事。据《纽约时报》报道，张曾为温家打点钻石、珠 宝等生意。2005年10月，保得利信誉通向瑞银集团寄送账单，收取为Fullmark Consultants签发存续证明（Certificate of Good Standing）的费用，说明这间BVI公司和瑞银有商业关系。瑞银就ICIJ的查询发声明，表示该集团“了解客户”(“know-your- client”)的规定和处理与政治敏感客户关系的程序是“业内最严格的”，意指不会回应任何的查询。</p>
<p dir="ltr">2011年，维基解密”披露美国国务院在2007年发送的一则<a href="http://cablegatesearch.wikileaks.org/cable.php?id=07SHANGHAI622&amp;version=1307965320">密电</a>称温家宝“对家人的活动很反感”。电文说，“只要开价合理，温家宝的妻子和子女可以‘搞定事情’。”“温的亲戚“不一定是收受贿赂，（但）他们很可能会收取高昂的‘咨询费’”。温家宝去年结束十年任期，正式退休。</p>
<p dir="ltr">ICIJ还在离岸密件中发现邓小平、李鹏和胡锦涛等中共前领导人的亲属的离岸公司资料，（密件内容可按链接查看）</p>
<p dir="ltr">有些中国问题专家认为，太子党的财富和生意（包括离岸资产）越来越大，会威胁共产党的执政地位。但掌权者自己深陷其中，难以制止。</p>
<p dir="ltr">常驻中国的美国律师史蒂夫·迪金森（Steve Dickinson）说：“如果没法给家人弄个几十亿，当共产党的领导人有什么意义呢？”史蒂夫曾经调查与BVI公司有关的诈骗案。他说，“这个问题规模庞大，对中国有重大的意义。但事实是每个人对此言不由衷或避而不谈。”</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>中国走向离岸金融中心</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">上世纪九十年代初，邓小平深化经济改革，中国投资者开始涌向离岸金融中心。</p>
<p dir="ltr">美国乔治华盛顿大学法学院教授Don Clarke（汉名“<a href="http://www.law.gwu.edu/faculty/profile.aspx?id=7587">郭丹青</a>”） 认为，中国经济制度改革向国企倾斜，民间投资人特别是创业者遂向离岸金融中心寻求发展。在“中国特色”制度下，开展对华贸易的西方银行家、会计师和商人， 也推动了离岸模式的发展。美国凯威莱德律师事务所(Cadwalader, Wickersham &amp; Taft)大中华地区业务主管李大诚（Rocky Lee）说：“刚开始采用（离岸模式）时，是我们外国人给这么做的。当时外国投资者普遍不适应中国的法律法规。”</p>
<p dir="ltr">90年代后期亚洲金融危机爆发，中国进一步加紧资本管制，客观上推动了内地人到海外投资。很多人此前已经到当时仍属英国管治的香港成立公司。眼看中国即将收回香港主权，内地投资者担心香港也不安全，便转向更远的离岸金融中心。</p>
<p dir="ltr">于是，英属维尔京群岛成为很多内地人转移业务和资产的最佳选择。</p>
<p dir="ltr">中 国政府用税收优惠来吸引外资，也推动了内地投资者使用离岸金融中心。例如，一些中国厂商用“返程投资”(round-tripping)的方式避税：在境 外成立子公司，由国内的母公司将在内地生产的产品低价卖给离岸的子公司。母公司由于账上利润少、甚至没有盈利，自然免税。然后再由子公司把产品以高价卖给 别的公司,把利润汇回母公司。这部分利润是当作母公司从英属维尔京群岛或香港获得的“外商投资”，也无需向中国政府缴税。</p>
<p dir="ltr">据英属维尔京群岛官方统计，中国和亚洲其他国家地区的离岸业务占当地业务的40%。1998到2002年英国派驻英属维尔京群岛的总督Frank Savage说，BVI政府向中国当局表示，BVI“管理有序、法律制度健全”，与中国政府建立了良好的关系。</p>
<p dir="ltr">但离岸体系的批评者认为，BVI“无疑”是进行隐蔽交易的天堂。总部在英国的倡导组织Tax <a class="lien_interne rub" href="http://www.lemonde.fr/justice/">Justice</a> Network说，BVI公司“丑闻不断”。因为保密制度给予“BVI公司极大的自由，随意掩饰违法活动、滥用权力”。</p>
<p dir="ltr">上 世纪九十年代在海外成立离岸公司的内地人有中国“八大元老之一”彭真的儿子傅亮。ICIJ密档显示，傅亮至少持有5家BVI公司，在1997年到2000 年间注册。其中一家公司South Port Development在2000年收购了一家菲律宾酒店。傅亮在内地投资游艇和高尔夫俱乐部生意。</p>
<p dir="ltr">离 岸服务供应商信誉通公司（Trustnet）曾协助傅亮成立离岸公司。2000年，信誉通已在中国大陆全面发展离岸公司注册业务，与毕马威（KPMG）、 安永(Ernst &amp; Young)、普华永道(Pricewaterhouse)、德勤(Deloitte &amp; Touche)和安信达(Arthur Andersen)全球“五大”会计师事务所在上海开会讨论拓展市场。</p>
<p dir="ltr">ICIJ 资料显示，普华永道通过信誉通，协助中国内地和港、台投资者成立了400多家离岸公司和信托；瑞银集团则通过信誉通，协助内地和港、台投资者成立了 1,000多家离岸实体。2006年，瑞银香港协助当时的中国女首富杨惠妍成立名为Joy House Enterprises的BVI公司。杨惠妍继承父亲杨国强的地产王国碧桂园，当时净资产约83亿美元。ICIJ向杨惠妍就离岸公司事宜提问，未获回应。</p>
<p dir="ltr">2007 年，瑞银通过信誉通，协助地产大亨、SOHO中国创始人张欣成立BVI公司Commune Investment。SOHO中国在北京重建了很多地标建筑，不久前媒体报道，张斥资2,600万美元购入纽约市曼哈顿区一栋五层的楼房。张通过代表， 拒绝回答与BVI公司相关的问题。张欣在北京郊区打造的精品酒店“长城脚下的公社”(The Commune by the Great Wall)亦取名commune （公社）。天狮集团董事长李金元是7家BVI公司的董事。这些离岸公司在2004年到2008年间由普华永道帮助成立。从ICIJ文件来看，这些BVI公 司与李的天狮集团有关联。天狮涉及生物科技、旅游、电子商务和房地产等多个行业。2011年，李金元的净资产约为12亿美元。</p>
<p dir="ltr">2005 年，信誉通的一份“绝密”销售备忘录要求员工加强与瑞信香港的关系，积极示好。鉴于中国限制外资银行进入，信誉通另辟途径。该份备忘录写道：“我们在上海 的目标是国际律师事务所和会计公司。”该公司的的市场攻势收到了成效。2003年到2007年，信誉通在中国大陆、港、台发展的客户数量从1,500上升 到4,800。</p>
<p dir="ltr">信誉通还帮助两位现任全国人大代表成立离岸公司。</p>
<p dir="ltr">全 国人大安徽省代表韦江宏是国企铜陵有色金属集团董事长。2006年，铜冠资源控股有限公司（Tong Guan Resources Holdings）在英属维尔京群岛注册成立，韦任董事。铜冠资源控股是铜陵有色金属集团的子公司。2007年，铜陵集团通过铜冠这间BVI公司向智利一 项价值5,000万美元的铜加工项目投资1,000万美元。</p>
<p dir="ltr">腾讯创始人、全国人大代表马化腾也持有离岸公司。2013年，马以100亿美元的身价名列“福布斯中国富豪榜”第5位。</p>
<p dir="ltr">2007年，他和腾讯另一名创始人张志东成为BVI公司TCH Pi的董事。马的发言人称TCH Pi是腾讯集团旗下公司，“与（马化腾和张志东）个人无关。”但这间BVI并未见于腾讯的公司文件，成立的目的不明。</p>
<p dir="ltr">利润和腐败</p>
<p dir="ltr">中国染指离岸金融中心以来，经济发生巨变，增长可观，离岸金融中心不只方便了用作“返程投资”，也成为海外投资进入金属、矿产等资源市场的渠道。支持中国发展离岸金融市场的人认为，离岸金融可以推动经济发展。</p>
<p dir="ltr">“我认为我们应该面对的现实是，中国资本正在走出去。这对我们来说还是有利的，”中国商务部研究员梅新育说，“我当然支持企业在东道国注册。但如果东道国不能提供这种环境的话，在离岸金融中心注册公司，只不过是一个现实的选择。”</p>
<p dir="ltr">William Vlce<a href="http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/intrel/people/index.php/wbv2.html">k</a>是离岸金融著作《Offshore Finance and Small States: Sovereignty, Size and Money》的作者。他认为在中国，官僚主义和政府的干预妨碍国内市场的发展。在离岸公司注册对商业活动有利。</p>
<p dir="ltr">有证据显示，中国一些公司和个人利用离岸公司进行非法活动。</p>
<p dir="ltr">2013年9月，前铁道部高官张曙光承认转移28亿美元到海外账户。中国银行发布的一份政府内部报告显示，自20世纪80年代中期以来，国家公职人员（包括国企高管）转移到海外的公款累计超过1,200亿美元，其中一部分通过BVI公司转移。</p>
<p dir="ltr">2000 年，“保得利信誉通”帮助中国远洋集团有限公司成立了BVI公司Cosco Information Technology 。这家BVI的董事包括当时的中远洋董事长马泽华和副总经理宋军。宋2011年以贪污、受贿、妨害作证被控三罪受审，被指调往青岛分公司后，在英属维尔京 群岛成立空壳公司以冒充合作公司。之后把建设青岛中远广场的数百万资金转移到该空壳公司。据新华社报道，宋军挪用公款600万美元，收受台湾合作方贿赂 100万美元。他用非法财产在北京、天津、青岛等地合共购入37套房产。宋军的审讯结果没有公开。</p>
<p dir="ltr">中国政府最近严打贪腐成风的石油行业，业内不少高管因为贪污被停职调查。三大国企石油公司中石油、中海油、中石化注册了不少离岸公司。ICIJ数据库里就有几十个与这三大石油巨头相关的BVI公司。</p>
<p dir="ltr">中石油前高管李华林因为“严重违纪”被调查，去年8月落马。ICIJ数据库显示，李是两家BVI公司的董事。</p>
<p dir="ltr">有些离岸公司见于母公司的报表，但有些是国企高管以个人名义成立的。中石油下属天然气公司昆仑能源的总裁张博闻、中海油总经理杨华均曾以个人身份成立离岸公司，目的不明。</p>
<p dir="ltr">ICIJ多次尝试联系中石油和中海油均未获回应。</p>
<p dir="ltr">目前身陷囹圄的中国前首富黄光裕也曾运用离岸公司进行商业操作。黄与妻子杜鹃在2001到2008年间至少成立了31家BVI公司。当时他们持有的国美集团是全国最大的电器商连锁。</p>
<p dir="ltr">2010年，黄因内幕交易、贿赂和操纵股价，被判有期徒刑14年。杜也以相关罪名获刑，但二审获改判，当场释放。</p>
<p dir="ltr">黄大部分资产被冻结，但利用离岸金融网络维系他的商业王国。2011年，黄名下的BVI公司Eagle Vantage Assets Management竞购英国退役航母，欲打造成高端购物商场。（英国政府最终销毁这艘航母）。</p>
<p dir="ltr">黄光裕目前通过Shining Crown Holdings and Shine Group这两间BVI公司控制国美集团30%多的股份。</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>离岸公司的未来</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">眼看企业寡头、政府官员和亲属非法敛财，一些中国人不顾安危，奋起质询。</p>
<p dir="ltr">草根组织“新公民运动”运用资讯网络和小规模的示威，向政府争取透明。去年春季，新公民运动创始人、民权律师许志永写道：“党政官员的个人财产都不敢公布，共产党还反什么腐？”</p>
<p dir="ltr">政府随即以“扰乱公众秩序”和“非法集会”罪名逮捕许，除了许，并关押该组织20多名成员。在中国，政府通常用这类罪名让异见分子沉默。</p>
<p dir="ltr">官方甚至惩罚揭露中共高层近亲资产情況的外媒。《纽约时报》和彭博新闻社报道太子党在国内持有的资产后，网站被中国政府屏蔽。驻华记者延续签证遭到延误。</p>
<p dir="ltr">英美和一些国际组织此前对离岸金融中心一直抱放任態度。直至离岸金融中心客户泛滥，方著手改革。相比之下，中国政府对改变离岸体系的呼声越来越小。</p>
<p dir="ltr">今年以前，中国的税法不要求申报境外资产，这漏洞使国人很容易借离岸来营运。北京一位李姓公司法律顾问说：“中国的决策者没想到会有这许多钱流失到海外。”</p>
<p dir="ltr">当局正著手控制流入离岸金融中心的私人财产。今年元旦生效的法规规定国民要申报海外金融资产。</p>
<p dir="ltr">改革离岸体系的力度可能会对中国目前的改革有重大的影响。中国不仅是全球经济发展的重要市场，也是离岸金融中心的重要客户。</p>
<p dir="ltr">去年，200多名银行家和离岸金融专家参与了一个以亚洲地区为主的业界意见调查。调查发现，这些高管认为，“与中国有关的需求”是离岸市场增长的主要动力。一名BVI离岸服务公司的主管在调查中写道：“未来五年，中国是我们最重要的客户市场。”</p>
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<p><a href="http://d32kn01rfn0r98.cloudfront.net/apps/2013/12/offshorechina/embed-zh.html"><img alt="" class="media-image" height="930" width="801" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/aa7b30fa.icij-china-offshore-leaks.png" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/icij-china-offshore-leaks.png" /></a></p> </div>
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feed_id: 203 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Corruption off limits on Venezuelan Internet
uri: Corruption-off-limits-on-Venezuelan-Internet
url: https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/corruption-limits-venezuelan-internet
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          <div class="field-item even"><a href="/geo-zone/venezuela-0" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Venezuela</a></div>
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          <div class="field-item even"> <p>Alek Boyd is a UK-based Venezuelan who blogs about corruption in Venezuela on infodio.com. On 14 January, he posted the details of a lawsuit that a former US ambassador to Venezuela has filed against the partners of Derwick Associates, a Venezuelan firm accused of bribing Venezuelan officials to get contracts in the energy engineering sector. Since then, Boyd’s blog has been blocked in Venezuela.</p> </div>
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<p>Updated on 8 April 2014: Derwick Associates, the firm targeted in Alek Boyd’s blog post, sent Reporters Without Borders a formal response five days after we posted our article. <a href="media/3249c463.carta_0.pdf" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/sites/default/files/medias/documents/carta_0.pdf">We are posting the response here</a>. Derwick Associates says it has nothing to do with the blocking of Boyd’s blog and that none of its shareholders has any links with the ISP Inter. When contacted by Reporters Without Borders, Boyd stood by his information, according to which <a href="http://infodio.com/180713/derwick/associates/intercable">members of Derwick Associates have investment links with Inter</a>. His blog continues to be blocked within Venezuela.</p>
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<p>Online censorship is an established fact, which is proved by the approximately 500 web pages and sites that most Venezuelan Internet users currently cannot access,” said Carlos Correa, the head of <i>Espacio Público</i>, an NGO that defends the right to information, on<i> </i><a href="http://www1.unionradio.net/exitosfm/visornota.aspx?id=15595">17 March on Radio Éxitos</a> in response to the question “can the government really censor Internet content?”</p>
<p>In Venezuela, Internet access is provided by a handful of companies: CANTV, Inter, Venezolana de Telecomunicación and Movilnet (a CANTV subsidiary specializing in mobile telephony). Nationalized in 2007, CANTV is the country’s main ISP, with 80% of Internet service subscriptions. Its direct access to the data provided by the Simón Bolívar national satellite, placed in orbit under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation’s supervision in 2008, gives the Venezuelan authorities a unique tool for monitoring and controlling online information.</p>
<p>On 12 March, which ironically was World Day Against Cyber-Censorship, the National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL) notified all Venezuelan ISPs that they would henceforth have to comply with orders to block web pages with content deemed to be contrary to the government’s interests. This just officialized a practice already in place. The Venezuelan authorities have long had no compunction about censoring unwelcome information. On 13 November, they issued an <a href="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/fr/censored/censure-toile-au-venezuela-taux-changes-paralleles-frappes-tabouhtml.html">order to censor around 50 websites that cover parallel exchange rates</a> and the country’s soaring inflation.</p>
<p>On 14 January, Alek Boyd, a London-based Venezuelan blogger specializing in corruption in Venezuela, posted an article about the lawsuit that Otto Reich, a former US ambassador in Venezuela, has filed in New York against the leading partners of Derwick Associates, a Venezuelan company he accuses of bribing Venezuelan government officials in order to secure public contracts in the energy engineering sector.</p>
<p>As a result of this story, which was also covered by the websites of several well-known international media such as the <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/APdeb5d17838724f3897ca0ef386253eae.html"></a> and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/01/otto-reich-lawsuit_n_3688670.html">Huffington Post</a>, Boyd’s blog, infodio.com, disappeared from the Venezuelan Internet. Inter, an ISP whose shareholders include Derwick Associates, was the first to block access to infodio.com shortly after Boyd posted his blog entry. The other telecom companies (Movistar, Digitel, Supercable and the state-owned CANTV) soon followed suit.</p>
<p>Boyd has been posting reports, compromising documents and opinion pieces from Britain since 2002. Although protected by distance from his country of origin, he has often been the target of threats, the frequency and violence of which have increased since a wave of street protests got under way in Venezuela in February. He also posts information sent to him by other Venezuelan bloggers who are scared to post it themselves in Venezuela.</p>
<p>Ever since the allegations about Derwick Associates began, many netizens and journalists have received <a href="http://infodio.com/content/censorship-derwick-associates-style">letters from its lawyers</a> ordering them to remove articles about the company from their websites and accusing them of defaming its owners and shareholders. But Boyd, who continues to cover the story, has not received any official letter from Derwick Associates or its lawyers.</p>
<p>Reporters Without Borders is reproducing Boyd’s blog post in full, and the lawsuit that former US ambassador Reich filed against Derwick Associates.</p>
<p><a href="media/6861beb8.otto-reich-rico-lawsuit-derwick-associaates-011314.pdf" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/otto-reich-rico-lawsuit-derwick-associaates-011314.pdf"><span style="color: #1155cc;" color="#1155cc"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Otto Reich files amendment in lawsuit against Derwick Associates</span></span></a></p>
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<h2><a href="http://infodio.com/140114/otto-reich-files-amendment-lawsuit-against-derwick-associates"> Otto Reich files amendment in lawsuit against Derwick Associates</a></h2>
<p>Submitted by Alek Boyd on Tue, 14/01/2014 - 09:58</p>
<p>It doesn't look pretty for Derwick Associates. Not pretty at all. Readers may recall that former U.S. President's Special Envoy for the Western Hemisphere, Otto Reich, filed a RICO lawsuit against Leopoldo Alejandro Betancourt Lopez, Pedro Trebbau Lopez and Francisco D'Agostino (of Derwick Associates's fame) in New York in July last year. When reading the claim the first time I thought "this is a looong shot..." As perhaps the blogger who's written more about Derwick Associates, I saw there were a number of claims that were very odd, not least of which that Francisco D'Agostino, a Bolichico in his own right connected to Boligarch-in-chief Victor Vargas, was part of Derwick Associates. I have gotten all registry documents related to Derwick Associates, in USA, Venezuela, Panama, Barbados, Spain and nowhere had I seen D'Agostino's name mentioned. Now in an amended claim filed yesterday, Reich argues that D'Agostino has been actively doing Derwick's bidding, and has information that only someone with intimate knowledge of Derwick's operations could have access to. Namely, D'Agostino got in touch with a "Forbes writer", to whom he sent "several text messages" and made "telephone calls", after "at least a decade" of not talking/seeing each other, and "attempted to dissuade the Forbes writer from publishing the piece" about Derwick Associates in which he was meant to be working on. The "Forbes writer" was contacted by D'Agostino, after the former had sent an email to ProEnergy Services (most probably Derwick's main and most important subcontractor) asking about its work in Venezuela and relation with Derwick. Further, D'Agostino, Reich claims, offered the "Forbes writer" Derwick's financials, contracts with the Venezuelan government and with ProEnergy Services. Now, how on earth could D'Agostino have that information, if he is not a part of Derwick Associates?</p>
<p>But things get more interesting. D'Agostino invited the "Forbes writer" to dinner in L.A. and offered to bring Leopoldo Alejandro Betancourt Lopez (Derwick's main man) along. Interesting, eh? A man who claims to have nothing to do with Derwick, calls a "childhood" friend, who he has not seen or spoken to in "at least a decade", and offers to reveal confidential information about Derwick, and bring Derwick's CEO to a meeting, only after this friend of his started making enquiries, as a "Forbes writer", to Derwick's main U.S. partner ProEnergy Services. Why? Mind you, if what Reich's claim is true, how will D'Agostino explain his interest in preventing publication of an article about Derwick's overprice scandal in Venezuela?</p>
<p>But then, the amended claim fingers FTI Consulting and Sunset Reputation for "conduct[ing] investigative-type... and reputation management" services. Readers of this site are well aware of FTI and its long time relations with the worse scum of Venezuela, but Sunset Reputation, apparently Brandon Hopkins' one-man operation, has been pumping out a lot of benign PR BS on behalf of Derwick.</p>
<p>Derwick Associates has also retained Volkov Group, a lobbying firm headed by Michael Volkov who blogs, wait for it, "corruption, crime and compliance". What a f%$£ joke this is.</p>
<p>And guess who has made an appearance in all this imbroglio? David Osio and his "bank", as well as RaFa the hacker. It's all one big, happy, thuggish, Boliburgeoise family, being helped in its criminal enterprise by none other than JP Morgan.</p>
<p>Hilary Kramer and her stupid white wash attempt also got a mention.</p>
<p>In previous communications related to the lawsuit, Derwick has claimed that New York courts haven't got jurisdiction over its affairs. However, in what can prove to be a lethal counter argument, Reich is showing that the bolichicos filed a lawsuit against Banco Venezolano de Credito (BVC), Oscar Garcia Mendoza et al in New York, and one in Florida, in September 2012. So, New York courts had jurisdiction to entertain the spurious allegations made by Derwick against BVC in 2012, but don't have jurisdiction to hear claims against them in 2013? Again, what a pathetic bunch of imbeciles. Only in Venezuela can such people become multibillionaires. It's going to be truly fascinating to learn what sort of BS they'll come up with. I'd venture a prediction: sooner, rather than later, they'll pay up to avoid further complications and exposure into its dodgy activities.</p>
<p><a href="media/f393d93e.otto-reich-rico-lawsuit-derwick-associates-011314.pdf" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/otto-reich-rico-lawsuit-derwick-associates-011314.pdf">The amended claim below</a> (I highlighted the interesting bits).</p>
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feed_id: 219 at https://www.wefightcensorship.org
title: Singaporean blogger and premier in David-and-Goliath legal battle
uri: Singaporean-blogger-and-premier-in-David-and-Goliath-legal-battle
url:
https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/singaporean-blogger-and-premier-david-and-goliath-legal-battle

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          <div class="field-item even"> <p class="western" lang="en-GB" xml:lang="en-GB">A post criticizing the Singaporean government’s management of the Central Provident Fund (CPF) for retirees got blogger Roy Ngerng into deep trouble with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who is not only suing him but also seeking a summary judgement, in which the court would rule without examining the substance of the case.</p> </div>
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          <div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p lang="en-GB" class="western">Posted on 15 May, Ngerng’s<a href="http://thehearttruths.com/"> blog</a> entry was headlined “<em>Where your CPF Money is going: Learning from the City Harvest Trial.</em>” It made a simple observation, namely, that despite being the world’s eighth largest pension fund, it has one of the lowest yields in Southeast Asia.</p>
<p lang="en-GB" class="western">Lee’s lawyer wrote to Ngerng on 18 May accusing him of making a “<em>false and baseless allegation</em>” that constituted “<em>a very serious libel against our client, disparages him and impugns his character, credit and integrity</em>.” The <a href="http://fr.scribd.com/doc/225816434/Drew-and-Napier-s-Letter-of-Demand-to-Roy-Ngerng">letter</a> demanded deletion of the blog post, a public apology and payment of damages by 21 May.</p>
<p lang="en-GB" class="western"><b>Censorship, apology and support</b></p>
<p lang="en-GB" class="western">Ngerng removed the offending post on 20 May but launched an <a href="https://www.change.org/petitions/the-singapore-government-return-our-cpf-2">online petition</a> (with 3,356 signatures by 24 July) and a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/540971529345418/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming">Facebook call</a> for a demonstration on 7 June to press the government to return the CPF’s money to Singapore’s citizens. On 21 May, he decided to run for parliament. The deadline for complying with Lee’s demands was extended to 23 May. Maruah, a Singaporean human rights group, called on Lee to withdraw his suit.</p>
<p lang="en-GB" class="western">On 23 May, Ngerng issued a public apology in a <a href="http://fr.scribd.com/doc/225814889/M-Ravi-s-letter-to-Drew-and-Napier">letter</a> to Lee’s lawyer, which he posted on his <a href="media/80decee3.Screen-Shot.png" data-original-source="http://mothership.sg/v2/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Screen-Shot.png">blog</a>. “<em>I unreservedly apologise to Mr Lee Hsien Loong for the distress and the embarrassment caused to him</em>.” He also called on the prime minister to withdraw the request for damages, arguing that he earned a “<em>modest living as a health care worker</em>.”</p>
<p lang="en-GB" class="western">He subsequently told Reporters Without Borders why he and his lawyer decided to apologize. “<em>We thought that this was the easiest way out of the situation, knowing that if we had proceeded to fight, it would result in certain bankruptcy, which has happened.</em>”</p>
<p lang="en-GB" class="western">Lee’s lawyer responded the same day to the online newspaper <i><a href="http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/blogger-given-till-monday-make-offer-damages-pm-lees-lawyers">TODAY</a> </i>that Ngerng had made a “<em>very grave and malicious allegation</em>” in his blog post and that the prime minister therefore was “<em>fully entitled to damages</em>.” The prime minister would sue if Ngerng did make a satisfactory offer within three more days.</p>
<p lang="en-GB" class="western"><b>Fired for “<em>incompatible</em>” behaviour</b></p>
<p lang="en-GB" class="western">On 26 May, Lee’s lawyer sent Ngerng a <a href="http://fr.scribd.com/doc/226485049/Drew-and-Napier-asks-Roy-Ngerng-to-remove-4-blogposts-and-a-video%20">letter</a> saying his previous week’s apology “<em>was not and never meant to be genuine</em>” and demanding that he take down four more blog posts referring to the CPF and a video he had posted on YouTube on 23 May. Ngerng’s lawyer <a href="http://fr.scribd.com/doc/226486662/Roy-Ngerng-agrees-to-remove-4-posts%20">wrote back</a> saying he agreed to remove the new posts and would make a damages proposal by 28 May.</p>
<p lang="en-GB" class="western">Ngerng sent an email to local and international media on 27 May with a link to the YouTube video he was supposed to have taken down. He offered $5,000 in damages in a <a href="http://fr.scribd.com/doc/226487204/Roy-Ngerng-agrees-to-pay-5000-in-damages">letter</a> to Lee’s lawyer, who rejected the offer as <a href="http://fr.scribd.com/doc/226487695/Drew-and-Napier-rejects-Roy-Ngerng-s-offer-to-pay-5k%20">“<em>derisory</em>” given the gravity of Ngerng’s behaviour</a>.</p>
<p lang="en-GB" class="western">On 7 June, Singaporean novelist Catherine Lim wrote an <a href="http://catherinelim.sg/2014/06/07/an-open-letter-to-the-prime-minster/%20">open letter</a> to Lee condemning the lawsuit. According to media reports, more than 3,000 people took part in the demonstration in Hong Lim Park that Ngerng organized via social networks to call for the CPF’s money to be returned to Singaporeans. At the same time, Ngerng raised $110,299 (the amount announced on 22 June) with the appeal for donations to help pay the damages that he launched a week after the first letter from Lee’s lawyer.</p>
<p lang="en-GB" class="western">The hospital where Ngerng worked as a patient coordinator fired him on 10 June on the grounds of “<em>conduct incompatible with the values and standards expected of employees.</em>” The health ministry quickly issued a statement to <a href="http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/blogger-roy-ngerngs-lawyer-expresses-regret-over-moh-statement"><i>TODAY </i></a>approving of his dismissal while Lee’s press secretary wrote to <a href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/blogger-pm-case-pm-lee-s/1179584.html?cid=FBSG"><i>The Economist</i></a> the same day condemning his actions. These reactions triggered a debate in Singapore about the involvement of government officials in a private matter.</p>
<p lang="en-GB" class="western">If a judge approves Lee’s request for a summary judgment, it would mean that Ngerng’s apology, extracted under threat of legal action, would be taken as sufficient evidence that defamation took place. The court would therefore not examine the substance of what he wrote in his blog post and would only be required to decide the size of the damages award.</p>
<p lang="en-GB" class="western"><span style="line-height: 1.538em;">Reporters Without Borders appealed on 17 July for </span><a href="http://fr.rsf.org/singapour-reporters-sans-frontieres-appelle-17-07-2014,46641.html" style="line-height: 1.538em;">support for Ngerng</a><span style="line-height: 1.538em;"> and we are now posting a link to the original blog entry expressing doubts about the CPF’s management, which he posted on 15 May and removed a few days later under threat.</span></p>
<p lang="en-GB" class="western">The complete blog post is available here: <a href="http://therealsingapore.com/content/where-your-cpf-money-going-learning-city-harvest-trial">http://therealsingapore.com/content/where-your-cpf-money-going-learning-city-harvest-trial</a></p>
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<h1 id="page-title" class="title">WHERE YOUR CPF MONEY IS GOING: LEARNING FROM THE CITY HARVEST TRIAL</h1>
<p></p>
<p>Last week,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/city-harvest-leaders-have/1095294.html">Channel NewsAsia reported about how</a>, “The founder of City Harvest Church Kong Hee and his five deputies (are) accused of misusing millions of church building funds.”</p>
<p>According to Channel NewsAsia, “The court accepted that there is evidence to show that the monies were moved from the church to the various firms to generate a false appearance that the church’s investments were redeemed. The judge said the six had been dishonest in the use of the money.”</p>
<p>It was also reported that, “Judge See said the auditors’ opinions were “only as good as the information they were given”.”</p>
<p>Below is the chart that Channel NewsAsia had created to show the relations of Kong Hee and his five deputies, and the funds that they have misappropriated.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="1810" width="768" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/4311c729.slh3zqf.jpg" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/slh3zqf.jpg" /></p>
<p><em>Source:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/city-harvest-leaders-have/1095294.html">Channel NewsAsia</a></em></p>
<p>Meanwhile, something bears an uncanny resemblance to how the money is being misappropriated.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="720" width="584" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/c7b1d4b0.wswkaiq.jpg" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/wswkaiq.jpg" /></p>
<p>Channel NewsAsia had reported that, “The court accepted that there is evidence to show that the monies were moved from the church to the various firms to generate a false appearance that the church’s investments were redeemed. The judge said the six had been dishonest in the use of the money.”</p>
<p>“Judge See said the auditors’ opinions were “only as good as the information they were given”.”</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the GIC claims that the&nbsp;“<a href="http://www.gic.com.sg/en/faqs#47">GIC manages the Government’s reserves, but as to how the funds from CPF monies flow into reserves which could then be managed by either MAS, GIC or Temasek, this is not made explicit to us.</a>” The GIC also claims that, “<a href="http://www.gic.com.sg/en/faqs#38">The Government, which is represented by the Ministry of Finance in its dealings with GIC, neither directs nor interferes in the company’s investment decisions. It holds the board accountable for the overall portfolio performance.</a>” However, the PAP prime minister, the two deputy prime ministers and the ministers for Trade and Industry and Education also sit on the board of directors. Lee Hsien Loong is the Chairman and Lee Kuan Yew is the Senior Advisor.</p>
<p>Here are some things for you consider:</p>
<p>Do you know that apparently the CPF is now the 8th largest pension fund in the world?</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="923" width="512" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/94ab5b01.1p4immw.jpg" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/1p4immw.jpg" /></p>
<p><em>Chart:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.pionline.com/article/20130902/INTERACTIVE/130829875/pitowers-watson-world-300-the-largest-retirement-funds">P&amp;I/Towers Watson World 300: The largest retirement funds</a></em></p>
<p>And do you know that&nbsp;the GIC and Temasek have used our CPF to become the 8th and 9th largest sovereign wealth funds in the world?</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="675" width="1200" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/b58ac8d0.iqsoz2j.jpg" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/iqsoz2j.jpg" /></p>
<p><em>Chart:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.swfinstitute.org/fund-rankings/">Sovereign&nbsp;Wealth Fund Institute Fund Rankings</a></em></p>
<p>Yet why do Singaporeans have the least adequate retirement funds in the world?</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="675" width="1200" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/cc35e009.ggarclb.jpg" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/ggarclb.jpg" /></p>
<p><em>Chart:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/pensions-at-a-glance-asia-pacific-2011_9789264107007-en">Pensions at a Glance Asia/Pacific 2011</a></em></p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="675" width="1200" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/dc2a7205.1jqd8a6.jpg" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/1jqd8a6.jpg" /></p>
<p><em>Chart:&nbsp;<a href="media/115649d6.melbourne-mercer-global-pension-index-2013-report.pdf" data-original-source="http://globalpensionindex.com/2013/melbourne-mercer-global-pension-index-2013-report.pdf">Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index</a></em></p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="675" width="1200" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/02eef607.np6mp13.jpg" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/np6mp13.jpg" /></p>
<p><em>Chart:&nbsp;<a href="media/45ee188a.2012.04.26.wp358.dev.asia.pension.systems.pdf" data-original-source="http://www.adbi.org/files/2012.04.26.wp358.dev.asia.pension.systems.pdf">Developing Asia’s Pension Systems and Old-Age Income Support</a></em></p>
<p>And why are nearly 90% of Singaporeans not able to meet the CPF Minimum Sum,&nbsp;are unable to take our money out and are unable to retire?</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="675" width="1200" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/d25a7477.pw6yt5v.jpg" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/pw6yt5v.jpg" /></p>
<p>How did the government make us set aside $253 billion in the CPF to let them earn $1 trillion for the reserves?</p>
<p>And why is it that Singaporeans have saved a massive $253 billion in the CPF but nearly 90% of us are unable to meet the CPF Minimum Sum, are unable to take our money out and are unable to retire?</p>
<p>Do you see something amiss? You are not the only one.</p>
<p>Perhaps&nbsp;<a href="http://www.baldingsworld.com/2014/05/06/subsidizing-profits-smrt-and-temasek/">Prof Christoper Balding best explained this</a>:</p>
<p><em>The financial effect is this: SMRT profit is entirely attributable to subsidies given to it by the Singaporean tax payer and&nbsp;<strong>not</strong>&nbsp;high quality management at Temasek.&nbsp; Put another way, Temasek and its senior executive are only able to declare a profit for SMRT because the Singapore government gives it money.</em></p>
<p><em>SMRT is socializing the risk and privatizing the profits.&nbsp; When losses are incurred it is the Singapore tax payer that suffers but when profits received, it is the executive of Temasek that enjoys the benefit.&nbsp; SMRT is placing the risk on the tax payer but capturing the benefit for itself.&nbsp; While individuals or firms taking individual or corporate risk should be allowed to keep those profits private or socialize risk and profits, it is truly objectionable to socialize the risk but privatize the profits.</em></p>
<p><em>Third, the true financial and economic cost of SMRT and related infrastructure is not being recognized.&nbsp; As one economist noted, if something cannot go on forever it will stop.&nbsp; Singapore, SMRT, and Temasek cannot maintain a loss making firm dependent on regular bail outs to report profits or eventually it will stop.&nbsp; By hiding the true cost of ownership, maintenance, and investment, the government is attempting to protect its Temasek owned asset rather than the tax payer.</em></p>
<p><em>Mass and public transport is a notoriously difficult and generally loss making industry.&nbsp; It is however, morally reprehensible to pretend that a company is making money and use tax payer money to create &nbsp;profits for the investments of family members.&nbsp; The people of Singapore are being defrauded by bearing the risk of investment but seeing none of the profits.</em></p>
<p><a href="http://www.baldingsworld.com/2014/05/13/the-real-cpf-problem/">Professor Balding also said</a>:</p>
<p><em>If the average Singaporean had earned the average Singaporean wage since 1980 and saved the amount required by law but earned the GIC long term average rather than CPF interest, the average Singaporean would have approximately $850,000 SGD in the bank. This is approximately $300,000 more than they would have earned with the same amount of savings in a CPF account. To put this number in perspective, Singaporeans pay higher fees than what the typical hedge fund would charge. The Singaporean government is directly harming everyday Singaporeans by mandating savings into a seriously underperforming asset for the governments benefit.</em></p>
<p><em>Third, Singapore operates a one sided model where the tax payer assumes the risk but the government gets the benefit. If the investments do well, the government keeps everything above the 2.5-4% CPF interest payment; if the investments do poorly, and let’s assume, the CPF collapses, the tax payer will guarantee the payment to CPF holders. In other words, risks are socialized while benefits are privatized.</em></p>
<p><em>The assets of Temasek, GIC, and the CPF are the assets of the people of Singapore. Only in certain people’s imagination are Temasek and GIC assets private and separate from the people of Singapore. The earnings in excess of 2.5-4% that the government keeps for itself that it does not return to CPF savers are directly harming Singaporeans who are on average $300,000 poorer. GIC and Temasek assets that the government insists are private despite all evidence to the contrary demonstrate the governments disdain for the blessing of the financial bounty it has received from the Singaporean taxpayer.</em></p>
<p>In view of the unreasonable increase in the CPF Minimum Sum, we will be organising an event on 7 June at 5pm to call for Singaporeans’ CPF to be returned to us.</p>
<p>The PAP has used government to pursue their own hidden agenda, while forcing Singaporeans to live more difficult lives. The PAP has taken our retirement for themselves to earn high interests on it, while devaluing our CPF and our ability to retire.</p>
<p>This is wrong. We have to stand up and speak up against this scourge. It’s time to stand up and come together to speak up against such wrongdoings.</p>
<p>You can join the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/540971529345418">Facebook event page here</a>.</p>
<p>We have also started a petition to the Singapore government to&nbsp;honour our contributions to our CPF and return our CPF to Singaporeans. You&nbsp;<a href="https://www.change.org/petitions/the-singapore-government-return-our-cpf-2">can sign the petition here</a>.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="1040" width="720" typeof="foaf:Image" src="media/2b21fa47.adocoa9.jpg" data-original-source="https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/sites/default/files/adocoa9.jpg" /></p>
<p><em>Video: How The PAP Started Cutting Down On Singaporeans From 1984</em></p>
<p><strong><em>Roy Ngerng</em></strong></p>
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