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Social media users in China face tighter controls after the introduction of new rules aimed at preventing the spread of online rumours on Sina Weibo, the country's version of Twitter.

The service, which has 300 million members, has become a platform for Chinese citizens to criticise the government in ways that have never been possible before. But yesterday, the website introduced "user contracts" to curb controversial posts, with the rules thought to have come about amid pressure from Chinese authorities. The norms will strengthen the so-called Great Firewall of China the country's system of internet controls.

Under the system, Sina Weibo users start off with 80 points, which are then deducted when they break the rules by "spreading rumours", encouraging gambling, "insulting the nation" or "calling for illegal protests", according to a posting on the website. If the balance of points falls to zero, users face the cancellation of their accounts.

The new regulations are believed to be the latest attempt by the authorities to contain the impact of the service. Even though micro-blogging in China started less than three years go, it has become enormously popular, with growth quadrupling last year. Nearly half of all Chinese internet users now use micro-blogs.

The government has previously forced Weibo's legions of micro-bloggers to use their own names, not nicknames or avatars. But the rumours and speculation sparked after the removal of the former Chongqing Communist Party boss, Bo Xilai, and the naming of his wife, Gu Kailai, as a suspect in the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood appears to have spurred additional action.

The new controls were introduced as the capital was gripped by rumours about the next stage in the purge of Bo Xilai and the progress of the power struggle within the Party's upper echelons. Authorities shut 16 websites and detained six people for "fabricating or disseminating online rumours" about military vehicles entering Beijing, while Weibo and other sites such as Tencent's QQ, were "criticised and punished accordingly", and their comments sections closed.

But despite attempting to exert control, the authorities have been often hamstrung by the ability of micro-bloggers to find ways around the restrictions they impose. For example, as soon as the words "Bo Xilai" are banned, online users start tweeting "BXL". The new rules are aimed at closing these loopholes.

Officially, the measures have been introduced by Weibo. But it is generally thought that Sina, the technology giant that owns Weibo, is trying to show its good corporate credentials to the Chinese government by helping with self-censorship and avoiding possible censure in the future.

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State pressure blamed for new censorship on China's Twitter

The Indian arm of Anonymous is planning what it describes as non-violent protests against Internet censorship in various Indian cities, after some Internet service providers blocked file-sharing sites in the country.

The protests, planned for June 9, follow a court order in March directed at ISPs, meant to prevent a newly released local movie from being offered in a pirated version online. Some ISPs went ahead and blocked some file-sharing sites altogether, rather than the offending URLs.

One such ISP, Reliance Communications, found its service was tinkered with last week, redirecting its users from sites like Facebook and Twitter to a protest page, according to reports from users. The hackers also claimed to have attacked the website and servers of Reliance, and claimed to have got access to a large list of URLs blocked by the company.

Reliance Communications said on Monday it had thoroughly investigated the matter and all its servers and websites are intact. "We have required preventive measures and strongest possible IT security layers in place to tackle any unwarranted intrusions," the company said in a statement. "Despite repeated attempts by hackers, our servers could not be hacked."

The hackers also claimed to have attacked websites of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the main opposition party in the country, after having previously launched DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks on various websites including that of the Indian central bank, Reserve Bank of India.

Anonymous was active in India last year, when it attacked the website of the Indian army. It quickly reversed its decision to attack the site and kept a low profile after drawing protests from some of its own members.

Anonymous is asking supporters to download and print cut-outs of the Guy Fawkes mask, used by the hacker group as a logo, to be worn during the anti-censorship street protests.

The group's protests are also directed at India's Information Technology Act, which among other things allows the government to block websites under certain conditions, and also allows the removal of online content by notice to ISPs. The government is in the process of framing rules that will put curbs on freedom on social media, Anonymous said in a recent video, presumably a reference to demands by the government that Internet companies should have a mechanism in place to filter objectionable content, including content that mocks religious figures.

India's Computer Emergency Response Team observed last week that hacker groups are launching DDoS attacks on government and private websites. These attacks may be targeted at different websites of reputed organizations, the agency said in an advisory. The attacks are being launched using popular DDoS tools and can consume bandwidth requiring appropriate proactive action in coordination with service providers, it added.

John Ribeiro covers outsourcing and general technology breaking news from India for The IDG News Service. Follow John on Twitter at @Johnribeiro. John's e-mail address is john_ribeiro@idg.com

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Anonymous India Calls for Non-violent Protests Against Censorship

Atthe 65th Cannes Festival, Iranian film director Asghar Farhadi was, once again, the centre of attention, this time for his next film project. The European Commission has selected Farhadis next movie for its 60,000 euro Prix MEDIA award. The film is due to be set in Paris with European casting. Earlier this year,Farhadis Separation won twoOscar nominationsandtook the award for Best Foreign Language film, the first Iranian movie to win the honour. In an interview with euronews in Cannes, Asghar Farhadi talks about his next project, the reaction in Iran, his cinematic style and thecurrent restraintson Iranian film-makers. euronews: Youve just won the Prix MEDIA a European award whichrecognises cultural diversity, what does this award mean for you as an Iranian Film maker? Asghar Farhadi: The meaning it has for me is the same as all the encouragement I have received through these years. The other meaning is thatIm a writer who has always composed in the Persian language andwhose dialogues have always been in thePersian language. Now some of the cast will be speaking another language. Finally, it means that those who have read the script for my next film have been able to connect with it and did not find it an unfamiliar storydespite not knowing Persian, and that means a lot to me. euronews: You won many international awards for your last movie A Separation amongst them an Oscar for best foreign language movie but apparently when you returned to Iran, the official welcome dinner organised by the State of Iran was cancelled; what happened? Asghar Farhadi: My cinema friends and colleagues were going to hold a ceremony, a very sincere and simple ceremony. Well, they faced problems and they could not hold it properly and they were still trying to hold the ceremony one way or another. I did not want them to have more problems and I asked them not to continue. The ceremony was not going to be held by the House of Cinema, (House of Cinema isIrans biggest syndicate for cinema actors/actresses/film-makers butwas closed earlier this year by the authorities), but by friends who were mostly members of the House of Cinema. What they were doing meant a lot to me although they could not do it the way they wanted to. I could never find out why the ceremony was cancelled. However,despite everything,it was very valuable for me. All this time, I have got so much support from the people of my country and I have been blessed with their kindness and this support is a great asset for me and very valuable.

euronews: In your movies you have a certain style which reminds me of Chekhov, Ibsen and Kieslowski certainly in your last movie A Separation you have a style I would call neo-realistic; what for you is the task of this realistic style? Asghar Farhadi: It might have been the books I read when I was a teenager. The stories I read at that time were very close to reality; not just a mere portrayal of reality but a selection of a layer of reality which, within itself, contained much more complicated layers of reality. Reading those stories as a younger adult has unconsciously created a certain taste which showed itself when I started writing movie scripts and plays.

euronews: An artist-and I consider you as a filmmaker and screenwriter as an artist -you must have a certain freedom of artistic expression. Where is the borderline for you between artistic expression and freedom, and state censorship? Asghar Farhadi: For someone like me andof my generation whowas born and has grown upwith these restrictions be they at home, at school, on the street, or at university; sometimes this borderline between being restricted and not being restricted is blurred. Not in the same sense that I sometimes hear: Restrictions lead to creativity. This is wrong to say. Perhaps in the short run, restrictions can bring about creativity but, in the long term, it destroys it. Therefore, if there were no restrictions for Iranian film-makers, we would have seen more creativity from them. euronews: There are a lot of Iranian film directors who cannot work the way they wish in Iran. Some Western journalists call this a problem of censorship. How would you explain the problem? Asghar Farhadi: The problem is not a very clear and transparent problem that I can define for you. Perhaps if we summarise it in one word, it is the same as you say, censorship and restriction. This is not just from the system, not just from the authority and the ruling system. Some of this censorship is within the artist or the film-maker without them being aware of it, and this is more dangerous, because if there are restrictions on the outside, you can see them, you can get it, you can recognise it, experience it and find a way for going through it. But when it is within your ownmind, you will not be able to find it. It is like someone who is ill but does not know about his illness and feels that he is healthy. This is dangerous. euronews: The House of Cinema, an important body supporting artists and filmmakers in Iran was closed a few month ago it shocked a lot of filmmakers, actors and actresses how do you feel about this? Asghar Farhadi: Ihavesome good news. I learnt that through their efforts, all those who were active in and all the members of House of Cinema, havemanaged to getit re-opened soon. I am not sure yet, I have heard this as news. My feeling when the House of Cinema was closed was a very bad feeling. Neither I nor any other of my colleagues could find out why such an establishment should be shut. Reasons were given but none of them were acceptable to me. I thought those were not the real reasons and something else has made them close the House of Cinema. But I am happy that finally, due to the efforts of the cinema people, this incident was not forgotten, unlike many other events that are forgotten in the course of time.

Copyright 2012 euronews

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Farhadi - self-censorship 'real danger' for Iranian filmmakers

Thursday, May 24, 2012

A disturbing pattern continues to emerge across the country involving breast-cancer support bracelets worn by public school students. Students wear them, administrators overreact and censor them, and some students file lawsuits in federal court asserting their First Amendment rights.

The bracelets, sponsored by the Keep A Breast Foundation, are designed to increase awareness of breast cancer. Some public school students wear them to honor a family member or friend who has battled the disease.

The Fort Wayne, Ind., Journal Gazette reports on the latest of these controversies. An unidentified high school sophomore in Fort Wayne sued after her principal forbade her from wearing the bracelet. It had been given to her by her mother, Julie Andrzejewski, a breast-cancer survivor.

One federal court decision in Pennsylvania already has established that two middle school students had a First Amendment right to wear the bracelets. In H. v. Easton Area School District, a federal district judge ruled in April 2011 in the students favor. The judge found that the bracelets caused no substantial disruption of school activities and were not vulgar or lewd.

These bracelets are protected speech. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969) that public school students had the right to wear black peace armbands to public school even though the Vietnam War was the most controversial of topics.

The I Love Boobies bracelets should be treated the same way as the black peace armbands in Tinker as protected speech. The First Amendment requires as much.

Tags: censorship, public school, student expression, student speech

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Censorship of ‘boobies bracelets’ continues

Agence France-Presse

Supporters of Lady Gaga display banner mounted on a three-wheeled pedicab in Solo, Central Java, Indonesia, Sunday, May 20, 2012. US singer Lady Gaga might have to cancel her sold-out show in Indonesia because police worry her sexy clothes and dance moves undermine Islamic values and will corrupt the country's youth. Writing on the banner reads "Welcome, Lady Gaga". AP

JAKARTALady Gaga broke her silence about a jeopardized concert in Jakarta, saying on Twitter Tuesday that she was facing censorship from Indonesian authorities and threats of violence from Islamic hardliners.

Indonesian police have said they would not issue a permit for the June 3 show after objections from Islamic groups, but the promoters say they are still fighting for a way to stage the event.

The Jakarta situation is 2-fold: Indonesian authorities demand I censor the show & religious extremist separately, are threatening violence, Lady Gaga tweeted on her official @ladygaga account.

If the show does go on as scheduled, I will perform the BTWBall alone, she said, referring to her Born This Way Ball show for which more than 50,000 tickets have been sold.

It was not clear what the US pop diva meant by saying she would perform solo.

Indonesian police said last week they would not issue a permit for the concert after receiving objections to the provocative performers risque shows from Islamic groups, including the countrys top Islamic body the National Ulema Council (MUI).

Lawyers representing production company Big Daddy said they met with Jakarta police Tuesday to discuss conditions necessary for the show to go ahead.

The deadline they gave was seven days before the show. We are working hard to fulfil all the requirements, which are mostly administrative. We have covered almost all the conditions, lawyer Minola Sebayang told AFP.

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Lady Gaga tweets about Indonesian concert censorship