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Both services have reportedly been blocked by the government, says the Guardian, forcing people to access them through VPN software.

Turkey Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Twitter page.

Many Turkish Internet users are staying connected to Facebook and Twitter despite reported government censorship of the two sites.

To get past the blockade of the two popular social networks, Turkish citizens have been using VPN software such as Hotspot Shield, which opens a tunnel through the Internet so the connection can't be detected. This past weekend, more than 120,000 people in Turkey downloaded the software, according to the Guardian, a huge leap from the 10,000 new users seen on an average day.

On Saturday, blog site TechCrunch said a number of sources told it that both Facebook and Twitter have been impossible to access from inside Instanbul and other areas of Turkey.

Protests against Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan over restrictions on alcohol and other issues have triggered clashes with police, leading to injuries among many of the protesters and at least one death. Following reports that news organizations aren't fully covering the news, citizens in Turkey have been relying on social networks to send and receive information.

But Erdogan has actually blamed Twitter for fueling the protests, telling news site France 24 that "there is now a menace which is called Twitter. The best examples of lies can be found there. To me, social media is the worst menace to society.''

The level of the censorship against Facebook and Twitter is a bit of a question, however.

On Saturday, Internet monitoring company Renesys said it found no evidence that Turkey's Internet access was being blocked. The company added that it could not rule out the possibility of slowdowns, but said that might be due to increased traffic.

"It may be the case that some local Internet users are experiencing delays on oversubscribed DSL lines or mobile Internet connections," Renesys said in its Saturday blog.

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Turkish users sneak past censorship of Facebook, Twitter

BEIJING, June 4 (UPI) -- Chinese activists say they will mark the 24th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre despite government censorship of any mention of the event.

Many are posting photos of candles online, while others are wearing black T-shirts, Voice of America reported. Tuesday.

Police began standing guard to ward off protests at the square on Friday where Chinese troops had crushed a student-led demonstration. Estimates of the number killed have ranged from several hundred to several thousand, but the government has never commented on the number of protesters who died.

Any mention of the event is blocked on the Internet and social media. A candle icon that served as a digital vigil was removed from Sina Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter. In response, citizens posted photos of candles.

In Hong Kong, where residents enjoy greater freedom, more than 100,000 people were expected to attend a candlelight vigil.

Hu Jia, an AIDS activist and political dissident in Beijing, urged people attending the vigil to wear black, The Wall Street Journal reported on its blog.

He joked that buying black T-shirts in China might soon require identification.

Government censorship of the Internet and social media has made commenting directly on the anniversary difficult. Some Sina Weibo users instead noted the arrival of dark clouds in Beijing around midday Tuesday.

"Heaven sees what the people see, Heaven hears what the people hear. Today, Heaven's heart feels what's in the people's hearts," wrote historian Zhang Lifan, quoting Confucius.

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Despite censorship, Chinese find ways to mark Tiananmen anniversary

By Joseph Mtingwi, Nyasa Times

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Malawi Censorship Board has said it does not censor material on the internet because it is not mandated to do so adding that the Board regulates films, public entertainment and publications; and does not include regulating internet content.

This was disclosed by Deputy Director of Culture, Chrissy Chiumia in an interview with Nyasa Times.

The mandate of the Board is to regulate films, public entertainment and publications; and does not include regulating internet content.

Regulating content on the internet is more than censorship. The issue requires separate legal framework and of course the direct involvement of the internet service providers, explained Chiumia.

She further said as a board they cannot just jump into matters that are not clearly provided by the law.

The challenge is that sensitive material is left uncensored, and our calling is to operate within the mandate of the Censorship Act, she said.

She also explained that consultations on the review of the Censorship act reflected on this issue but the consensus was that regulating content on the internet would better be under the Communications Act.

It is from that background that the issue has evolved to the E Legislation Bill which, among other important matters, seeks to regulate content on the internet, she elaborated.

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Malawi Censorship Board says not regulating material on internet

President Michael D Higgins: Even in those parts of the world where citizens are no longer misinformed by an ideological state media control, the risk of censorship can still present itself in the form of monopolies and oligarchy. Photograph: Brenda Fitzsimons

President Michael D Higgins has warned the International Federation of Journalists world congress meeting in Dublin that the risk of censorship can present itself in the form of monopolies and oligarchy.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the conference that continues until Friday, Mr Higgins said the threat to impartial and free journalism could flow from within the media sector as well as from without. It can flow from the concentration of power of owners, cross-ownership, advertisers pressure or even from the reticence of journalists to challenge received wisdom, he said.

Mr Higgins said the media landscape had changed considerably in recent decades and journalism would be practised in changed circumstances in future, thanks to the concentration of ownership, the fragmentation of audiences and the convergence of technologies.

Monopoly and oligarchy Even in those parts of the world where citizens are no longer misinformed by an ideological state media control, the risk of censorship can still present itself in the form of monopolies and oligarchy.

A mass media characterised by the rise of large transnational media players brought new challenges for journalists, the President said. A less diverse media would be less willing to challenge received wisdom or the interests of those in power.

Journalists attempting to investigate and provide information on political and corporate corruption can often be hindered and intimidated by those with vested interests.

Mr Higgins said the principles of diversity and pluralism must be protected to promote a free flow of ideas and information and strengthen the exercise of freedom of expression around the world.

He said mass media appeared to be converging on a set of online technologies to deliver content. He said this had some very profound opportunities for journalism, because it opened up a potentially global audience by rendering national borders redundant.

The possibilities for citizen journalists, civic groups and dispossessed people to take control of their own narratives were also immense, he said. However, he said the consequences must not be ignored.

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Censorship has many forms, President tells journalists’ congress

Media Control Server
Engineering project for Cogswell Fusion Awards 2013.

By: Andrew Traxler

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Media Control Server - Video