As Internet Pervasiveness Rises, So Too Does Government Censorship

By

What's scarier to a government with totalitarian leanings than a free exchange of global information via the Internet? Not much, apparently. According to a group called the Committee to Protect Journalists, governments worldwide are developing new tools to censor reporters as the media increasingly moves online.

In a report released on the eve of World Press Freedom Day on Tuesday, the committee said 69 journalists whose work appears mostly online were jailed as of Dec. 1, representing almost half of all reporters imprisoned worldwide, reports the Associated Press.

The press advocacy group said the sophisticated censorship techniques are often coupled with physical intimidation of online journalists.

“These sophisticated, often invisible, attacks constitute a new front in the fight for press freedom,” said Danny O'Brien, CPJ Internet Advocacy Coordinator and the report's author.

O'Brien said the techniques go well beyond Web censorship, with governments using the Internet to spy on writers and sabotage independent news sites.

“The aim is not only to censor but to block or disrupt the reporting process and the dissemination of news and information,” he said.

The committee looked at 10 common strategies that governments are using to suppress information.

Those tools include state-supported e-mail designed to take over journalists' personal computers in China, the shutting down of anti-censorship technology in Iran, monopolistic control of the Internet in Ethiopia, and synchronized cyber-attacks in Belarus.


Tracey Schelmetic is a contributing editor for TechZone360. To read more of Tracey's articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Tammy Wolf
Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. [Free eNews Subscription]

TechZone360 Contributor

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Related Articles

Can Science Outsmart Deepfake Deceivers? Klick Labs Proposes an Emerging Solution

By: Alex Passett    3/25/2024

Researchers at Klick Labs were able to identify audio deepfakes from authentic audio recordings via new vocal biomarker technology (alongside AI model…

Read More

Top 5 Best Ways to Integrate Technology for Successful Project-Based Learning

By: Contributing Writer    3/19/2024

Project-based learning, also popularly known as the PBL curriculum, emphasizes using and integrating technology with classroom teaching. This approach…

Read More

How to Protect Your Website From LDAP Injection Attacks

By: Contributing Writer    3/12/2024

Prevent LDAP injection attacks with regular testing, limiting access privileges, sanitizing user input, and applying the proper encoding functions.

Read More

Azure Cost Optimization: 5 Things You Can Do to Save on Azure

By: Contributing Writer    3/7/2024

Azure cost optimization is the process of managing and reducing the overall cost of using Azure. It involves understanding the resources you're using,…

Read More

Massive Meta Apps and Services Outage Impacts Users Worldwide

By: Alex Passett    3/5/2024

Meta's suite of apps and services are experiencing major global outages on Super Tuesday 2024.

Read More