Breaking the Walled Wide Web

In case you don’t have time, here is a quick summary:

• LGBTQ dating app Grindr has been blocked in Malaysia since April 17, 2024.
• Russian human rights group, OVD-info, received a warning from YouTube that their popular YouTube channel Kak Teper (translation: “What Now?”) may face takedown per request from Russian authorities.
• The 2023 KeepItOn Report published by digital rights organization Access Now is out and it is a bleak one — with 283 shutdowns documented across 39 countries in the year of 2023.

More information:
You can now find the (rough) transcript of this episode in our show notes on Medium! And here is the Mandarin version of the podcast.
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Audio credit (in the order of appearance):

• Intro: "Order" by ComaStudio on Pixabay
• Transition music: "Beethoven Sonata No1 in F minor" by GregorQuendel on Freesound

Book recommendation:
"Censored: Distraction and Diversion Inside China's Great Firewall"

• Author: Margaret E. Roberts
• Published year: 2018
• Published by Princeton University Press
• ISBN: 978-0-691-17886-8

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Audio credit (in the order of appearance):

• Intro/outro: "Order" by ComaStudio on Pixabay

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In case you don’t have time, here is a quick summary:

• Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing government is set to legislate a new bill (aka Article 23 of the Basic Law) to fill gaps of the 2020 National Security Law and further crack down on any remaining resistance.
• Russia just banned advertising VPNs online — a move that probably won’t make a dent on the people’s high demand for circumvention tools, but can be the reason for more censorship.
• “TikTok ban” (aka HR7521) has moved a step closer to reality after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill on March 13, but many human rights and digital rights coalitions are warning against its passage. 

More information:
You can now find the (rough) transcript of this episode in our show notes on Medium! And here is the Mandarin version of the podcast.
Leave a public comment or send me a private (anonymous) message

Audio credit (in the order of appearance):

• Intro: "Order" by ComaStudio on Pixabay
• Glory to Hong Kong song clip from Dgx music
• Transition music: "Smooth piano for documentaries" by UNIVERSFIELD on Freesound
• Transition music: "Beethoven Sonata No1 in F minor" by GregorQuendel on Freesound

**Help me improve this podcast by filling out a quick anonymous survey (<5 mins!)
In case you don’t have time, here is a selection of censorship-related news from February 15 to 29, 2024:

• India is witnessing a new wave of farmers protests and the authorities are using mobile internet shutdowns and social media account suspension orders to control the spread of information.
• Pakistan just had their general elections, but many are calling it rigged and taking to the streets while access to Twitter/X has been disrupted on a national scale since February 17. 
• Senegal’s president postponed the country’s presidential election by almost 10 months. Amidst protests and backlash, authorities shut down mobile internet allegedly to curb “hateful and subversive messages” online.
• Chinese company I-Soon is at the center of a recent leak where its collaborations with China’s Ministry of Public Security and other government agencies came to light. This includes the supply of malware and surveillance technologies targeting dissidents and minority groups.
• Canada-based tech company Sandvine is the newest addition to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s entity list for its role in assisting governments to spy on and censor citizens.

CORRECTION:

• In Segment 3, the date on which Senegal's Constitutional Council ruled the postponement unconstitutional was Feb 15, not Feb. 25.

More information:
You can now find the (rough) transcript of this episode in our show notes on Medium!
Leave a public comment or send me a private (anonymous) message

Audio credit (in the order of appearance):

• Intro: "Order" by ComaStudio on Pixabay
• Protest sound clip from ANI News shorts
• Transition music: "Deep Tension" by Metamorphose on Freesound
• Transition music: "Cinematic Time Lapse" by Lexin_Music on Pixabay
• Transition music: "Piano Loops 077" by Josefpres on Freesound

This is the trailer of Season 1 (Feb 2024 - Present)
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