Parliament House filter blocks all .info sitesAfter being told by an MP that the Parliament House computers wouldn’t let them view his blog, Syd Walker started asking questions about which sites are blocked for parliamentarians.
Censorship
The tweets must flow, except when they risk revenue
Twitter’s announcement that it will censor tweets on a country-by-country basis has triggered an immediate global outrage about free speech.
Human Centipede II: why banning violent films creates a new kind of monster
In the online environment, banning films has become the mother of all free advertising, and Human Centipede II just became the latest film to cash in on the infamy of the forbidden.
Vancouver’s cyber-stasi: a Facebook counter-revolution
Facebook and Twitter is supposed to bring people together. Yet in Vancouver a citizen-led virtual witchhunt is underway for those involved in a recent riot — with potentially profound implications for mass surveillance and control, writes Inga Ting.
War on the Internet IV: you are the network’s resilience
The effectiveness of government attacks on the internet can be blunted by some easily-accessible tools.
War on the internet part III: lessons from the 17th, 19th centuries
The internet isn’t the first wave of historic connectedness. We’ve been here before, and so have governments.
War on the internet: the key fronts
A widespread and in many ways concerted series of attack by governments on the internet is underway, one that has increased in scope and complexity since WikiLeaks humiliated the US government and social media helped fuel the Arab Spring.
Bend it like a heavily-edited Beckham
And the honour of the first Western film ever shown in censorship-loving North Korea goes to…envelope please… Bend it like Beckham! Sure, it was edited from 112 minutes down to just 60, but no other film can claim that title.
Mon dieu! Sarkozy spies on journalists
A French satirical weekly, Le Canard Enchainé, accused president Sarkozy of “supervising the spying of French journalists”, claiming that intelligence agencies were forced to investigate and monitor calls of journalists who were critical against the government.
Labor takes a casualty in anti-s-x move
I can’t remember the last time there was any good news for the New South Wales Labor Party. Today is no exception.
Now NSW police become the p-rn police
Now a police officer in NSW can make a snap decision about the classification of a film, simply based on its cover, that could see a shop assistant go to jail, writes Fiona Patten, convenor of the Australian Sex Party.
Shaffer plays Afghan Whispers with Pentagon … and wins
Spies, scandals, secret documents, crises in the Pentagon … and that’s before anyone’s even opened the bloody book! Controversy around Afghan War exposé Operation Dark Heart will likely drive big sales, writes Crikey intern Nick Johns-Wickberg.
Cops didn’t show, but maybe they should have: gay zombie porno sickens
The Melbourne Underground Film Festival staged an illegal screening of Bruce LaBruce’s banned gay zombie flick LA Zombie. A victory for free speech, perhaps, but it’s hard to emerge from it feeling like anything other than a loser.
graph pr0n The dirty facts on internet porn
Internet porn is a massive business, with an estimated 70% of men aged between 18-24 checking out porn online in the last month. Online MBA put together a fascinating array of internet porn statistics.
Hand Jobs some credit: he prefers The Chaser to The Oz
The Chaser launched its iPad app last week, and yes it is shocking that we managed to get it through the rigours of Apple approval faster than The Australian, writes The Chaser’s Craig Reucassel.
Photography and the fascination of erotic youth
Soon Bill Henson’s current show will packed away with barely a squeak about censorship or his “revolting” art. But there is something about the nude minor that jangles a major chord in us, writes W H Chong.
Mocking Mohammad: just because we can, doesn’t mean we should
Today is Everybody Draw Mohammad Day on Facebook, with bloggers around the world sketching lewd pictures of the prophet to protest censorship. But is this really about free speech, or just an excuse to be a jerk?
Mags start self-censoring to please Apple
Apple’s “no-nipples” policy means fashion magazines are now censoring their iPad editions to keep their titles in iTunes. Apparently the latest edition of Dazed & Confused has been nick-named “the Iran edition”.
Mark Scott: The trouble with reporting the truth
Today is World Press Freedom Day. ABC boss Mark Scott reflects on the lack of free speech, government censorship and media control in countries — Fiji, Sri Lanka etc — less fortunate than our own.
revealed 
Google maps government censorship requests around the world
Google reveals — via Google Maps, naturally — the number requests to censor content received from governments worldwide, in six months alone. Brazil tops the list, though a big red question mark still hangs over China.
Crikey Says: Conroy fighting internet battle on wrong front
Stephen Conroy slams Google for its hypocritical stance on the government’s proposed internet filter. But the Minister has a little China problem of his own.
leaked 
China’s instructions on reporting on Google
Straight from the Ministry of Truth: the WashPo has a leaked copy of the Chinese government’s instructions to news sites on how to report on Google’s decision to stop censoring its search results.
What elections? Berlusconi silences the Italian media
Significant regional elections are coming up in Italy, yet thanks to PM Silvio Berlusconi’s control over Italian TV — and the expectation that results won’t be kind to Berlusconi — they will hardly rate a mention.
leaked 
The Chinese government’s censorship guidelines
A list of the Chinese government’s censorship guidelines has been posted online and the NYT has translated and annotated them. See what the Chinese don’t want you to know.
