Hungary: Government limits FOIA transparency law

In an unexpected move last week, Parliamentarians in Hungary took action to change the country’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in an effort to limit the scope of data accessible to the public under the law. Read More »

Azerbaijan legislating civil web discourse

Just as Azerbaijan is being criticized in the Freedom House report, the country’s legislature is considering a measure that would punish untoward statements on the Internet, EurasiaNet.org reports.
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Wikipedia’s suicide mission against Russian censors

Smoking cannabis is dangerous business for people the world over. In Russia, just writing about it online is apparently enough to run afoul of federal anti-drug police, as that nation’s Wikipedians learned last Friday, April 5, 2013. It was then that state officials first informed Wikimedia Russia, the Wikimedia Foundation’s local chapter, that the government has placed its “Cannabis Smoking” article [ru] on its blacklist of illegal websites. Read More »

Georgia places high for net freedom, but some problems remain

Georgia’s Internet is generally free from government censorship, the newly published Transparency International Georgia’s report says. Last year, there was not a single case reported of websites blockages; nor were any bloggers or other online activists questioned arrested for their online activities, as it often happens in the neighboring countries. Read More »

YouTube sues Russian authorities over video ban

YouTube is suing the Russian consumer rights agency over a new law that restricts content, RIA Novosti reports. Read More »

In Belarus, gadgets gadgets everywhere nor any freedom to tweet

Perhaps you saw the funny quote in my news feed on Facebook that read: “This country looks like a post-apocalyptic world. Everyone has got gadgets, phones, and tablets – and around you see broken roads and loads of waste”. Read More »

Russia shutters more than 90 sites over child pornography

More than 90 Russian-registered websites have been shut down since January for content containing child pornography, according to a  4 February  announcement by the Interpol National Central Bureau, RIA Novosti reports.  Read More »

Russia hopes to get tough on cyber attacks

The Russian government has announced plans to beef up the state’s cyber security.  Although specifics of the plan have yet to be laid out, the Kremlin has said it’s first step will be to consolidate authority for fighting the problem under the nation’s internal security agency. Read More »

Hackers break into official Uzbek TV site to highlight media propaganda

Uzbeks visiting the state-run broadcaster’s official website on 30 January got a surprise: a short message reading, “The news you spread are lies!” The proclamation was the product of hackers who disabled the site then posted the message, RFE/RL reported. Read More »

Third time a charm for Tajik Facebook block?

As Tajikistan’s elections approach this fall, authorities in the Central Asian country have blocked Facebook for the third time in recent months.  The blockage, something that seems to be becoming increasingly common in the country, also seems to extend this time to Radio Free Europe’s Tajik service. Read More »

Looking East: The Russian example of volunteerism for Belarus

Moscow court orders removal of ‘extremist’ Pussy Riot online videos

Four videos made by the dissident punk band Pussy Riot are extremist, a Moscow court ruled 29 November, according to Radio Free Europe. Read More »

Tajikistan cuts access to Facebook, again

Authorities in Tajikistan have blocked access to Facebook for the second time this year, saying citizens are too tired of the “mud and slander” emanating from the site, according to Reuters. The blockade is one of several measures seen as aimed at dampening public dissent as the country looks ahead to a presidential election in 2013. Read More »

Azerbaijan: How to Measure Free Speech on the Internet?

Originally published by EurasiaNet.org.

Civil society activists in Azerbaijan are trying to push back against government efforts to restrict space for public debate. And they’re hoping a recent global Internet forum in Baku will expand international support for their cause.

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