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Iran's internet crackdown prompts frustration — and workarounds

Oct 6, 2022
After the death of Mahsa Amini, Iran's government and citizens use increasingly sophisticated tools in their struggle over information.
Iranian demonstrators in the streets of Tehran after the death of Mahsa Amini. The government has a history of blocking digital access when protests break out.
-/AFP via Getty Images

How Trump's executive order would change social media and the internet

May 29, 2020
Without the 1996 law Section 230, the internet as we know it would not exist.
The executive order could lead to uncharted territory on the internet, where platforms either over- or under-censor everything.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

Journalists say Instagram is shutting down conversation about Soleimani

Jan 13, 2020
Facebook says it is legally required to take down posts in support of sanctioned groups and people. Is it going further than that?
People hold posters showing the portrait of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Major General Qassem Soleimani and chant slogans during a protest outside the U.S. Consulate on Jan. 5, 2020 in Istanbul, Turkey.
Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Why a mystery social media account on the U.S.-China trade talks is generating buzz

May 28, 2019
China’s state-run media has been tight-lipped about trade talks, but a mystery social media account seems to have the inside track.
A headline on a Taoran Notes article on the U.S.-China trade talks reads: "Without sincerity, there is no point in coming for talks and nothing to talk about.” Credit: Taoran Notes/WeChat
Taoran Notes/WeChat

What internet search is like behind China's Great Firewall

Feb 15, 2019
Steering clear of the three Ts isn't enough anymore.
A dragonfly balloon outside Google's headquarters in Madrid is part of a protest of the company's Dragonfly project on Nov. 27, 2018.
OSCAR DEL POZO/AFP/Getty Images

A not-so-secret war for control of the internet

May 4, 2018
Governments recognize that control of the internet has become a proxy for political power.
Who makes the rules for what can and can't happen on the internet gets complicated.
LARS HAGBERG/AFP/Getty Images

An end to bypassing China's great firewall?

Mar 30, 2018
Ever thought of a life without access to Twitter, Facebook or even Google? For years, residents in China have used virtual private networks, or VPNs, to bypass the government’s strict regulation on internet usage. Recently however, the Chinese government has announced a crackdown on its citizens’ use of VPNs and is closing a lot of […]

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Social media censorship from around the world

May 27, 2016
Here are the governments really that don’t “like” social media.
A computer screen displaying the logo of social networking site Facebook is reflected in a window before the Beijing skyline. China's government is one of the toughest when it comes to censoring social media.
Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images

Chinese have their own Internet censorship song

Feb 13, 2015
"An Internet power: Tell the world that the Chinese dream is uplifting China."

How do you solve a problem like censoring YouTube?

Feb 2, 2015
48 hours worth of video is uploaded every minute—Policing content is problematic.