Information Policy

Letter to U.S. government: Do not disrupt internet access in Russia or Belarus

President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20500

March 10, 2022

Dear President Biden,

Continue reading "Letter to U.S. government: Do not disrupt internet access in Russia or Belarus" »

As Russia blocked access to Meta Platforms Inc’s flagship social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram, demand from internet users for tools to skirt the restrictions skyrocketed, data from a monitoring firm showed.

Digital authoritarianism—the use of information technology by authoritarian regimes to surveil, repress, and manipulate domestic and foreign populations—is on the rise. In China, the Great Firewall and other systematic tools of digital oppression define the norms of public and private discourse. In Turkey, Wikipedia was banned for nearly three years before the country’s Constitutional Court ruled that the ban was a violation of freedom of expression. In Myanmar, a military coup has instituted nightly internet shutdowns. The Washington Post, as part of the global Pegasus Project, has uncovered widespread abuse of spyware technology to monitor dissidents.

Continue reading "Digital Human Rights Need a Single Home in U.S. Government " »

The Internet is splintering, and the Ukraine crisis is accelerating it. 

They call it the “splinternet,” and it matters. Most people know that Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Google don’t work in China, but Wikipedia, LinkedIn, and Reddit are also blocked.

The Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption of Belarus (GUBOPiK) has detained prominent Wikipedia editor Mark Bernstein, according to the Belarusian publication Zerkalo. The arrest comes after Bernstein’s personal information was shared on GOBUPiK’s public Telegram channel. Bernstein is one of the top 50 editors of Russian Wikipedia.

Demand for VPNs in Russia skyrockets after Facebook and Instagram block

As Russia blocked access to Meta Platforms Inc’s flagship social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram, demand from internet users for tools to skirt the restrictions skyrocketed, data from a monitoring firm showed.

Digital Human Rights Need a Single Home in U.S. Government

Digital authoritarianism—the use of information technology by authoritarian regimes to surveil, repress, and manipulate domestic and foreign populations—is on the rise. In China, the Great Firewall and other systematic tools of digital oppression define the norms of public and private discourse. In Turkey, Wikipedia was banned for nearly three years before the country’s Constitutional Court ruled that the ban was a violation of freedom of expression. In Myanmar, a military coup has instituted nightly internet shutdowns. The Washington Post, as part of the global Pegasus Project, has uncovered widespread abuse of spyware technology to monitor dissidents.

Continue reading "Digital Human Rights Need a Single Home in U.S. Government " »

The Internet is splintering, and the Ukraine crisis is accelerating it. 

They call it the “splinternet,” and it matters. Most people know that Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Google don’t work in China, but Wikipedia, LinkedIn, and Reddit are also blocked.

The Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption of Belarus (GUBOPiK) has detained prominent Wikipedia editor Mark Bernstein, according to the Belarusian publication Zerkalo. The arrest comes after Bernstein’s personal information was shared on GOBUPiK’s public Telegram channel. Bernstein is one of the top 50 editors of Russian Wikipedia.

Unlocking real news sites in the “splinternet”

The Internet is splintering, and the Ukraine crisis is accelerating it. 

They call it the “splinternet,” and it matters. Most people know that Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Google don’t work in China, but Wikipedia, LinkedIn, and Reddit are also blocked.

A top Wikipedia editor has been arrested in Belarus

The Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption of Belarus (GUBOPiK) has detained prominent Wikipedia editor Mark Bernstein, according to the Belarusian publication Zerkalo. The arrest comes after Bernstein’s personal information was shared on GOBUPiK’s public Telegram channel. Bernstein is one of the top 50 editors of Russian Wikipedia.