censorship
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Microsoft to shut down LinkedIn in China over 'challenging operating environment'
The company will instead run a standalone jobs app in the country.
Kris Holt10.14.2021
FaceTime calls finally seem to be working in the UAE
The UAE appears to have relaxed its ban on FaceTime video calls, although it's not clear how permanent this change really is.
Jon Fingas10.10.2021
Tencent limits how long kids can play its flagship game, 'Honor of Kings'
Tencent has capped playing time for minors on 'Honor of Kings' in China to one hour during weekdays and two hours on holidays.
Saqib Shah08.04.2021
Microsoft says it blocked Tiananmen Square searches outside China due to 'error'
Microsoft says Bing blocked searches for the Tiananmen Square 'tank man' outside the US due to 'human error.'
Jon Fingas06.05.2021
Twitter suspended in Nigeria amid face-off over president's tweet
Nigeria says it has suspended Twitter use in the country after the social network removed a threatening tweet from President Buhari.
Mariella Moon06.05.2021
Instagram will surface more reshared posts amid Palestinian censorship claims
Instagram is changing its algorithm to rank reshared posts more fairly amid Palestinian claims it was censoring content.
Jon Fingas05.30.2021
Russia orders Google to delete 'illegal' content or face slowdowns
Russia's Roskomnadzor internet commission gave the company 24 hours to delete more than 26,000 instances of what it's classifying as illegal content.
Igor Bonifacic05.24.2021
Apple accused of giving Chinese government control over local data
Apple has allegedly handed control of CHinese customer data to a state-owned company in China, according to a new report detailing its cybersecurity failures and compliance with local censors.
Saqib Shah05.18.2021
President Biden revokes Trump order limiting social media protections
President Biden has revoked a Trump executive order that let the federal government intervene when companies cracked down on social media posts.
Jon Fingas05.15.2021
India orders Twitter to pull tweets criticizing its COVID-19 response
India has ordered Twitter to pull dozens of tweets criticizing the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jon Fingas04.24.2021
'Left 4 Dead 2' is finally available, uncensored, in Germany
Germany is getting the uncut version of Left 4 Dead 2 at last, over 11 years after Valve released the game. The developer has announced on Steam that it recently asked German authorities to reevaluate the survival horror game and, as a result, can now make its uncut international version available for sale in the country. To be able to make the game available in Germany and Australia, Valve had to remove elements commonly found in survival horror titles.
Mariella Moon01.29.2021
Russia bans 'Death Note' and other 'violent' anime
A court blocked the shows on some streaming sites.
Kris Holt01.21.2021
TikTok is back in Pakistan following ban due to 'unlawful content'
Pakistan has lifted its ban on TikTok, but only so long as the social video app moderates content in line with local norms.
Jon Fingas10.19.2020
Chinese app offers a peek over the Great Firewall, with big catches
A new Tuber app lets Chinese users partly bypass the Great Firewall, but you'll still have to deal with censorship and privacy violations.
Jon Fingas10.10.2020
DoJ asks Congress to limit protections for social media companies
The Department of Justice (DoJ) is asking Congress to adopt a new law that would make Facebook, Google and Twitter liable for the way they moderate content, The Washington Post reports. The legislation would alter the controversial Section 230 so that tech companies would be accountable when they “unlawfully censor speech and when they knowingly facilitate criminal activity online.” “For too long Section 230 has provided a shield for online platforms to operate with impunity,” Attorney General William Barr said in a statement.
Christine Fisher09.23.2020
Netflix, Amazon and Disney+ will self-regulate to avoid censorship in India
Netflix, Amazon and Disney+ have agreed to a self-regulatory code to prevent the Indian government from censoring streaming movies and TV.
Jon Fingas09.05.2020
Facebook vows legal action after being forced to block Thai anti-royalty group
After being forced by the Thai government to block access to a group critical of the country’s king, Facebook said it will legally challenge the demand. The situation has once again cast a light on Facebook’s policies around authoritarian governments and showed what actions it might take in response.
Steve Dent08.25.2020
Trump's threat to ban TikTok might be legal, but it's super shady
If you don’t know what TikTok is, go ask literally anybody under the age of 30. The short-form, video-based website is a social media juggernaut. It pales against Facebook or Twitter in terms of monthly active users but TikTok still commands an estimated 70 million users in the US (and around 800 million worldwide).
Andrew Tarantola08.06.2020
Netflix reportedly cancels Turkish show rather than write-out gay character
Netflix reportedly shut down a Turkish drama rather than write-out a gay character.
Daniel Cooper07.21.2020
TikTok will pull out of Hong Kong because of China's new security law
TikTok will exit the Hong Kong market and cut off access to all residents of the semi-autonomous region.
Steve Dent07.07.2020