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Twitter bans advertising from state-controlled news outlets
Twitter announced today that it will no longer accept advertising from state-controlled news outlets. Those accounts will still be able to use the platform, but not its advertising. The change comes after China's state-backed media outlet Xinhua sponsored ads attacking Hong Kong protestors.
Twitter hands over Occupy Wall Street protestor's updates under pressure
Twitter has been building a modest reputation for siding with the little guy (or girl) when it comes to communication privacy, and it just demonstrated how far it's willing to go in a showdown with Manhattan's Criminal Court over a demand to hand over tweets from Occupy Wall Street protestor Malcolm Harris. The social network has been pushed into delivering the claimed evidence, but only as it faced a deadline and the threat of a fine -- it even tried one last request for a stay before producing hard copies of the messages. However much the handover affects Harris' chances at winning during trial, it emphasizes that public posts have serious consequences -- companies ultimately can't shield you from the law. [Image credit: Paul Stein, Flickr]
140 characters to the clink: Occupy Wall Street protester loses battle to block Twitter subpoena
In a decision that's sure to be lost on this generation of over-sharers, Occupy Wall Street protester Malcolm Harris, arrested this past October during a Brooklyn Bridge demonstration, has just lost a legal battle to block prosecutors' attempts to subpoena three month's worth of his tweets. Chalking the ruling up to Twitter's terms of service, Judge Matthew Sciarrino Jr. concluded that the posted updates belong to the social networking company under license and, therefore, are fair game for use in the case "given their relevance." Harris, as expected, is in the process of filing a motion to reargue, but let this be a fair warning to our open online culture: what happens on the internet, stays on the internet forever. So you better watch what you tweet.
Protesters aimed to deliver new letter to Apple during shareholders meeting
Protestors delivered letters to Apple Stores around the world asking Apple to re-examine its use of Foxconn production factories overseas. Apple decided (relatedly or otherwise) to step up its inspections of those factories, so you probably won't be surprised to hear that protestors planned to do it all again. SumOfUs aimed to deliver a letter to Apple during its recent shareholder meeting, allegedly written by two factory workers who claim they were poisoned while working on the line. The protest and the meeting were both held the morning of February 23, so hopefully the handoff went off without a hitch. Apple hasn't officially acknowledged these protests, and I'm sure it would rather not have these kinds of claims bouncing around in public. Still, Apple hasn't been closed off to the issue; the company often runs inspections on overseas factories and has consistently said that every facility where its products are built adheres to all standard regulations. So far, all these protestors have asked for is to "reform working conditions," but exactly what that means, or what form of action that might mean for Apple, is unclear. As long as these protestors remain civil and Apple continues to hear their concerns and act on them as best it can, hopefully everyone will do what's right for any workers dealing with unfair or possibly harmful conditions at these plants.
US funds shadow networks, builds 'internet in a suitcase' for repressed protesters
Whether a repressive government, a buggy DNS server or a little old lady is behind your internet outage, it can't be much fun, but the US government sympathizes with your plight if you're dealing with reason number one. The New York Times reports that the US State Department will have spent upwards of $70 million on "shadow networks" which would allow protesters to communicate even if powers that be pull the traditional plug -- so far, it's spent at least $50 million on a independent cell phone network for Afghanistan, and given a $2 million grant to members of the New America Foundation creating the "internet in a suitcase" pictured above. It's a batch of mesh networking equipment designed to be spirited into a country to set up a private network. Last we'd heard, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had pledged $25 million for just this sort of internet freedom, and the New America Foundation had applied for some of those bucks -- see our more coverage links below -- but it sounds like the money is flowing fast, and in multiple directions now.
