[Tlc] Thailand is No. 5 of world's Internet censors

[CJ Hinke]

[*FACT comments*: For the first time, Thailand has appeared in the list of
top five countries imposing Internet censorship on their citizens. This is
due to the fact that Herdict reporting software is being used intensively to
provide accurate monitoring. Presumably, FACTsite is somewhere on that list!
It should give Thai govt with all its pretensions of democracy to fall into
an elite censorship club, just behind Iran, China, Moldova, and the United
States (for reasons of copyright protection.]



Friday Top 5: Most Reported Countries
(Inaccessibility)<http://www.herdict.org/blog/2009/05/08/friday-top-5-most-reported-countries-inaccessibility/>

Jillian C. York

Herdict: May 8th, 2009


http://www.herdict.org/blog/2009/05/08/friday-top-5-most-reported-countries-inaccessibility/


As we now know, Internet filtering is no longer limited to the usual
suspects (China, Iran, Burma); Herdict has allowed us to get wind of new
filtering across the world, in places the OpenNet
Initiative<http://opennet.net/>has never even tested.  That is why
this week we're bringing you the top 5
countries reporting inaccessibility!


1. Iran <http://www.herdict.org/web/explore/country/IR> comes in at #1 with
63 reports of inaccessible sites.  While that's not so surprising (after
all, Iran is frequently marked by human rights groups as an "Internet
enemy<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship#Iran>"),
it's interesting to note that the most reported sites are all news-related.
BBC Persian <http://www.herdict.org/web/explore/detail/id/IR/2247>, Iran
Press News <http://>, and others are all trending this week.


2. China <http://www.herdict.org/web/explore/country/CN>, always a
high-ranking censor of the Net, is #2 on our list this week.  While the
inaccessibility of such sites as
YouTube<http://www.herdict.org/web/explore/detail/id/CN/2071>,
Tor <http://www.herdict.org/web/explore/detail/id/CN/2687>, and The Official
Website of the Central Tibetan
Administration<http://www.herdict.org/web/explore/detail/id/CN/5031>might
come as no surprise, 25 inaccessibility reports for The
Huffington Post <http://www.herdict.org/web/explore/detail/id/CN/2659> just
might.


3. Moldova, <http://www.herdict.org/web/explore/country/MD> for which the
OpenNet Initiative found no signs of filtering in
2007<http://opennet.net/research/profiles/moldova>,
comes in third this week, with 45 reports of inaccessibility.  Sites
reported included Moldovan
Jurnaltv<http://www.herdict.org/web/explore/detail/id/MD/5871>(an
"Internet TV" site which has been reporting
on Moldova's recent uprising <http://www.jurnaltv.md/?mod=hot&id=12#top12>),
Facebook (only on some ISPs), and Unimedia <http://unimedia.md/>, a Moldovan
news site.


4. United States <http://www.herdict.org/web/explore/country/US> comes in at
#4, with the top reported sites all cases of geolocational
filtering<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jillian-york/geolocation-filtering-how_b_171402.html>(also
known as reverse filtering) such as
Scenta.co.uk <http://www.herdict.org/web/explore/detail/id/US/3956> (which
limits the site to UK users) and
Abc.net.au<http://www.herdict.org/web/explore/detail/id/US/2272>(which
is accessible but prohibits users outside of Australia from viewing
videos for copyright reasons).  In addition to these cases, there are a
number of sites such as
Facebook<http://www.herdict.org/web/explore/detail/id/US/2245>being
reported as inaccessible from workplaces or public cafes.


5. Rounding out the list at #5 is
Thailand<http://www.herdict.org/web/explore/country/TH>,
where the most-reported sites are blogs and social media platforms,
such as this
Ning group <http://www.herdict.org/web/explore/detail/id/TH/5540>, which is
an organizing platform for members of Thailand's red shirt
movement<http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=3&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.greenleft.org.au%2F2009%2F791%2F40759&ei=_lgESpKbGdmLtgevvqCEBw&usg=AFQjCNEHy2A7xJU558lhD0SPI4foFult5A&sig2=b3PeSLGfBvQyGRSq1rCjqw>
.


What Top 5 list would you like to see next week?  Let us know.


*Jillian C. York is the Project Coordinator for the OpenNet Initiative and
part of the fantastic Herdict Team. She created most of the textual content
on the site, so if you spot something funny, let her know! She's also the
face behind the @Herdict Twitter feed.*

-- 
                        Website / เว็บไซต์:
              <http://facthai.wordpress.com>
                         Petition / คำร้อง :
     <http://thailand.ahrchk.net/fact_petition/>

                        ไม่ประนีประนอม!
                     NO CENSORSHIP!
                    NO COMPROMISE!

                  Contact details / ติดต่อ :
                        CJ Hinke  email:
                   <facthai at gmail.com>
                  tel. +66-(0)87-976-1880
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