Russia's attempt to block VPNs is causing widespread banking outages
Telegram founder warns against the unexpected outcome of Kremlin's internet restrictions
Censorship articles
Pagers and paper maps make a comeback in Moscow as the internet goes dark
No, it's not a retro trend
Microsoft blocks the word 'Microslop' in Copilot Discord, and the server melts down
What started as spam control became a microcosm of the company's broader AI struggle
Italy jumps on the age verification bandwagon, requiring adults to prove they are adults
Increasing censorship is fueling a VPN boom
YouTube videos about bypassing Windows 11 hardware restrictions are now "illegal"
Explaining how to install Windows 11 on unsupported systems can apparently cause "harm or death"
YouTube to bring back creators banned over Covid-19 and election claims, blames Biden administration for crackdown
"YouTube values conservative voices on its platform"
HMD Fuse launches as the world's first "pornography incompatible" phone
Even the camera won't capture nudes
Over a million gamers reclaimed censored titles in GOG's 48-hour push
Recap: GOG recently launched Freedomtobuy.games, a new initiative designed to fight censorship attempts against NSFW-themed games. For 48 hours, the CD Projekt subsidiary game offered users the ability to reclaim 13 games at risk of disappearing – for free. The giveaway has now ended, and downloads were so massive that the company struggled to maintain platform stability.
Google search flaw allows articles to vanish through "clever" censorship tactics
A reputation management company's dream
In North Korea, your phone secretly takes screenshots every 5 minutes for government surveillance
Smartphone looks modern, but its software reveals a dystopian reality
The big picture: A smartphone smuggled out of North Korea is offering a rare – and unsettling – glimpse into the extent of control Kim Jong Un's regime exerts over its citizens, down to the very words they type. While the device appears outwardly similar to any modern smartphone, its software reveals a far more oppressive reality.
Reversing blurred pixels to reveal censored content in videos is easier than you think
GIMP, ffmpeg, and other tools can be used to reveal information behind moving pixelated images
Whistleblower tells Congress Facebook worked with China on censorship and data access
"It's been happening for years, covered up by lies, and continues to this day"
Whistleblower reveals Facebook censorship system created to enter China
Zuckerberg champions free speech - except when there's a market opportunity
NordVPN debuts new protocol that could make VPN connections undetectable
Reliability of connection tunneling should improve, performance not so much
Zuckerberg's free speech push for Facebook and Instagram replaces fact checkers with community notes
You'll be able to say pretty much whatever you want on Meta's platforms
A hot potato: It seems that Meta is going to become a lot more like X, at least when it comes to what you can say on the company's platforms. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced the suspension of the fact-checking program, a reduction in the amount of censorship, and the recommendation of more political content across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.
Biden Administration to support the UN convention against cybercrime sponsored by autocratic nations
A hot potato: A controversial proposal to strengthen international cooperation against cybercrime has gained US support. The Biden Administration is interested in signing the treaty, while politicians are still warning about its potential for misuse and human rights abuse.
Russia is willing to spend some $660 million to bolster internet censorship
The system mainly targets VPN services that Russians use to access the internet
Mark Zuckerberg says Biden administration pressured Facebook to censor Covid-19 content
The platform also demoted a story about the Hunter Biden laptop controversy
Pakistani government brought local internet down with its new censorship firewall
Trade organization P@SHA is warning authorities over a strangled IT industry
X shuts down Brazil operations amid censorship dispute with top judge
Brazilians can still access X though
Proton now offers a free VPN extension for Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and other browsers
The VPN service has a goal of "defeating censorship"
Apple removes WhatsApp and Threads from the App Store in China following government order
Telegram and Signal have also been removed due to national security concerns
Pornhub no longer accessible in Texas due to age verification laws
YouPorn and Brazzers are also blocked in the state
Counter-Strike: Go is being used to inform Russians about the war in Ukraine
A novel way of evading Russian media censorship
In brief: Trying to report on the war in Ukraine to Russians in their home country is a challenging feat, given the media restrictions Putin has put in place. But Finland's biggest newspaper has found a creative method of delivering information: a Counter-Strike map.
Elon Musk says free speech-hating Apple has stopped advertising on Twitter, threatened to remove app from its store
The world's richest person versus the world's most valuable company