Freedom Trends and Assumptions - A Global Assessment of Internet and Digital Media

Freedom House's presentation at Cyber Dissents conference, Dallas, Texas, April 19, 2010

Freedom Trends and Assumptions - A Global Assessment of Internet and Digital Media

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#freedomhouse Kazakhstan Fails to Follow Due Process in Case against Human Rights Activist: Freedo.. http://bit.ly/d5Kf4F

Censorship without Borders: 21st Century Threats to Media Freedom

Censorship without Borders: 21st Century Threats to Media Freedom

Findings of Freedom of the Press 2010, Freedom House’s annual assessment of press freedom, show a worrying decline in media freedom around the globe. This downturn includes the growing phenomenon of international censorship, through which authoritarian states, such as China, are exerting repressive influence beyond national borders. Meanwhile, democratic states with restrictive laws, such as Britain’s freedom of expression-unfriendly libel laws, are creating a pernicious chilling effect on journalists, editors and publishers around the world. Please join us for a panel discussion, immediately following the public release of Freedom of the Press 2010 findings, examining the growing threats to free expression beyond national borders.

Hosted by The Newseum

Featured Speakers Include:

Robert Boorstin, Director of Corporate and Policy Communications, Google

Karin Karlekar, Managing Editor, Freedom of the Press

Libby Liu, President, Radio Free Asia

Frank Smyth, Washington Representative, Committee to Protect Journalists

Christopher Walker, Director of Studies, Freedom House

Thursday, April 29, 2010

11:00 A.M. – 12:30 p.m.

The Newseum

555 Pennsylvania Ave., NW

Washington, DC 20001

Guests should arrive at the 6th Street entrance of the Newseum

RSVP to Maggie Emery by email: emery@freedomhouse.org

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#freedomhouse Human Rights Situation in Honduras Warrants Special Attention, According to OAS Repo.. http://bit.ly/bQnsBu

#freedomhouse Freedom House Calls for More Resources to Counter Global Freedom Recession : Despite.. http://bit.ly/a94l1B

#freedomhouse Freedom House Statement on the Death of Lech Kaczynski and Other Members of Polish L.. http://bit.ly/9nIrxO

#freedomhouse Journalists' Killings Require Urgent Response from Honduran Authorities : Freedom Ho.. http://bit.ly/cn8hT0

#freedomhouse Vulnerable Middle Performing States Falter on Democracy: States occupying the politi.. http://bit.ly/bQGfQO

#freedomhouse Freedom House Calls for an End to Violence and Return to Democratic Reform in Kyrgyz.. http://bit.ly/aLt6cD

#freedomhouse Egypt Attempts to Suppress Calls for Electoral Reform : Freedom House condemns the v.. http://bit.ly/cmO2K2

#freedomhouse Freedom House Launches "30 Days of Press Freedom": In commemoration of the 30th anni.. http://bit.ly/aeCzJw

Censorship Circumvention Videos

Использовать и Установить Набор для Браузеров Tor

http://bit.ly/cWj6To

Russian subtitled version of our Tor Browser Bundle Tutorial that will teach you how to protect yourself on the go by using a USB flash drive to run Tor at any computer.

Как Установить и Использовать Tor

http://bit.ly/am1hhU

Russian subtitled version of our Tor Tutorial that will teach you how to download, install, and use Tor.

Puff Tutorial

http://bit.ly/dCy13l

A quick and easy explanation on how to download, install, and use Puff.

Freegate Tutorial

http://bit.ly/bjnwrG

A quick, easy to follow tutorial on downloading and using Freegate for censorship circumvention and security.

UltraSurf Tutorial

http://bit.ly/bzRsfl

Quick and easy explanation on how to download and use UltraSurf for Internet security and censorship circumvention.

Using Bridge Relays to Access Tor

http://bit.ly/cuZuWQ

A guide to adding and utilizing bridge relays in order to access the Tor relay network in areas where it has been blocked.

Using Pidgin with Off the Record

http://bit.ly/1Wxotj

A guide to using the Pidgin Instant Messaging Client in conjunction with Off the Record in order to protect the privacy of your instant messages. The Pidgin software can be found at www.pidgin.im and Off the Record can be found at www.cypherpunks.ca/otr.

Tor Browser Bundle Tutorial

http://bit.ly/9X82tS

A quick and easy explanation on how to use the Tor Browser Bundle and a USB flash drive for secure web browsing on the go.

Tor Tutorial

http://bit.ly/biIVDZ

An easy to follow guide on downloading, installing, and running Tor for the first time.

Your Freedom Tutorial

http://bit.ly/1ix7Ib

An easy to follow guide on installing and activating the Your Freedom software.

Hotspot Shield Tutorial

http://bit.ly/a1qxPI

A short, easy to follow guide to installing and activating Hotspot Shield.

#freedomhouse Draft Law a Threat to Press Freedom in Estonia: New draft legislation in Estonia all.. http://bit.ly/cgAJxn

#freedomhouse Obama Pressed to Appoint an Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom .. http://bit.ly/b0vGAN

#freedomhouse Freedom House Deplores Terrorist Attacks in Moscow, Calls for Respect of Civil Liber.. http://bit.ly/bxThOI

#freedomhouse China Continues Its Assault on Internet Freedom in Response to Google Decision: Free.. http://bit.ly/9aFTW7

#freedomhouse Freedom House Calls on Kazakhstan to Give Zhovtis Case Fair Review: As the case of h.. http://bit.ly/dCWWnE

#freedomhouse Uganda Cabinet Urged to Reject New Press Legislation: In a country that suffers from.. http://bit.ly/bLKT2J

#freedomhouse Freedom House Calls on Kyrgyz Government to Loosen Controls on Media: The decision b.. http://bit.ly/aw8nx5

#freedomhouse Sri Lankan Government Heightens Intimidation Campaign Against Voices of Dissent: Wit.. http://bit.ly/aBIo4M

#freedomhouse Nigerian and Indonesian Activists Challenge Repressive Measures in "Defamation of Re.. http://bit.ly/coocQ5

#freedomhouse Human Rights Advocates Issue Plan of Action as Human Rights Council Meets in Geneva:.. http://bit.ly/d5GFmD

#freedomhouse Egyptian Government Continues to Use Emergency Law to Crack Down on Freedom of Speec.. http://bit.ly/bXCpbD

#freedomhouse New Study Finds Gains for Women's Rights in the Middle East: Despite continuing resi.. http://bit.ly/aM28Qb

#freedomhouse Death of Political Prisoner in Cuba Exposes Systemic Prison Maltreatment and Torture.. http://bit.ly/9vsbNs

#freedomhouse Global Human Rights Advocates Meet With President Obama on U.S. Human Rights Agenda:.. http://bit.ly/aJscY4

#freedomhouse Egyptian Government Must Live Up To Its Human Rights Commitments in Geneva : Freedom.. http://bit.ly/c1PhfW

#freedomhouse Freedom House, Russian Rights Groups Announce New Partnership: Freedom House, the Mo.. http://bit.ly/cUL27M

Hotspot Shield Tutorial

A short, easy to follow guide to installing and activating Hotspot Shield.

Your Freedom Tutorial

An easy to follow guide on installing and activating the Your Freedom software.

Tor Tutorial

An easy to follow guide on downloading, installing, and running Tor for the first time

Tor Browser Bundle Tutorial

A quick and easy explanation on how to use the Tor Browser Bundle and a USB flash drive for secure web browsing on the go.

Freedom House: Pidgin with Off The Record Tutorial

A guide to using the Pidgin Instant Messaging Client in conjunction with Off the Record in order to protect the privacy of your instant messages.

Freedom House: Using Bridge Relays to Access Tor

A guide to adding and utilizing bridge relays in order to access the Tor relay network in areas where it has been blocked.

UltraSurf Tutorial

Quick and easy explanation on how to download and use UltraSurf for Internet security and censorship circumvention

#freedomhouse Free Speech under Attack in Morocco: Morocco's closure of leading independent news m.. http://bit.ly/aOwnoB

#freedomhouse Press Seizure Underscores Concerns about Kazakh Government's Commitment to Freedom: .. http://bit.ly/8ZlMbd

Democracy Online: Can the Internet Bring Change?

Google Public Policy Blog: Google D.C. Talk Feb. 8 - Democracy Online: Can the Internet Bring Change?

Last summer a chilling 40-second video clip, recorded on a cell phone, went viral and caught the attention of the world. It captured the haunting image of a 26-year-old music student, Neda Soltan, who was shot and killed in the streets of Tehran while protesting the Iranian presidential election.

Some experts look at this incident and others where new technology is being used by opponents of repressive regimes and have come to the conclusion that online free expression has the potential to bring about great democratic changes. Others are less optimistic, noting that governments are manipulating Internet activists and that, in any case, all the activity amounts to little more than taking offline techniques and moving them online.

So is the Internet stoking democratic change or is its impact hyped? Are repressive regimes conditioning people not to expect free expression on the Internet? Is online organizing little more than a game of Whac-a-Mole with one form of repression being replaced by another? What are the implications for political organizing of the recent discovery that the email accounts of dozens of Chinese human rights advocates appear to have been hacked? Join Google and Freedom House to answer these questions and many more.

Please submit and vote on these and other questions for the panel at Google Moderator.

Moderator: Pablo Chavez, Managing Policy Counsel, Google

Panelists:

–Larry Diamond, Director, Democracy Program, Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, Stanford University

–Daniel Calingaert, Deputy Director of Programs, Freedom House

–Omid Memarian, Iranian Dissident Blogger

When: Monday February 8, 2010 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm

Where: Google DC 1101 New York Avenue, NW 2nd Floor Entrance on Eye Street Washington, DC

Please click here to RSVP

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#freedomhouse Latest Convictions Reflect Crackdown on Freedom of Expression and Association in Vie.. http://bit.ly/6BPY8c

#freedomhouse Bloggers Stifled Again in Egypt: Freedom House condemns the arrest of 19 activists i.. http://bit.ly/8a5iqQ

#freedomhouse Ombudsman Statements Reflect Culture of Intimidation in Chechnya : Freedom House is .. http://bit.ly/7rOdMC

#freedomhouse Google Response to Chinese Cyber-Attacks Appropriate : Freedom House commends Google.. http://bit.ly/66G4pU

Cyber-Attacks Are New Low for China Internet Censorship

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Mary McGuire in Washington, +1-202-747-7035 

Washington – January 13, 2010 –

Freedom House commends Google’s decision to contest internet censorship by the Chinese authorities, despite the distinct possibility that this action will result in the closure of its operations in China.

Google is taking this action in the face of what the company described as a “highly sophisticated and targeted attack on [its] corporate infrastructure originating from China.” It is believed this attack was aimed at accessing the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists.

“The cyber attacks on Google’s operations fit a clear pattern of internet censorship and interference,” said Jennifer Windsor, executive director at Freedom House. “They are part of a vast, multilayered system the Chinese Government uses to control the internet.”  

Freedom on the Net, Freedom House’s analysis of global internet freedom, finds that China’s internet environment “remains one of the most controlled in the world.” Chinese Government controls include sophisticated surveillance of dissidents’ online activities. The most recent cyber attacks confirm a long-suspected belief that NGOs and human rights activists in China are being directly targeted.

“Google’s decision to end its filtering activities was the right thing to do and we hope that other companies follow suit and refrain from being complicit in the repressive activities of the Chinese government,” said Daniel Calingaert, deputy director of programs at Freedom House. “And we look to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in her upcoming speech on internet freedom, to outline a strategy to address the entire system of internet control in China and the global threat to free expression online.”

Read more about China:

Freedom on the Net: China

Freedom in the World 2009: China

Freedom of the Press 2009: China

Freedom House, an independent nongovernmental organization that supports the expansion of freedom in the world, has been monitoring political rights and civil liberties in China since 1972.

Freedom matters.
Freedom House makes a difference.
www.freedomhouse.org

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