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The splinternet: how online shutdowns are getting cheaper and easier to impose
Iran has shown how plausible blackouts now are, with far-reaching consequences for the internet as we know it During the height of Iran’s blackout in January, people could still access a platform that, in some senses, was like the internet. Iranians could message family members on a government-monitored app and watch clips of Manchester United…
US builds website that will allow Europeans to view blocked content
Freedom.gov appears to be administered by a branch of the Department of Homeland Security The US has built a portal that will allow Europeans to view blocked content including alleged hate speech and terrorism, according to Reuters. The portal, “freedom.gov”, will allow worldwide users to circumvent government controls on their content. The site features a…
US funding for global internet freedom ‘effectively gutted’
Programme that funds groups building tech to evade oppressive government controls under serious threat For nearly two decades, the US quietly funded a global effort to keep the internet from splintering into fiefdoms run by authoritarian governments. Now that money is seriously threatened and a large part of it is already gone, putting into jeopardy…
Russia attempted to ‘fully block’ WhatsApp, Meta-owned company says
Move is a ‘backwards step’, company spokesperson says, amid concerns Kremlin is seeking more state control via messaging apps such as Max Russia has attempted to “fully block” WhatsApp in an attempt to push users towards its own state-sponsored communications app, Max, a spokesperson for the Meta-owned company has said. The company did not reveal…
‘I fell into it’: ex-criminal hackers urge Manchester pupils to use web skills for good
Initiative aims to identify proficient gamers and coders who can help companies identify flaws in their cybersecurity Cybercriminals, the shadowy online figures often depicted in Hollywood movies as hooded villains capable of wiping millions of pounds off the value of businesses at a keystroke, are not usually known for their candour. But in a sixth-form…
Victims urge tougher action on deepfake abuse as new law comes into force
Campaigners welcome criminalisation of non-consensual AI-generated explicit images but say law does not go far enough Victims of deepfake image abuse have called for stronger protection against AI-generated explicit images, as the law criminalising the creation of non-consensual intimate images comes into effect. Campaigners from Stop Image-Based Abuse delivered a petition to Downing Street with…