censorship

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Iran Arrests 6 for 'Vulgar' Video of Pharrell's 'Happy'

Clip 'hurt public chastity,' Tehran's top cop says

(Newser) - A joyful homemade video of Pharrell Williams' "Happy" resulted in arrest and public humiliation for six young Iranians. Tehran's chief of police says the six people seen singing and dancing on the city's rooftops—including three unveiled young women—created a "vulgar clip which hurt public...

Now Turkey's Trying to Ban YouTube, Too

Leaked security meeting prompts 'administrative action'

(Newser) - Not content with having blocked/" eradicated " Twitter, Turkish authorities today blocked YouTube, after a video that appeared to show Turkish officials debating their next move regarding Syria leaked to the site. "After technical analysis and legal consideration … an administrative measure has been taken for this website,"...

American Gets Prison Sentence for Comedy Video

Verdict for Shezanne Cassim and friends not actually read

(Newser) - The UAE is very bad at taking a joke. The state security court in Abu Dhabi today sentenced three men—including American citizen Shezanne Cassim—to a year in prison for a goofy video they put online last year. The video, titled "Satwa G" is a mockumentary poking fun...

Army Censors NSA Stories on Bases

The goal is to prevent soldiers from seeing classified info

(Newser) - Anyone in America can read the Guardian's blockbuster reporting on the NSA's surveillance programs—except, apparently, US soldiers. The Army has restricted access to the British newspaper at all of its bases nationwide, the Monterey County Herald has learned. While soldiers can visit the paper's US site,...

Cemetery: No, You Can't Put the F-Word on a Grave

Family sought expletive-laden inscription

(Newser) - Despite a family's wishes, visitors to a Massachusetts cemetery won't be seeing the F-word on any headstones. After 23-year-old Sonny Santiago died in a February car accident, his family asked the maker of his headstone to write a controversial inscription: "You gonna remember the damn name/ I...

Google Reader's Demise a Win—for Iranian Censors

But most Americans won't care

(Newser) - The news of Google Reader's demise was met with cries of despair from news nerds, and shrugs from most of America. "Normal people don't use Google Reader, so get over it," reads one Daily Intel headline. "New rule: You get one tweet to memorialize how...

China Censors Rebuked in Unusual Way Over Skyfall

Cuts spur official news service to speak out

(Newser) - Chinese censors' license to snip has been challenged: Cuts to the latest James Bond movie proved heavy-handed enough to earn a rare rebuke from state media, the South China Morning Post reports. Skyfall opened in Chinese cinemas this week, but with cuts that highlight the problem with the country's...

China Edits Out 23% of Cloud Atlas

Censors may have ditched gay romance

(Newser) - Thought Cloud Atlas was too long? Head to China: Its version of the film is 40 minutes shorter. Censors trimmed the film from 169 minutes to 130. So what was cut? The Hollywood Reporter guesses that scenes of a gay relationship were on the chopping block—and perhaps a sex...

Is Google Hiding Porn on Image Search?

Some users cry foul over safe search changes

(Newser) - We're sure none of our esteemed readers would ever use Google's wholesome Image Search to find filthy pictures of naked people committing depraved acts. But on the off chance that you do, you might notice that it's a little harder to find what you're looking for....

China Blocks NY Times Site for 'Smearing' Leader

Report on Wen Jiabao's wealth angers Beijing

(Newser) - China has blocked the New York Times' website and all searches for "New York Times" on microblogs, accusing it of smearing Wen Jiabao with a story about the immense wealth his family has amassed during his reign as prime minister. A foreign ministry spokesman said the report "blackens...

Afghanistan Bans YouTube Over Mohammed Video

Filmmaker goes into hiding in wake of embassy attack

(Newser) - The Afghan government has reportedly censored YouTube to prevent anyone from watching the anti-Muslim film that inspired violent mobs in Libya and Egypt, leading to the death of the US ambassador to Libya. "We have been told to shut down YouTube to the Afghan public until the video is...

Facebook Blocks New Yorker's Cartoon Boobs

Site apologizes for mistake, says it's taken steps to correct

(Newser) - Even the New Yorker's getting too raunchy for puritanical Facebook administrators, Gawker has discovered. The Facebook page for the magazine's cartoons was temporarily blocked when the New Yorker posted a drawing of Adam and Eve sitting against an apple tree, with Eve remarking: "Well, it was original....

Russia Restricts South Park Over Kenny's Deaths

'Simpsons' takes hit over 'Itchy & Scratchy'

(Newser) - Excessive violence—read: Kenny's deaths and the Itchy & Scratchy Show—have South Park and the Simpsons facing censorship in Russia. Because of Kenny's recurring demise, South Park will have to air after 11pm on a national channel aimed at young adults, AFP reports via Raw Story . The...

Burma: We're Done Censoring the Press

Regulators will no longer see articles before they're published

(Newser) - Another move toward openness in Burma: The country's ostensibly civilian government is today halting Burma's decades-long censorship of local press, it says. Until now, publications had been required to send articles to censors before they could be published; this sometimes resulted in full pages being blacked out. The...

Iran Warns Against Filming ... Chickens

With prices soaring, images of plenty could provoke poor, it says

(Newser) - There's a new way to run afoul of the government in Iran: by filming chickens. With food lines lengthening and prices soaring due to international sanctions, Iran's leaders are warning filmmakers and broadcasters not to show people enticing things they might not be able to afford—because doing...

Chinese Siri Draws Blank on Tiananmen

Even if it's not censoring searches, it's not very good

(Newser) - Siri is learning Chinese, but it looks like there are some things she's specifically not learning. Ask Chinese Siri about the Tiananmen Square incident, and she'll respond with answers like "I couldn't find any appointments related to 'Do you know about Tiananmen,'" or...

Google: Censor Requests Surging—Even From West

It sees 'alarming rise' in governments trying to stifle political speech

(Newser) - Google says it is seeing an alarming rise in government censor requests—often from "Western democracies not typically associated with censorship." In its latest biannual report, the company says it received a total of 1,007 such requests from governments around the world and complied with just over...

'Obscene' Zuma Painting Case Heads to Court

It 'presents me as a womanizer, philanderer,' says South African president

(Newser) - The ruling South African party is heading to court today to support President Jacob Zuma's demand that an "obscene" painting of him be censored. The painting, which was vandalized earlier this week at a Johannesburg gallery, features Zuma with his genitals exposed. It's "rude, crude, and...

Pakistan Blocks Twitter
 Pakistan Blocks Twitter 
May 20, 2012 7:56 AM CDT

Pakistan Blocks Twitter

(Newser) - Pakistan has decided it's had about 139 characters too many of Twitter, yanking the microblogging site over material it says is offensive to Islam, reports al-Jazeera . The material in question was promoting a Facebook contest to post images of the prophet Mohammed—which are considered blasphemous, even those framed...

UK Considers Blocking All Porn Sites

David Cameron wants you to have to 'opt in' with your ISP

(Newser) - British Prime Minister David Cameron is considering a move forcing Internet service providers to block all porn unless users specifically request it, the Guardian reports, in a move likely to be vigorously opposed by the ISPs, free speech groups, and teenagers sneaking onto their parents' computers. Cameron will consult on...

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