Beijing’s cyber operations are largely conducted in the shadows. But a recent leak has shed light on how the state is working with private companies to target online activism.
It’s pretty common to find people who are apathetic about their data being harvested and funnelled into unknown corners. But that’s usually because they don’t know what’s at stake.
Russia has pioneered the concept of digital sovereignty and used it to severely restrict Russians’ access to the internet.
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For more than a decade, the Russian government has been putting teeth into its doctrine of ‘digital sovereignty’ by steadily increasing censorship of content and control over internet access.
Social media can provide ways for LGBTQ youth to learn more about, and stay connected to, their identities.
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While online communities may not fully address the isolation LGBTQ youth face in-person, they can serve as an important source of social support and a springboard for civic engagement.
Humour is a way for Congolese internet users to prod at cultural traits and political developments – despite censorship being rife.
A train attendant in Nanchang, China, gestures in solidarity with medical staff departing for the city of Wuhan, Feb. 13, 2020.
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Public criticism of the Chinese government’s handling of coronavirus shows that the Chinese people can overcome both strict censorship and a gaping class divide when they get angry enough.
When a website blocks access, it sometimes delivers a notice saying so.
Screenshot from airbnb.com
Private companies – many based in the US – are blocking access to their websites from particular countries around the world. It’s contributing to a splintering of the global internet.
Cracking down on extremism online won’t solve the problem of extremist violence, will inevitably censor speech that’s important to protect and risks harming political dissidents and democracy itself.
Can the president block people from seeing his tweets?
AP Photo/J. David Ake
Comments like ‘little girl needs to keep to herself before daddy breaks her face’ get a free pass in the name of free speech.
Pro-Donald Trump bots worked to sway public opinion in the US election by secretly taking over pro-Hillary Clinton hashtags and spreading fake news stories.
Reuters/Lucas Jackson
Bots have not just been used in the US, but also in Australia, the UK, Germany, Syria and China. To what extent – and how – are they affecting political discourse?
Research Fellow in the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (ADM+S), and the Emerging Technologies Lab at Monash University, Monash University