censorship – News Stories About censorship - Page 11

Jun 6, 2008 8:13 AM CDT

Brits Fine Foul-Mouthed MTV Europe

Network pays $485K, promises to tone down language

(Newser) - A UK media watchdog has fined MTV Europe $484,500 for having a potty mouth, Variety reports. The network repeatedly uses “highly offensive language and material” in its videos and shows, often before 9pm, the family-viewing cutoff point. An MTV rep said the firm “takes this sanction and...

Russian TV Rubs Out Putin Foes

Jun 3, 2008 9:17 AM CDT

Russian TV Rubs Out Putin Foes

Rumored 'stop list' keeps pesky gov't opponents off the airwaves

(Newser) - Russian TV stations have just the solution for pesky opposition commentary—they simply keep it off the airways, even digitally erasing one anti-Putin analyst, the New York Times reports. Putin’s opponents are included in what some call a “stop list” of figures banned from television coverage. It’s...

Cockfight Mag Forced Off Amazon.com

May 21, 2008 6:32 PM CDT

Cockfight Mag Forced Off Amazon.com

Humane Society sued, said publication boosted illegal sport

(Newser) - In a victory for the Humane Society, the publisher of The Gamecock has agreed to stop selling its publication on Amazon.com. The anti-animal cruelty group had sued Amazon to remove the magazine—which it says promote cockfighting—from its site, charging the online retailer with violating federal law, the...

Bill's Charity Linked to Tibet Crackdown

Apr 13, 2008 11:56 AM CDT

Bill's Charity Linked to Tibet Crackdown

'Philanthropic dynamo' took '05 donation from shady Internet firm

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton's strong public stance against the crackdown in Tibet flies in the face of her husband's past fundraising ties in China, reports the LA Times. At the crux is a 2005 speech the former president gave for which he received an undisclosed donation to his charitable foundation—from Internet...

Chavez Bans Simpsons, Brings in Baywatch Babes

Apr 9, 2008 11:41 AM CDT

Chavez Bans Simpsons, Brings in Baywatch Babes

Chavez takes unsuitable cartoon off air, tells kids to watch 'Baywatch' instead

(Newser) - Hugo Chavez has bumped pudgy Homer Simpson from Venezuela's airwaves, reports the Times of London, opting instead for the decidedly more fit and furry David Hasselhoff. The dysfunctional Simpsons were deemed "inappropriate" for kiddies watching the morning TV lineup, but were replaced with the entirely, er, wholesome "Baywatch...

Zimbabwe Frees Times Reporter, British Journalist

Apr 7, 2008 12:47 PM CDT

Zimbabwe Frees Times Reporter, British Journalist

Bearak arrested for violating pseudo-censorship laws

(Newser) - New York Times reporter Barry Bearak and a British journalist were freed on bail today by Zimbabwean authorities, who arrested them last week for covering the country's presidential elections without government approval. Bearak was released to a clinic; he was injured in jail when he fell 7 feet from his...

Deposition Earns Hefty Fine for Salty CEO

Apr 7, 2008 12:38 PM CDT

Deposition Earns Hefty Fine for Salty CEO

73 F-bombs spice up testimony; unamused judge wants $29K

(Newser) - A CEO's foul-mouthed deposition could cost him and his lawyer $29,323 for making a "spectacular failure" of legal proceedings, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. "I've never seen anything like this" in 30 years, said a judge of Aaron Wider dropping 73 F-bombs in 12 hours. Wider and his...

Chinese Get No Independent News on Tibet

Apr 2, 2008 1:46 PM CDT

Chinese Get No Independent News on Tibet

Official story of foreign-incited riots is playing well at home

(Newser) - China's media outlets have been getting their information about the recent unrest in Tibet solely from the state-controlled news agency, Xinhua. As a result, most Chinese citizens are buying the government's handling of what has been portrayed as mob violence plotted from abroad—when it's been covered at all, the...

Monks Spoil China's PR Tour

Mar 27, 2008 11:37 AM CDT

Monks Spoil China's PR Tour

Press visit disrupted by crying Tibetans

(Newser) - Tibetan monks burst into a carefully choreographed Chinese media event yesterday, breaking the image of restored calm China had hoped to project. China had allowed a small group of foreign reporters into the region, but even as one monk at Lhasa’s Jokhang Temple was expounding on the return to...

China Blacklists Video Sites

Mar 20, 2008 8:25 PM CDT

China Blacklists Video Sites

Todou.com is among those warned, 25 sites closed

(Newser) - China shuttered 25 video-sharing websites today and warned numerous others, as authorities moved to enforce stricter controls on online content announced late last year, Reuters reports. Chinese video heavyweight Tudou.com was among those that received a warning to eliminate pornographic and political material. "We're working hard to upgrade...

Tibet Shoutout Spurs Crackdown

Mar 7, 2008 4:45 PM CST

Tibet Shoutout Spurs Crackdown

Cry supporting independence prompts threat of censorship

(Newser) - Beijing says it will toughen restrictions on visiting artists performing in China in response to Bjork's onstage expression of support for Tibetan independence, the London Times reports. “We shall never tolerate any attempt to separate Tibet from China and will no longer welcome any artists who deliberately do this,...

Booze and Beats Don't Mix in Turkey

Feb 28, 2008 6:47 PM CST

Booze and Beats Don't Mix in Turkey

Bottles cut from music video; critics cite moves toward religious law

(Newser) - Singer Aslizen Yentur thought it was a joke when Turkey's top music channel axed shots of a wine bottle-laden table from her video. It wasn't, and now Turkey's broadcasting watchdog is drafting a bill to make scenes that encourage drinking illegal—supposedly to align with EU norms, the Independent reports....

EU May Name Censorship a Trade Barrier

Feb 28, 2008 2:33 PM CST

EU May Name Censorship a Trade Barrier

Measure takes aim at the 'Great Firewall of China'; would inject web into trade talks

(Newser) - The EU is out to hack down the Great Firewall of China, Ars Technica reports. A new proposal would classify the web censorship China and other oppressive regimes employ as a trade barrier, an approach its creator calls “unusual, but effective.” The measure already sailed through the European...

Burma's Pens Mightier Than Censors

Feb 13, 2008 1:17 PM CST

Burma's Pens Mightier Than Censors

Info-starved population gets creative to bypass government's gags

(Newser) - Never shy about censorship, Burma has cracked down even more since September's monk uprising—no small event in a country that ranks 164th out of 168 on the Press Freedom Index. But information-starved citizens are finding creative ways to circumvent an extreme government that bans even benign news about soccer...

AT&T Might Filter Internet Traffic

Jan 23, 2008 6:58 PM CST

AT&T Might Filter Internet Traffic

Aim is to punish illegal file-sharing, but privacy concerns abound

(Newser) - AT&T is considering steps to filter the Internet traffic it provides in order to stop illegal file-sharing, the AP reports. CEO Randall Stephenson, speaking to the World Economic Forum today, likened the company's role as passive participant in copyright infringement to witnessing a crime: "It's like being in...

China Shut 44K Porn Sites
in '07, Jailed Hundreds

Jan 23, 2008 4:00 PM CST

China Shut 44K Porn Sites in '07, Jailed Hundreds

Ministry says 'young minds' are being 'perverted'

(Newser) - China took down 44,000 porn websites last year, arrested 868 people, and penalized 2,000 others. The Public Security Ministry said today that Internet pornography has “perverted China’s young minds,” the AP reports. Porn and paid sex are illegal in almost all forms in the country;...

China Cracks Down on Online Games

Jan 17, 2008 12:03 PM CST

China Cracks Down on Online Games

Calls them 'spiritual opium'

(Newser) - China is cracking down on its booming, billion-dollar online game industry, which is seen as “spiritual opium” that threatens to hook the Chinese people, Reuters reports. The government today said it plans to regulate “undesirable” elements out of the game, which 41 million Chinese played this year. “...

Japan Eyes Internet Crackdown

Jan 4, 2008 12:45 PM CST

Japan Eyes Internet Crackdown

Tough new proposals protect children, copyrights

(Newser) - Japan has taken a relaxed approach to controlling the Internet in the past, but the government is planning to ratchet up regulation, Ars Technica reports. The communications ministry is looking at ways to bring web and mobile content in line with heavily regulated traditional media. Concerns are high about libelous...

Aussies Censor Internet

Dec 23, 2007 11:20 PM CST

Aussies Censor Internet

New ratings system Down Under

(Newser) - Australian Internet users are getting wary about new regulations meant to keep minors away from mature content, Ars Technica reports. A stringent new ratings system to be introduced in January is meant to stop kids from accessing adult-oriented content, but critics say it will be child's play to get around,...

FCC Asked
to Stop Text Censoring

Dec 11, 2007 10:33 AM CST

FCC Asked to Stop Text Censoring

Net neutrality advocates object to providers blocking messages

(Newser) - Consumer groups have banded together to lobby the FCC to prevent cellphone companies from blocking text messages, the Washington Post reports. The issue of carriers censoring messages from political groups and competing services has become the latest front in the net neutrality campaign. Consumers Union and other advocates are insisting...