Stop Censorships

Turkish President Signs Internet Censorship Law Despite protests, Turkey's president Abdullah Gul signs law that tightens controls over web use.

Turkey's president, Abdullah Gul, said Tuesday he had signed into force a controversial law voted in by the government that would tighten controls over web use, AFP reported. Gul said on his Twitter feed he promulgated the law - which the opposition and rights groups say infringes on citizens' freedoms - after the government assured him it would soften parts of it through later amendments. "I am aware of the problems mainly on two points.... These concerns will be taken into account in the new law," he said, according to AFP. An opposition lawmaker earlier confirmed the planned amendments to aspects of the bill concerning some powers of Turkey's telecommunications authority. "The steps are positive but not enough," Akif Hamzacebi of the Republican People's Party (CHP) was quoted as saying by NTV television.Read More!

Comcast’s Deal With Netflix Shows It Learned The Lesson From Hollywood’s SOPA Debacle

Studios’ failed effort in 2012 to promote the Stop Online Piracy Act (or SOPA) made it clear: Big Media companies had better not mess with Silicon Valley.Too many people love the Internet, and they’ll crush anyone deemed to be a threat to the medium by its biggest service providers including Google, Apple, Facebook, Yahoo, and Netflix. That’s why Comcast needs to make peace with tech companies as the cable giant promotes its planned $42.5B acquisition of Time Warner Cable — and suggests that the new interconnection deal with Netflix is the first of many agreements with tech world Goliaths. If they’re unhappy, then they may embolden Washington regulators reviewing the TWC acquisition to demand a long list of concessions –and under extreme circumstances could even block the deal. Read More!

Downloading Torrents in Russia? You May be Forced to Show Your Credentials

Back In August of 2013, Russia put into place some new anti-piracy laws, dubbed by some as the “Russian SOPA”, which were met with extreme opposition and criticism. Those opposed believed that the anti-piracy laws were overreaching, claiming that almost anyone could file a claim and force a site to shut down. Russia’s anti-piracy laws are similar to the United States’ Stop Online Piracy Act, SOPA, and are supposed to give more power to copyright owners to stop the illegal spreading of their works. There were also complaints that the procedure to be followed wasn’t clear enough. In December of 2013, the Ministry of Culture added some amendments to stipulate procedures for blocking websites carrying illegitimate content, which included fines of up to $30,000 for hosting providers and site owners. Now the latest news coming from Russia indicates that it may become a requirement for Russian online users to identify themselves before downloading torrent content.Read More!