This Month's Global Online Censorship Round-Up

While news of NSA and GCHQ surveillance continues to dominate the news, there are plenty of other countries that use legal and judicial means to justify online censorship and surveillance. Internet freedom is backsliding in these countries: 

• Azerbaijan: Online activists who post "defamatory and offensive views" on the internet can now be held criminally liable for their statements and held in prison for up to three years. (more)
• Bahrain: Authorities in Bahrain are seeking to block use of VoIP applications (such as Skype, Viber, Whatsapp, and Tango), citing "security considerations". (more)
• Ecuador: The Ecuadorian National Assembly has passed a controversial Law of Communications (originally pushed by President Correa), which creates a Council of Content Regulation to regulate media content and dole out punishment for "media lynching" or information which reduces "credibility" of a person or legal entity. (more)
• Jordan: Hundreds of independent media websites have been censored, resulting from new regulation implemented June 2nd intended to "protect citizens against slander and blackmail on unregulated websites. (more)
• Mexico: The Mexican state of Nuevo León recently passed a law that can imprison for up to 3 years anyone who uses social networks to post messages or images that cause “harm, dishonor, discredit to a person, or exposes him or her to contempt”. (more)
• Pakistan: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) is seeking to expand its work on blocking "blasphemous" Facebook pages by seeking to get Google, YouTube and other service providers to establish regional offices in Pakistan, making them liable to follow local laws. (more)
• Russia: Prosecution and court authorities in the central Russian city of Ulyanovsk recently issued an order to state-owned Internet provider Rostelecom to block access to Gazeta and several other independent news sites. (more)
• Saudi Arabia: Viber continues to be blocked in the country, and Skype, Whatsapp and Tango are likely to be blocked in the coming weeks. (more)
• Turkey: Following the widespread use of Twitter during the Taksim Square and Gezi Park protests, the Turkish government has asked Twitter to set up a representative office in the country as a means to more easily censor anti-government content posted on the platform. (more)