November 17th, 2010 by Anna

After spending four years in prison, prominent Egyptian blogger Abdel Kareem Nabil (who wrote under the name Kareem Amer) has been released, ten days beyond the end of his sentence. He was the first blogger in the country to be jailed specifically for his writings, and was charged with insulting Islam and the president. He was a vocal critic of conservative Muslims, calling Cairo’s Al-Azhar University a “university of terrorism” and describing the prophet Muhammed and his followers as “spillers of blood.” Nabil also called President Hosni Mubarak a “symbol of tyranny.” The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information has reported that he was beaten while in detention, and last week Amnesty International called on Egyptian authorities to release Nabil, pointing out that his sentence “was handed down for actions that amounted to no more than exercising his right to freedom of expression.”

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Posted in Egypt, Freedom, Human Rights, Technology | Comment »

November 15th, 2010 by Anna

On Saturday, a Saudi official announced that Facebook would be blocked for not conforming with the government’s conservative values. According to the Associated Press, the official claimed that Facebook had “crossed a line.” The ban, however, was temporary. Yesterday, a spokesman for the Communications and Information Technology Commission denied having blocked the site, calling the access problems an “accidental” glitch, and the site is now operational again.

Posted in Saudi Arabia, Technology | Comment »

November 5th, 2010 by Anna

Earlier this week, staff from the Egyptian daily Al Dostor announced that they will continue to publish material on their website, which they have renamed “The Real Al Dostor.” The domain name for the site is registered under Ibrahim Eissa’s name – as such, it will maintain the same editorial policy as the original paper, according to the site’s managing editor Hesham Obia. Al Masry Al Youm reports that about 37 former writers for Al Dostor will contribute stories to the online version, and Eissa is reportedly paying them out of his own pocket while the team searches for sponsors. The newspaper’s former managing editor, Ibrahim Manour, confirmed that the group plans to launch a print version “as soon as we get a new license.”

Posted in Egypt, Journalism, Middle Eastern Media, Technology | Comment »

November 4th, 2010 by Evan

Posted in Technology, Turkey | Comment »

November 3rd, 2010 by Jason

Al Masry Al Youm has set up an English language website focusing on the upcoming elections. The website includes sections for photos, video, and media monitoring. Al Masry Al Youm also has a report on the arrival of an International Republican Institute (IRI) delegation in Cairo. The delegation met with members of the National Council of Human Rights (NCHR) including the head of the parliamentary elections unit, Makram Mohamed Ahmed, and Mahmoud Karem, NCHR secretary-general. According to the report, the delegation from IRI asked why NCHR had denied international election monitors access to the country. “‘It’s a popular decision coming from people, not the state,’” said Ahmed. Ahmed’s statement seems belied by polling data showing that the Egyptian people due, in fact, support international election monitors.

Posted in Egypt, Elections, Middle Eastern Media, Public Opinion, Technology | Comment »

November 1st, 2010 by Evan

Posted in Journalism, Judiciary, Technology, Turkey | Comment »

October 28th, 2010 by Anna

An article in The Economist today highlights new restrictions on satellite television and other forms of media in Egypt. The government recently tightened controls over the state-owned Nilesat satellite channels, which broadcast various news programs, religious and lifestyle channels, and other programming. To some extent, the crackdown seems to be in response to an uptick in programming voicing support for conservative Salafist parties. However, the restrictions fit within a broader context of tightening media control in the region, according to the article. The Egyptian government, for example, “has taken subtle measures to regain controls over the media that had slipped in recent years, [which] range from new licensing requirements for the upload of video footage via its satellites, to quiet warnings to media owners to mute dissident voices.” Many observers suspect that these moves are meant to enhance government control over the media in the run-up to the parliamentary elections in November. Although, as the article notes, “Egypt’s press remains relatively free compared with that of its Arab neighbours” (the country moved up in this year’s “Reporters Without Borders” annual index of world press freedom), the satellite clampdown is cause for concern.

Posted in Egypt, Freedom, Journalism, Technology | Comment »

October 26th, 2010 by Jason

In an article titled “Democracy in Cyberspace” published in Foreign Affairs, Ian Bremmer argues that while the internet provides a tool for reformers and democracy advocates, it is not a silver bullet: “Innovations in modern communications may help erode authoritarian power over time. But for the moment, their impact on international politics is not so easy to predict.” Bremmer makes the point that “tools are value neutral; there is nothing inherently pro-democratic about them. To use them is to exercise a form of freedom, but it is not necessarily a freedom that promotes the freedom of others.” The internet is a “dark place” Bremmer says, where the power of communication can be used to promote illiberal values as easily as democratic ideals.

There is also the problem of nations “rethink[ing] their definitions of ‘critical infrastructure.’” The increasing importance of the internet to the world economy and the security implications of “cyber warfare” are causing some governments to treat the internet as a space to be defended and controlled. “The result will be a world that has not one Internet but a set of interlinked intranets closely monitored by various governments […] American and European users will access the same Internet as before, but the Chinese government has already made clear its intention to declare sovereignty over an Internet of its own. Other authoritarian states have every incentive to follow its lead.”

Posted in Democracy Promotion, Freedom, Technology | Comment »

October 25th, 2010 by Anna

In the Washington Post today, Jackson Diehl describes the role of firewall-busting technology in facilitating opposition movements in authoritarian states. One company, called UltraReach, enables people to access web sites banned by their governments, and about half of the system’s users are Iranian. With additional funding, the company’s founders say they could “effectively destroy the Internet controls of Iran and most other dictatorships,” writes Diehl. There have been some small efforts in Congress to help fund firewall-busting firms, which have collectively formed the Global Internet Freedom Consortium. State Department funding for internet freedom programs has been limited by “bureaucratic slowness,” however, in spite of calls from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Michael Posner to defeat internet censorship by authoritarian regimes. Diehl laments that although the technology and funding exist, “the agency still hesitates to act.”

Posted in Civil Society, Iran, Technology, US foreign policy | Comment »

October 25th, 2010 by Anna

Golnaz Esfandiari at Radio Free Europe follows up on last week’s reports that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Iranians to report on his trip to Qom through photo and video footage, which has been published on his website. IRNA, Iran’s state news agency, has also been encouraging (Farsi) citizen journalism, asking average Iranians to become “honorary journalist[s]” by reporting on events they see in their communities. Esfandiari predicts that “the citizen journalism the Iranian establishment is promoting is likely to be tightly monitored and subject to censorship.”

Also related to censorship, Iranian leaders announced a review of university curricula on Sunday. Abolfazl Hassani, head of Education Development at the Ministry of Education, reportedly said: “Expansion of 12 disciplines in the social sciences like law, women’s studies, human rights, management, sociology, philosophy….psychology and political sciences will be reviewed,” in part because they have been deemed too “Western.” New university departments in these fields will not be permitted, and existing curricula will be “revised,” according to Reuters.

Posted in Iran, Journalism, Technology | Comment »

October 21st, 2010 by Evan

Al Jazeera reports that Egyptian authorities shut down 12 more private television channels on Tuesday for allegedly violating the terms of their broadcast licenses.  Egyptian Information Minister Annas el-Fiqi  said that the move by NileSat, Egypt’s main satellite operator, was a “corrective measure” necessary to protect viewers. Meanwhile on Egypt’s most popular talk show, Masr ElNaharda, commentators with close ties to the government suggested banning or passing laws to regulate Facebook. At The Guardian’s Comment is Free Osama Diab writes, “The suggestion of a ban on Facebook shows that the regime is worried of any medium that shows real trends and statistics in Egypt that they have no control over. It’s also because the regime is definitely losing the Facebook numbers game; it’s hard to imagine that Mokhtar [a commentator on Masr ElNaharda] would have still suggested control over the social network if it was President Hosni Mubarak who got a quarter of a million fans on his page rather than ElBaradei.”

Posted in Egypt, Elections, Journalism, Middle Eastern Media, Technology | Comment »

October 20th, 2010 by Anna

Reporters Without Borders released its annual World Press Freedom Index today. In the Middle East and North Africa, press freedom saw mild improvements in some places, but deterioration overall. Morocco dropped 8 places in the global ranking, which the report’s authors attribute to “the arbitrary closing down of a newspaper, the financial ruin of another newspaper, orchestrated by the authorities, etc.” Tunisia’s score also worsened “because of its policy of systematic repression enforced by government leaders in Tunis against any person who expresses an idea contrary to that of the regime,” as well as a new amendment to the penal code that essentially criminalizes contact with foreign organizations that could damage national economic interests. In Syria and Yemen, press freedom continues to suffer as arbitrary arrests and torture are “still routine,” and crackdowns in Iran have kept that country at the near-bottom of the index. The rankings went down for Bahrain and Kuwait due to an uptick in charges against bloggers, including prominent Kuwaiti blogger Mohammed Abdel Qader Al-Jassem. The Palestinian Territories rose 11 places because “the violations committed in the year just ended are simply ‘less serious’ than in 2009,” and Algeria also saw mild improvements in media freedom. In Iraq, a higher score reflects the fact that journalists now work in safer conditions than in the past.

Posted in Bahrain, Freedom, Gulf, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Middle Eastern Media, Palestine, Syria, Technology, Tunisia | Comment »

October 18th, 2010 by Anna

Reuters quoted Iran’s senior Culture Ministry official Ehsan Ghazizadeh yesterday as threatening that print media outlets will be closed if they publish information about opposition movements. Ghazizadeh, who has oversight over domestic media, reportedly said: “Those publications that publish statements and pictures of the sedition (opposition) leaders will be warned and then closed down if they continue to do so,” adding that financial support may be denied to outlets that “do not cover news related to pro-government events.”

Today, however, Radio Free Europe reports that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has encouraged citizens to document his upcoming trip to Qom through videos, photo, and audio recordings. His office says that it will post reports on his website. The message is in apparent contrast with previous comments by Khamenei – last October, for example, he said (Farsi) that “the media…is the most powerful weapon and it is even worse and more dangerous than the atomic bomb.”

Posted in Iran, Journalism, Technology | 1 Comment »

October 12th, 2010 by Evan

Al-Masry Al-Youm reports that Egypt’s National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) has implemented new restrictions on SMS service. As of Monday, private media institutions and civil society organizations must obtain a government license before sending out news alerts to readers. The new rules also allow for greater monitoring of text messages sent by private citizens.

Posted in Egypt, Elections, Technology | Comment »

October 7th, 2010 by Jason

Repressive regimes in the Middle East continue to find ways to control the flow of information in their countries. Al-Masry Al-Youm reports that the Mutaween, or religious police, in Saudi Arabia are now monitoring “social internet networks like Facebook, Twitter, and chat rooms.” There is even a program at King Abdul Aziz University that teaches the religious police how to use the applications in order to censor them. In Libya, the government has begun removing access to url shortening sites due to the “adult-friendly” nature of one of the services. Meanwhile, the Iranian government has accused Facebook and Twitter of being “hidden enemies” that are “tools used by Western intelligence agencies in order to recruit new members and gather data on individuals.”

Posted in Civil Society, Freedom, Iran, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Technology | Comment »

October 5th, 2010 by Jason

In a new article in the Foreign Service Journal,  Robert McMahon explores the ongoing efforts of American broadcasters to  reach Iranians, even as the regime expands pressure on independent media. Voice of America’s Persian News Network satellite TV station and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s (RFE/RL) Radio Farda–two broadcasters funded by Congress–have been expanding their reach into social media. “The regime denounces these media efforts as a ’soft war’ waged by outside forces and has responded by mounting one of the world’s most intense censorship efforts: jamming broadcasts, blocking  Web sites and infiltrating Facebook accounts,” McMahon writes. The on going diplomatic standoff between Iran and the US makes the efforts of these broadcasters even more important according to McMahon.

While the utilization of social media is a key to connecting with the young people in a country where there are “tens of thousands” of active blogs, McMahon adds that new challenges are developing in that area: “Larry Diamond, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, writes in the July edition of the Journal of Democracy of a growing competition worldwide between democrats and autocrats over mastery of what has been called ‘liberation technology.’” The Iranian government has adapted by setting up pro-regime blogs and disrupting websites that they feel challenge their authority, including the websites of two prominent clerics. .

VOA and RFE/RL also face challenges from policy makers in the US who are skeptical about their effectiveness, McMahon adds. The broadcasters, however, are constantly adapting to new technologies to amplify their message to the Iranian people. McMahon ends the article by providing several recommendations: “Keep a close eye on internal developments in Iran and in the region, and vet reports to keep news stories accurate, not inflammatory, […] (s)ustain efforts to overcome jamming of core radio and TV services,” and “(p)ursue a vigorous effort to gather more and better data about how Iranians are accessing information.”

Posted in Civil Society, Freedom, Iran, Journalism, Middle Eastern Media, Technology, US foreign policy, US media | Comment »

September 30th, 2010 by Jason

Questions are being raised about how a new draft law will affect internet access and freedom in Syria. Obaida Hamad writes in Syria Today that the draft law has been “finalised.” Details about the law are sparse, but Hamad postulates that, “it will entail a voluntary system of registration with the Ministry of Information, by which sites can choose to be officially recognised. Another proposed clause is that sites nominate someone who is ultimately responsible for content.” The efficacy of these controls is questionable. As  Taleb Kadi Amin, a former deputy information minister, points out, “‘Sites are already blocked and people work out how to access them very quickly. Facebook is blocked, but it remains one of the most viewed sites in Syria.’”

In the New York Times, Robert Worth writes that Syrians have “a tenuous measure of freedom” on the internet but that freedom “is threatened by an ever present fog of fear and intimidation, and some journalists fear that it could soon be snuffed out,” due to the new law. Worth notes that the regime maintains a Facebook page for President Bashar al-Assad.

Posted in Freedom, Syria, Technology | Comment »

September 29th, 2010 by Anna

In an article for the upcoming issue of The New Yorker, Malcolm Gladwell examines the use of online social media tools for social activism, concluding: “[w]here activists were once defined by their causes, they are now defined by their tools.” He writes that “[w]ith Facebook and Twitter and the like, the traditional relationship between political authority and popular will has been upended, making it easier for the powerless to collaborate, coordinate, and give voice to their concerns.”

He contends, however, that the “outsized enthusiasm for social media” has caused some to forget the true meaning of activism. Using last year’s post-election protests in Iran as an example (in which Twitter was allegedly “the medium of the movement”), Gladwell notes that this new kind of social activism is built on broad, loose ties between people, organized in a network rather than a hierarchy. Although social networks like Facebook and Twitter can increase participation in social movements, they require a lower level of commitment by activists. The network structure may make movements more resilient and adaptable, Gladwell says, but networks may not be the most effective structure for activists to challenge powerful establishments. In general, expression via diffuse social networks has less impact than the more traditional, boots-on-the-ground organizing that dominated the Civil Rights Movement, for example. Gladwell, in effect, asks readers to critically examine the real efficacy of social media tools for producing change, writing: “They are not a natural enemy of the status quo.”

Posted in Civil Society, Elections, Iran, Technology | Comment »

September 22nd, 2010 by Evan

Posted in Bahrain, Journalism, Technology | Comment »

August 30th, 2010 by Evan

Writing at Black Iris, Jordanian blogger Naseem Tarawnah highlights issues with Jordan’s new cyber crimes law. According to Tarawnah, the law gives the Jordanian government new legal tools to repress free speech online including the ability to prosecute anyone sending information that “involves defamation or contempt or slander” and broad powers to search the homes and offices of those suspected of being involved in cyber crime. “Given the precedence of infringements on free speech in Jordan, one can safely assume that intent will be used more as a subjective legal tool to prosecute and convict, rather than protect the defendant,” writes Tarawnah. The cyber crime law is one of 34 temporary laws the Rifai government has attempted to pass since the Jordanian parliament was abolished in November 2009.

Posted in Jordan, Legislation, Reform, Technology | Comment »