Posts Tagged ‘Middle East’

Syria Shuts Down the Internet As Revolt Gains Steam

Published by pratyushkp on June 4th, 2011 - in Social, Technology

Image via Wikipedia

Internet traffic has come to a halt in Syria after the government blocked Internet services in an attempt to quell a growing revolt in the Middle Eastern nation.

“Starting at 3:35 UTC today, approximately two thirds of all Syrian networks became unreachable from the global Internet,” Internet intelligence firm Renesys reported on its blog today.

“Over the course of roughly half an hour, the routes to 40 of 59 networks were withdrawn from the global routing table.”

Most mobile phone and Internet networks are affected by the blackout. According to The Wall Street Journal, government-run websites such as the Oil Ministry’s website are still operational.

Syria has been banning social media services in the last few months, but this is the full time there has been a widespread Internet outage.

The move comes as protests have intensified in the troubled nation. 34 people were killed Friday after security forces opened fire. The uprising, which began in late January, has been focused on ousting Bashar Al-Assad from his role as President of Syria. Al-Assad ascended to the presidency in 2000 after his father’s 29-year rule.

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak shut down Internet services during the Egyptian revolution so protesters couldn’t easily organize. It didn’t quell the revolt though, and on February 11, Mubarak resigned.

Source:- http://mashable.com

  • Syria Shuts Down the Internet As Revolt Gains Steam (mashable.com)
  • Syria condemned after more killings (mirror.co.uk)
  • 34 shot dead in Hama as protests sweep Syria (alternet.org)
  • Syria’s Internet Blockage Brings Risk of Backfire – Wall Street Journal (news.google.com)
  • Syria Has Cut off Internet Access (zwingliusredivivus.wordpress.com)
  • Syria Drops Off the Internet As Turmoil Spikes (yro.slashdot.org)
  • VIDEO: Can Syria’s Assad cling to power? (bbc.co.uk)
  • Factbox: Protests in Middle East and North Africa – Reuters (news.google.com)
  • Syria’s Embattled Dissidents Grapple with Government Hackers, Wiretappers and Imposters (Time) (syrianetf.wordpress.com)
  • Syrians Protest Alone as West, Military Leave Assad Free Hand (businessweek.com)

India Seeks Ban on .xxx Domain

Published by pratyushkp on March 26th, 2011 - in Social, Technology

Joins Indonesia and the Middle East to protect the moral integrity of its citizens

After half-a-decade worth of approvals and rejections the quest for a separate .xxx domain exclusively for porn finally came to fruition a few days ago. The Internet Corp. for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has finally given a go ahead to the xxx domain. We had considered the pros and cons of the move in our coverage of the news, and one major concern that emerged was the inevitability of conservative governments like Islamic states in the Middle East and Indonesia imposing a blanket ban on the domain, which would undermine the freedoms that the Internet stands for. Shortly after the news broke out, the Indian government expressed its intention to seek a ban on the pornographic domain; putting it in the company of Indonesia and the Middle East vying to protect the moral integrity of its citizens.

The new .xxx domain evoked a response from the ministry of IT, wherein an official issued the following statement, “India, along with many other countries from the Middle East and Indonesia, opposed the grant of the domain in the first place, and we would proceed to block the whole domain, as it goes against the IT Act and Indian laws.” The Indian laws, which are widely considered to still be clinging to the outdated Victorian roots, ironically do not have any credible deterrent for sexual abuse of children, making India a haven for paedophiles world over, but they have a provision that outlaws adult sexual content.

The distribution of adult content is illegal as per the Indian Penal Code, which validates India’s opposition to the xxx domain. However, viewing pornography isn’t technically a crime. The new domain, however, will make it easier for conservative Islamic states and, ironically the original peddler of adult content, India, to block the porn distribution channels. That will essentially be futile as Indians still have the option of visiting the pornographic websites working from existing .com domains, banning which would be counter-productive if not impossible.

  • India To Ban.xxx Domain (yro.slashdot.org)
  • India’s Reaction To .xxx Domain Exhibits Why Porn Industry Hates It (blogs.forbes.com)
  • India to block .XXX top-level domain (thenextweb.com)
  • India says NO to Dot XXX domains! (trak.in)
  • .XXX porn domain approved (mobile-ent.biz)
  • New .XXX Domain Name For Porn Sites (businessinsider.com)
  • Have a Porn Site? Reserve Your Own XXX Domain Name Now (crenk.com)
  • A Seedy New Neighborhood For The Web: XXX Domain Approved (businessinsider.com)
  • ICANN Approves .XXX Domain for Adult Entertainment Industry (pcworld.com)
  • .xxx Domain for Adult Porn Websites Available for Registration (Price $60) (mydigitallife.info)
Tags: .xxx, Government of India, , , Indian Penal Code, Indonesia, , Pornography
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