Free Internet

Freedom of religion, at 78%, remained the top priority for Indians in 2019, significantly eclipsing the levels of support for a free media, freedom of speech and a fair judiciary, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Only 37% Indians believe it is very important to have a free…

BEIJING—Returning to China in mid-February, I had seemingly stepped into a parallel universe. Much of Beijing looked, and even smelled, like the familiar metropolis in which I’ve lived for decades. Except for one thing. Where were all the people?  The Chinese capital has more than 20 million residents. But the…

Dictatorships and online services collect all kinds of data. Many users have no access at all to the free network. Here are a few tips on how to navigate the internet safely and anonymously and how to avoid censorship. How do I become visible to others on the internet? Basically,…

In some regions of the USA, AT&T internet users are unable to access Tutanota mailboxes on mobile connections since the end of January. Even though we reached out to AT&T, the issue is still not fixed. This shows why net neutrality is so important for internet users and online services…

Online violence is a tactic to exert power over women, it impinges on our ability to freely express ourselves, while hate speech is tolerated | Image: Public Domain When Patricia Azcagorta ran as a candidate for mayor of Caborca, Sonora, in Mexico in 2018, a video was circulated on social…

This is the Ostrom Memorial Lecture I gave on 9 October of last year for the Ostrom Workshop at Indiana University. Here is the video. (The intro starts at 8 minutes in, and my part starts just after 11 minutes in.) I usually speak off the cuff, but this time…

by Ahmed Batebi and Mamadou Babaei  | February 10, 2020 12:00 AM During the November 2019 Iranian protests over gas price hikes, and during the December funerals of the protest victims, Iranians experienced a 10-day government-backed internet shutdown. During that “interruption,” about 1,500 people, including 443 women and 17 children,…

When Patricia Azcagorta ran as a candidate for mayor of Caborca, Sonora, in Mexico in 2018, a video was circulated on social media of a woman dancing in her underwear, together with photos of Azcagorta, and messages accusing her of being a stripper. Using in…

Hoaxes are spreading quickly  are Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter up to the challenge? Women in Hong Kong sitting on the street with sanitary masks to prevent coronavirus infections. Photo by Miguel Candela/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images This stor…

TL;DR: A two-year subscription to ZenMate VPN is on sale for £1.34 per month, saving you 82% on list price. The internet is a weird and wonderful place that wants to be explored. The problem is that intrepid explorers of the web are now met with censorship, …