Censorship of Twitter
Encyclopedia
Censorship of Twitter has generally occurred in countries with a history of Internet censorship.
; however, many Chinese people
use it anyway. In 2010 Cheng Jianping was sentenced to 1 year in a labor camp for a sarcastic post on Twitter.
on 25 January 2011 during the 2011 Egyptian protests. Some news reports blamed the government of Egypt for blocking it, and Vodafone Egypt
, Egypt's largest mobile network operator, said it wasn't their action; however, Twitter's news releases did not state who the company believes instituted the block. As of January 26, Twitter was still confirming that the service was blocked in Egypt.
tried to block certain content on Twitter due to the North Korean government opening a Twitter account. The North Korean Twitter account created on August 12, @uriminzok, loosely translated to mean "our people" in Korean, acquired over 4,500 followers in less than one week. On August 19, 2010, South Korea's state-run Communications Standards Commission banned the Twitter account for broadcasting "illegal information." According to BBC US and Canada, experts claim that North Korea has invested in "information technology for more than 20 years" with knowledge of how to use social networking sites to their power. This appears to be "nothing new" for North Korea as the reclusive country has always published propaganda in its press, usually against South Korea, calling them "warmongers." With only 36 tweets, the Twitter account was able to accumulate almost 9,000 followers. To date, the South Korean Commission has banned 65 sites, including this Twitter account.
China
Twitter is banned in ChinaInternet censorship in the People's Republic of China
Internet censorship in the People's Republic of China is conducted under a wide variety of laws and administrative regulations. There are no specific laws or regulations which the censorship follows...
; however, many Chinese people
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
use it anyway. In 2010 Cheng Jianping was sentenced to 1 year in a labor camp for a sarcastic post on Twitter.
United Kingdom
British Prime Minister threatened to shut down Twitter completely in that country in response to the civil unrest of 2011, though he is yet to carry this out.Egypt
Twitter was inaccessible in EgyptEgypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
on 25 January 2011 during the 2011 Egyptian protests. Some news reports blamed the government of Egypt for blocking it, and Vodafone Egypt
Vodafone Egypt
Vodafone Egypt is Egypt's largest mobile network operator. It was launched in 1998 and was formerly known as Click GSM.-About Vodafone Egypt:Vodafone Egypt is a telecommunications service and product provider. It was established in 1998...
, Egypt's largest mobile network operator, said it wasn't their action; however, Twitter's news releases did not state who the company believes instituted the block. As of January 26, Twitter was still confirming that the service was blocked in Egypt.
South Korea
In August 2010, the Government of South KoreaGovernment of South Korea
The Government of South Korea is divided into executive, judicial, and legislative branches. The executive and judicial branches operate primarily at the national level, although various ministries in the executive branch also carry out local functions. Local governments are semi-autonomous, and...
tried to block certain content on Twitter due to the North Korean government opening a Twitter account. The North Korean Twitter account created on August 12, @uriminzok, loosely translated to mean "our people" in Korean, acquired over 4,500 followers in less than one week. On August 19, 2010, South Korea's state-run Communications Standards Commission banned the Twitter account for broadcasting "illegal information." According to BBC US and Canada, experts claim that North Korea has invested in "information technology for more than 20 years" with knowledge of how to use social networking sites to their power. This appears to be "nothing new" for North Korea as the reclusive country has always published propaganda in its press, usually against South Korea, calling them "warmongers." With only 36 tweets, the Twitter account was able to accumulate almost 9,000 followers. To date, the South Korean Commission has banned 65 sites, including this Twitter account.