Vietnam threatens to penalize Facebook for breaking its draconian cybersecurity law Well, that didn’t take long. We’re less than ten days into 2019 and already Vietnam is aiming threats at Facebook after it violating its draconian cybersecurity law which came into force on January 1. The U.S. social network stands accused of […]

Rejected journalist visa sparks press freedom fears in Hong Kong There’s concern for the freedom of the press in Hong Kong after the government declined to renew the visa of a veteran Financial Times’ editor, dealing an alarming blow to the country’s thriving journalism community. Victor Mallet, the FT’s Asia news editor who is also […]

Myanmar jails Reuters reporters who uncovered military atrocity Reporting the news isn’t illegal, unless you’re in Myanmar. The Southeast Asian country this week sentenced two reporters from Reuters to seven years in jail in response to an investigative report that uncovered atrocities committed against Rohingya Muslims by the army. Wa Lone and Kyaw […]

There’s more: Google is also said to be developing a censored news app for China Can Google’s week get any worse? Less than a day after the revelation that it is planning a censored search engine for China, so comes another: the U.S. firm is said to be developing a government-friendly news app […]

Apple’s iCloud user data in China is now handled by a state-owned mobile operator If you’re an Apple customer living in China who didn’t already opt out of having your iCloud data stored locally, here’s a good reason to do so now. That information, the data belonging to China-based iCloud users which […]

Vietnam’s new cyber security law draws concern for restricting free speech Big tech firms including Google, Facebook and Twitter have expressed major concern after Vietnam’s government passed a law that promises to introduce tighter restrictions on free speech online. The new regulation passed this week strengthens the government’s position on censoring the […]

Chinese police are using smart glasses to identify potential suspects  China already operates the world’s largest surveillance state with some 170 CCTV cameras at work, but its line of sight is about to get a new angle thanks to new smart eyewear that is being piloted by police officers. The smart specs […]

Rappler, a new media organization critical of the Philippines government, faces closure  Rappler, a high-profile new media news organization in the Philippines, is facing closure after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revoked its registration for an alleged breach of the country’s constitution. Rappler was started in 2012 by Filipino journalist Maria Ressa and it is a […]

WeChat begins censoring users ahead of China’s National Party Congress  Expect to see plenty of censorship news coming out of China over the next week. The country’s National Congress is a hugely influential political summit that takes place every five years and includes the selection of central party leadership. It is also […]