Olympic journalists face web restraints

(CBC.ca) - Journalists covering the Beijing Games will not have uncensored internet access, Chinese and Olympic officials have confirmed.

Foreign media had complained about being unable to access politically sensitive websites such as that of Amnesty International, which on Tuesday accused China of failing to live up to its promise to improve human rights.

China is known for rigid internet controls, but said during the Olympics bidding process that foreign media would have “complete freedom to report” at the Summer Games, which begin Aug. 8.

READ MORE HERE [ Source: CBC.ca ]

Olympics Journalists Urged To Use Crypto, to Thwart Chinese Spying

(Wired: Threat Level) -  Journalists covering the Olympics in Beijing ought to consider using virtual private networks and avoiding the use of instant messenger to interview subjects for stories, says Rebecca MacKinnon, CNN's former Beijing bureau chief and University of Hong Kong new media professor.

"If you are trying to work on sensitive stories that may be beyond topics that perhaps the Chinese government might be happy about you reporting, if you’re communicating with sources who might be under surveillance, you  need to make sure that you’re using secure e-mail and that you’re using a secure internet connection," she says.

READ MORE HERE [ Source: Wired: Threat Level, Sarah Lai Stirland, stirland@gmail.com ]

Net Censorship Law Struck Down Again

A federal appeals court struck down as unconstitutional a Clinton-era law that would have forced websites with adult material to verify visitors' ages, dealing another blow to the government in a 10-year court battle over net censorship.

The 3rd U.S. Circurt Court of Appeals upheld on Tuesday a 2007 lower-court decision that the Child Online Protection Act violated the First Amendment since it was not the most effective way to keep children from visiting adult websites.

READ MORE HERE [ Source: Wired: Threat Level, Ryan Singel, ryan@ryansingel.net ]