What?!? Now we're not even allowed to link to the Olympics website?

13 Jul 2012 | Digital Freedom, Uncategorized

We’ve heard a lot about how the Olympics Games will take over London in the past few weeks: missile launchers on rooftops, non-approved chips banned from the Olympic site, protest threatened, Twitter accounts censored. But we must admit we hadn’t noticed the Olympic organisers attempts to change the way the entire internet works. Our attention has been drawn to the terms of use of the London 2012 website, which make it very clear under what circumstances you’re allowed link to the site:

  1. Links to the Site. You may create your own link to the Site, provided that your link is in a text-only format. You may not use any link to the Site as a method of creating an unauthorised association between an organisation, business, goods or services and London 2012, and agree that no such link shall portray us or any other official London 2012 organisations (or our or their activities, products or services) in a false, misleading, derogatory or otherwise objectionable manner. The use of our logo or any other Olympic or London 2012 Mark(s) as a link to the Site is not permitted. View our guidelines on Use of the Games’ Marks.

Got that? You’re only allowed link to the official site of the Olympics if you’re going to say nice things about the Olympics.

This obviously presents a problem. I really, really want to say that this is one of the silliest things I’ve read in my entire life, and that it demonstrates a level of control freakery that even the most hardened Olympisceptic could not have imagined. But the problem with that is that I’d be breaking the rules by linking to the page containing this information so that you could read it for yourself.

So I’m not going to say that. I’m going to say that this is a brilliant piece of brand management that’s not at all open to ridicule and scorn, and that’s it’s extremely unlikely that anyone would ever make a joke about this rule by linking to the Olympic site with language that could be “false, misleading, derogatory or otherwise objectionable”.

Here’s the link to the eminently sensible Terms of Use

Padraig Reidy is News Editor at Index on Censorship
Sport on Trial

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Index condemns Russian internet blacklist plan

10 Jul 2012 | Digital Freedom, Europe and Central Asia, Index Index, News and features

Russia’s Wikipedia and LiveJournal blacked out today to protest a draft law that would allow websites that promote drugs, suicide or contain contain porn or “extremist” materials to be blacklisted without judicial oversight. Activists fear the powers will be abused for political purposes.

Index on Censorship CEO Kirsty Hughes said today:

The Bill currently passing through the Duma is aimed squarely at clamping down on online dissent. The law will force ISPs to install filters at huge cost to prevent access to websites that the Communications Regulator deems “extremist”, with no judicial oversight. With Compromat.ru, a site exposing regime corruption targeted by the Moscow prosecutor last week, it’s clear that in Putin’s Russia freedom of expression is in decline.

Happy birthday, Dalai Lama: China celebrates by cutting comms in Tibetan region

10 Jul 2012 | China

It was the Dalai Lama’s birthday last week; he turned 77. China celebrated in its own unique way by severing public communication services, with both text messaging and internet access disabled for two days in Ganzi prefecture, a Tibetan autonomous region in western Sichuan province. Phone calls, however, could still be made.

There was no announcement, no explanation. One minute you could surf the internet, text your friend; the next, messages were blocked and the web was down. (more…)