Internet censorship happens right across the world. In some places access to social media is forbidden, in others, such as the UK, internet service providers may only put a block on sites that may lead to pirated movies for example. Some countries are very liberal, others have strict content and access rules.
HINT: If you happen to live or traveling to one of these countries and you still want to use Facebook or Netflix you can use the VPN that can get around geoblocking due to effectively camouflaging you from your ISP. There are plenty out there and you can click here to find out more.
This awesome map provides a detailed look at varying levels of internet censorship around the world today. It’s worth taking a while to go thought it.
North Korea
As you’d expect, Kim Jong-Un is pretty tight when it comes to what’s being said online. All websites in the country are monitored by the government and in fact, only four percent actually have internet access.
You won’t be finding Facebook here!
Burma
Burma, as you’d expect, are also incredibly strict with all emails filtered by authorities.
This is to prevent access to sites that promote and expose human rights or anti-government sentiment.
Cuba
Cuba has wider access to the internet compared to the cities above, but can only be used at certain points, in which are government controlled.
The web is then monitored by the authorities and filter IP addresses, browse internet histories, with posting anti-regime content strictly forbidden.
Iran
Like many countries in the Middle East, any anti-government sentiment can end up given jail time and all bloggers must actually receive a form of licence from the Ministry of Art & Culture.
Saudi Arabia
Almost a carbon copy of Iran, access to content that in any way is opposed to political or religious beliefs are blocked.
It’s estimated that in all, 400,000 websites are blocked by the Saudi government.
Syria
Access to the internet generally has to be reported in Syria and anything that can be construed as a “jeopardy to national unity” will lead to the arrest of the writer.
It’s one of the most dangerous places to access the internet and if a Syrian wishes to visit an Internet cafe, they must provide ID, record the time and date and report that information to the government.
China
Widely regarded as the strictest when it comes to censorship.
The government will block sites, delete them and filter searches. In fact, they will even redirect some searches that promote countries’ independence to pro-communist party information.
#Ideas
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Remember how we told you Tinder was all set to roll out “really sexy” [their words, not ours] location-based features this year? Well, now that the details of the first feature from that list are out, we want to swipe left and fast, because guys, this one looks straight out of Stalkerville!
It all started with The Verge getting its hands on the screenshots of Tinder’s new location-tracking feature called Places. These pages pretty much explain everything there is to know about how Places would work:
OK, stop looking for your glasses. Here’s everything you need to know:
- Tinder will use your location to see which social spots (wine bars, coffee shops, hiking trails, etc.) you frequent. After you leave that place, you will get a notification from Tinder showing you others who have visited that place.
- Tinder says it will not share your location in real-time and will wait for an ambiguous period called “a while” before letting other Tinder users know that you have also been there.
- To ensure that this feature works like Tinder intends it to, the app will keep tracking your location even when you’re not using it. The list of places you have visited will be visible to other Tinder users for a period of 28 whole days.
- If you don’t want others to know you have visited a particular spot, you will get the option to delete that place from your list of recent places. You can also specify whether it’s a one-time thing or you never want to be shown there.
- Apart from using your location to find other Tinder users who like the same social spot, the dating app would like to use your data to find interest-based matches (like a fellow canine lover in a dog park you visit often) and to improve its services (like removing cinema halls from the list of social spots if a lot of people keep deleting it from their lists).
- Tinder has also clarified that its list of social spots doesn’t include places like the bank or the dentist’s office, and definitely no residential areas or corporate campuses.
Here’s another screenshot from The Verge showing how Places looks like without any users being populated on the map:
Thankfully, this feature is an optional one and Tinder is letting you choose whether you want others to know about your whereabouts or not. Imagine someone whom you don’t want to strike a conversation with turning up at your favorite pub in hopes of changing your mind!
