Censorship of Wikipedia
Encyclopedia
Censorship of Wikipedia has occurred in several countries, typically those with a history of Internet censorship.
from Beijing was blocked on the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
.
After the Beijing Olympics, all Wikimedia websites (including Chinese and English Wikipedia) remain unblocked to this date, with the exception of a few pages deemed sensitive by the Chinese government
, mainly political articles regarding China, or articles describing the PRC's Internet censorship
. Moreover, any page (including user or talk pages) may be blocked if it includes certain forbidden keywords
.
were hidden and the website was blocked by its administrators, as a protest against paragraph 29 of the "DDL intercettazioni
" (Wiretapping Bill). The proposed bill would empower anyone who believes themselves to have been offended by the content of a web site to enforce publication of a reply, uneditable and uncommented, on the same web site, within 48 hours and without any prior evaluation of the claim by a judge or to face a €12,000 fine.
On October 4th, 5th, and 6th all pages on the Italian version of Wikipedia redirected to a statement opposing the proposed legislation. The statement is available in Italian, English, French, Spanish, German, Hebrew, and Esperanto. On October 7th the Italian Wikipedia pages were again available, but a notice about the proposed legislation was still displayed at the top of pages.
during the controversy surrounding Everybody Draw Mohammed Day
.
, a UK-based non-government organization, added the Wikipedia article Virgin Killer
to its internet blacklist
due to the cover image and the illegality of child pornography
; the image had been assessed as the lowest level of legal concern: "erotic posing with no sexual activity". As a result, people using many major UK ISPs were blocked from viewing the entire article by the Cleanfeed
system, and a large part of the UK was blocked from editing Wikipedia owing to the means of blocking in use. Following discussion, representations by the Wikimedia Foundation (who host the Wikipedia website), and public complaints, the IWF reversed their decision three days later, and confirmed that in future they would not block copies of the image that were hosted overseas.
China
Blocking of Wikipedia by the People's Republic of China first occurred on June 2, 2004 when access to the Chinese WikipediaChinese Wikipedia
Chinese Wikipedia is the Chinese language edition of Wikipedia, run by the Wikimedia Foundation. Started in October 2002, Chinese Wikipedia had over 270,000 articles as of September 2009 and 383,391 articles as of November 7, 2011...
from Beijing was blocked on the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 1989...
.
After the Beijing Olympics, all Wikimedia websites (including Chinese and English Wikipedia) remain unblocked to this date, with the exception of a few pages deemed sensitive by the Chinese government
Politics of the People's Republic of China
The politics of the People's Republic of China take place in a framework of a single-party socialist republic. The leadership of the Communist Party is stated in the Constitution of the People's Republic of China...
, mainly political articles regarding China, or articles describing the PRC's Internet censorship
Internet 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...
. Moreover, any page (including user or talk pages) may be blocked if it includes certain forbidden keywords
Golden Shield Project
The Golden Shield Project , colloquially referred to as the Great Firewall of China is a censorship and surveillance project operated by the Ministry of Public Security division of the government of the People's Republic of China...
.
Italy
On October 4, 2011, following a decision adopted by the community, the contents of the Italian version of WikipediaItalian Wikipedia
The Italian Wikipedia is the Italian-language edition of Wikipedia. This edition was created on May 11, 2001 and first edited on June 11, 2001. As of 2011 it has over articles and more than registered accounts...
were hidden and the website was blocked by its administrators, as a protest against paragraph 29 of the "DDL intercettazioni
DDL intercettazioni
DDL Intercettazioni or the Wiretapping Act is a piece of legislation put before the Italian Parliament in 2008.-Background:The Max Planck Institute calculated that in 2006, a higher proportion of Italians had had their phones tapped than citizens of any other European country...
" (Wiretapping Bill). The proposed bill would empower anyone who believes themselves to have been offended by the content of a web site to enforce publication of a reply, uneditable and uncommented, on the same web site, within 48 hours and without any prior evaluation of the claim by a judge or to face a €12,000 fine.
On October 4th, 5th, and 6th all pages on the Italian version of Wikipedia redirected to a statement opposing the proposed legislation. The statement is available in Italian, English, French, Spanish, German, Hebrew, and Esperanto. On October 7th the Italian Wikipedia pages were again available, but a notice about the proposed legislation was still displayed at the top of pages.
Pakistan
English Wikipedia was blocked for several days in May 2010 in PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
during the controversy surrounding Everybody Draw Mohammed Day
Everybody Draw Mohammed Day
Everybody Draw Mohammed Day was an event held on 20 May 2010 in support of free speech and freedom of artistic expression of those threatened by violence for drawing representations of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad...
.
Saudi Arabia
On 11 July 2006 the Saudi government blocked access to Google and Wikipedia.United Kingdom
In December 2008, the Internet Watch FoundationInternet Watch Foundation
The Internet Watch Foundation is a non-governmental charitable body based in the United Kingdom. It states that its remit is "to minimise the availability of 'potentially criminal' Internet content, specifically images of child sexual abuse hosted anywhere, and criminally obscene adult content in...
, a UK-based non-government organization, added the Wikipedia article Virgin Killer
Virgin Killer
Virgin Killer is the fourth studio album by the German heavy metal band Scorpions. It was released in 1976 and was the first album of the band to attract attention outside Europe. The title is described as being a reference to time as the killer of innocence. The original cover featured a nude...
to its internet blacklist
Blacklist
A blacklist is a list or register of entities who, for one reason or another, are being denied a particular privilege, service, mobility, access or recognition. As a verb, to blacklist can mean to deny someone work in a particular field, or to ostracize a person from a certain social circle...
due to the cover image and the illegality of child pornography
Child pornography
Child pornography refers to images or films and, in some cases, writings depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child...
; the image had been assessed as the lowest level of legal concern: "erotic posing with no sexual activity". As a result, people using many major UK ISPs were blocked from viewing the entire article by the Cleanfeed
Cleanfeed (content blocking system)
Cleanfeed is the name given to privately administered ISP level content filtering systems operating in the United Kingdom and Canada. It is also the name of a proposed mandatory Australian ISP level content filtering system which is undergoing testing...
system, and a large part of the UK was blocked from editing Wikipedia owing to the means of blocking in use. Following discussion, representations by the Wikimedia Foundation (who host the Wikipedia website), and public complaints, the IWF reversed their decision three days later, and confirmed that in future they would not block copies of the image that were hosted overseas.
External links
- Authorities block access to online encyclopaedia (International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX))
- Wikipedia Versus China The Hour with George StroumboulopoulosGeorge StroumboulopoulosGeorge Mark Paul Stroumboulopoulos is a Canadian television and radio personality, best known as the host of CBC Television's George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight and being a VJ for Canadian music television channel MuchMusic...
, interview with Jimmy Wales, Oct. 13, 2006