Bloggers across Asia face criminal charges and significant prison time for their postings, highlighting the increasingly restrictive levels of online censorship in the region. In Vietnam, Pham Minh Hoang, a university teacher and blogger, was sentenced to three years in prison as well as three years of house arrest on Wednesday on a charge of […]

Chinese authorities have cracked down on social media in Inner Mongolia after days of unrest that forced the government to tighten security in the autonomous region. Information sources such as QQ instant messenger, internet chatting and text messaging have been recognized as playing a major role in organizing large-scale protests in the region and have […]

A disturbing article in the New York Times today chronicles the Syrian government’s crackdown on social media to stifle protest and destabilize the revolutionaries. As the article points out, since journalists are prohibited from entering the country, social media channels like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have become essential, not only to spread information outside the country, but […]

Following high-level meetings with key media stakeholders this week, the International Press Institute (IPI) is encouraged by recent steps Azerbaijan’s government and the country’s Press Council have taken to improve the condition of journalists in that country. IPI Director Alison Bethel McKenzie and IPI Press Freedom Manager Anthony Mills are currently in Azerbaijan to hold […]