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Tag: Social media

Social Media Ban Could Curb Free Speech Behind Bars

Posted in Journalism, and The Texas Observer

Prison reform activists are concerned that a new state social media policy could be used to infringe on the free speech rights of both incarcerated people and and those who support them by sharing their stories, thoughts and experiences online.

According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s (TDCJ) “Offender Orientation Manual,” updated in early April, “Offenders are prohibited from maintaining active social media accounts for the purposes of soliciting, updating, or engaging others, through a third party or otherwise.”

Under the updated manual, prisoners can be penalized for infractions in a number of ways, including by receiving extra work duties or being confined to their cells.

How Glenn Greenwald & Facebook Learned To Stop Worrying & Love Encryption

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

Facebook now offers users the ability to encrypt their notification emails using PGP, a freely available encryption method proven to thwart NSA surveillance. It’s the latest attempt by social media and other Internet providers to offer increased privacy to their users in the wake of the Edward Snowden leaks.

PGP, which stands for “Pretty Good Privacy,” is a freely available encryption standard that’s been available for decades. PGP encryption works through a technique called asymmetric encryption. Users of the software create both a private and a public encryption key. The public key can be shared freely with anyone who wants to send encrypted messages, and those messages can only be read by the person who holds the private key and its associated password.

The new feature, launched Monday, offers users the option to upload a public PGP key to Facebook. With this feature enabled, Facebook notification emails will only be legible to their intended recipient, using the corresponding password and private encryption key. Without encryption, anyone with access to a user’s email (potentially including hackers, police, or government agencies) could read the contents of private messages included in some notification emails.

Media Blame Lone Gaza Rocket While Ignoring Israel’s History Of Breaking Ceasefires

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

Israel launched new airstrikes against Gaza on Tuesday, claiming the action was in retaliation for a lone rocket fired earlier that day. The media views each such exchange in isolation, yet the Israeli government engages in deliberate provocations and ceasefire violations on a nearly daily basis against Gaza.

Israel’s brutal attack on Gaza last summer killed over 2,000 people, mostly civilians, and left another 300,000 homeless. Active and open conflict ended with the signing of a ceasefire on Aug. 26. Then, this week Israel retaliated to a single rocket fired from Gaza by bombing several targets in Gaza it said represented military infrastructure. There were no reported casualties.

The mainstream media was quick to offer Israel’s side of the conflict. “These strikes are a direct response to Hamas and the aggression against Israeli civilians originating from the Gaza Strip,” Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said in a statement.

But, as with most such rocket attacks, there were no injuries in Israel. In what Palestinians living in Gaza call self-defense against Israel’s inhumane siege of the Gaza Strip, homemade rockets directed at Israel are a response to Israel blocking humanitarian aid, medical supplies, food, or human rights monitors and journalists documenting Israel’s alleged war crimes against the impoverished region through the siege. And this latest rocket cannot be separated from months of provocative behavior by Israeli forces.

Lauryn Hill Cancels Israel Concert After #KillingMeSoftly Social Media Campaign

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

Bowing to intense pressure from a social media campaign based around one of her own hit songs, musician Lauryn Hill canceled a scheduled appearance in Tel Aviv, Israel.

In her Monday announcement, Hill stressed her desire for peace and recovery.

It’s the latest victory for the “cultural boycott” declared by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to end investment in Israel until Israel ends the illegal occupation of Palestine. International support for the BDS movement has grown since last summer’s brutal Israeli offensive which killed over 2,000 Palestinian civilians and left 150,000 homeless.