Chinese anti-censorship group Greatfire.org suffers massive hack

Title: Chinese anti-censorship group Greatfire.org suffers massive hack

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/mar/20/chinese-anti-censorship-group-greatfire-org-suffers-massive-hack-google

Summary:

An advocacy group that helps internet users inside China bypass blocks on censored content says it is suffering a denial-of-service attack disrupting its operations.

Facts/phrases:

Ø  US-subsidised Greatfire.org says the attack started two days ago and traffic is 2,500 times above normal. It has affected “mirror”, or duplicate, websites that it has set up via encrypted web services offered by companies such as Amazon.

Ø  According to the free-expression watchdog Freedom House, since late 2013 Greatfire.org has been hosting content on domains owned by Amazon and other major companies, which officials cannot risk censoring because of their large commercial footprint within China.

Ø  The current denial-of-service attack that is flooding the mirror websites is costing the group up to $30,000 per day in bandwidth.

Ø  The Open Technology Fund, a US-government-backed initiative to support internet freedom, says on its website it provided Greatfire.org with $114,000 in 2014.

Google 'illegally took content from Amazon, Yelp, Trip Advisor,' report finds

Title- Google 'illegally took content from Amazon, Yelp, Trip Advisor,' report finds

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/mar/20/google-illegally-took-content-from-amazon-yelp-tripadvisor-ftc-report

Summary:

This article is about how Google manipulated its search results to promote its own services over those of rival websites in ways that led to “real harm to consumers”.

Facts/Phrases:

Ø  America’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted unanimously to end its investigation into Google in early 2013 after extracting concessions from the Silicon Valley Company.

Ø  The findings, contained in a report produced in 2012 by FTC staff to advise commissioners before their final decision on the case, claim Google also caused “harm to many vertical competitors”.

Ø  In its 2013 settlement, the FTC ruled against Google on scraping. Rivals can now opt out of having their content lifted, without fear of being demoted in the search rankings.

Ø  Scott Cleland, publisher of the watchdog site Google Monitor and president of the Precursor research firm, said: “Public evidence concerning the sequence of events surrounding the FTC’s closure of its Google search practices investigation creates at least the appearance that politics, and not merits, drove the FTC’s ultimate conclusion.”

Opinion:

In my opinion, i think this shows how Google being a monolithic empire has stayed on top by manipulating the information of its sources, in order to profit from the advertising.

Identities and the Media: Index

1) Reading the riots

2) Post-colonialism: Destiny Ekaragwa film analysis

3) Post-colonialism: theory 

4) Post-colonialism: Clip Task 

5) Feminism: post-feminism article and No More Page 3 research

6) Feminism: waves and feminism and online activism

7) Collective identity and the media