Stories about Technology from February, 2017
911 for Donbass: Meet the App That Will Keep Ukrainians Updated About Military Attacks
"Active Citizen" will inform users about military attacks in seconds and, the app's creators hope, help reduce casualties among civilians in the war-torn regions of eastern Ukraine.
You Can Now Nominate Candidates for the 2017 Kenya Blog Awards
The Kenyan Blog Awards is now taking submissions for this year's ceremony. The call for nominations runs until March 10. Bloggers and fans can submit nominations in several different categories.
Netizen Report: How Private is Our Email? Riseup Users Want to Know.
New malware targets Iranian mac users, Facebook discloses some information about data-sharing with advertisers, and Cameroon’s regional Internet shutdown could cost the country millions.
Apple iPhone Ad Puts an Artistic Spotlight on Greece (but Not All Greeks Are Happy)
"They portray Greece as if we are still in the 1950s: clothes, the behavior of people, who act like they have never seen a mobile phone with a camera before..."
Privacy Is Hard to Protect in Tunisia, Thanks to Politics
Almost six years after the regime's ousting, and despite having a constitution that grants all citizens the right to privacy, Tunisia's privacy law still do not meet international standards.
Twitter Walks a Fine Line in Russia
Why does Twitter comply with Kremlin requests to censor Tweets inside Russia? It's complicated.
Free Expression Under Fire as Venezuela Takes CNN Spanish Off the Air
CNN broadcasts will now be freely available in Venezuela on YouTube — but what does it matter in the country with one of the slowest Internet connections in the region?
Local Language / Global Network: Designing Mobile Technology for Indigenous and Minority Language Users
Lessons from how Irish speakers are interacting with mobile technologies may provide insights for speakers of other minority and indigenous languages.
Whale-Themed ‘Suicide Groups’ Present Opportunity for Internet Crackdown in Central Asia
Despite no clear link to actual suicides in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, authorities are dreaming up restrictions.
Hackers Target Iranian Activists’ Mac Devices With Revamped Malware
State-sponsored Iranian hackers targetting civil human rights users have a new virus targeting Apple computers.
Netizen Report: In Kenya and Mexico, Citizens Suspect State Manipulation on Twitter
As social manipulation abounds on Twitter, Venezuela blocks more news websites, and Facebook heads to France to fight fake news.
Kenyan Government Allegedly Pays Social Media Influencers to Promote “GreedyDoctors” Hashtag
As allegations of social media manipulation surfaced, seven Kenyan Doctor’s Union officials were jailed for failing to call off an ongoing strike.
Despite What You Read, Radiation Levels at Fukushima Daiichi Aren't ‘Soaring’
A news release from Japanese power utility TEPCO generated a number of headlines across Western media that were sorely missing context.
Fake News to Be of Major Concern in French Presidential Election Campaign
Distinguishing between real and fabricated news will be challenge during the french election campaign.
A New Audio Uploading Tool for Crowdsourced Wiktionary Project in Odia Language
One Global Voices contributor who's passionate about the Odia language has created an open-source solution for recording and uploading words under open licenses for projects like Wiktionary.
Protecting Georgia's Ancient Alphabet in a Digital Age
"Our language and our alphabet is our heritage; it is a treasure that needs to be not only protected but also kept alive and updated."
Netizen Report: Internet Shutdowns Return to Iraq, Persist in Cameroon
Cameroon's Internet regional shutdown enters its third week, Ukraine prosecutes two men for "separatist" speech on Vkontakte and Algerian lawyers are told to stop using social media.
Ukrainian Anti-Corruption Watchdog Catches MPs Casting Multiple Votes, Again
Knopkodavstvo, or button pushing, as the tactic is known, has plagued voting in Ukraine's parliament for years.
‘Why Are We Still Doing This?': Iraq Shuts Down Internet to Prevent Exam Cheating—Again
Internet outages to prevent exam cheating have now become common in Iraq.
In Bangladesh, a New Online Platform to Ensure Parliamentary Accountability
"I went to the local MP's house to discuss about some issues in our neighborhood. It was 10 am and I was told that he still was asleep."
India's Open Tech Communities Work to Increase Public Knowledge of Online Privacy
Over the past year, free and open source communities in India have built a campaign to increase public understanding of online privacy issues both with online and public outreach events.
