Censorship Archives

Hong Kong director Kiwi Chow says the local film industry has stepped up self-censorship after Beijing imposed a strict national security law

World

Banned film exposes Hong Kong’s censorship trend, director says

After four months of restless waiting, filmmaker Kiwi Chow received a dreaded, but not altogether unexpected, message: Hong Kong censors had banned his new...

AFPDecember 21, 2025

Social Media

China has banned the highest number of social media platforms worldwide

Internet censorship affects over 3.8 billion people worldwide, with nearly half the global population living in countries that restrict access to popular platforms.

Dr. Tim SandleOctober 9, 2025

A majority of lawmakers in Russia's lower State Duma have backed a bill to fine internet users searching for content deemed 'extremist'

Social Media

Russia seeks to fine web users searching for content deemed ‘extremist’

Russian lawmakers advanced a bill that would fine internet users who search online for web pages that authorities have deemed "extremist."

AFPJuly 22, 2025

Deputies in the lower house State Duma backed in its second reading

Tech & Science

Russian deputies back fines for clicking on ‘extremist’ content

Russian lawmakers on Thursday advanced a bill that would outlaw opening or searching for content online judged “extremist,” such as songs glorifying Ukraine and...

AFPJuly 17, 2025

Israeli security forces and media gather at the site of an Iranian strike that hit a residential neighbourhood in the Ramat Aviv area in Tel Aviv on June 22, 2025

World

Iran strikes damage hard to assess under Israeli military censorship

Israel has acknowledged being hit by more than 50 missiles during the 12-day war with Iran, but the true extent of the damage may...

AFPJune 26, 2025

Tech & Science

Pakistan web controls quash dissent and potential

Besieged by political turmoil, Pakistan’s government is turning to draconian internet censorship which threatens to cut the country off from a promising future, experts...

AFPNovember 27, 2024

It took officials nearly 24 hours to reveal that dozens had died

World

How China’s censorship machine worked to block news of deadly attack

At least 35 people were killed and dozens more injured when a man ploughed his car into pedestrians exercising around a sports centre in...

AFPNovember 13, 2024

Cambodian journalist Mech Dara, who won an international award for his reporting on scam compounds, says he is leaving the profession after spending three weeks in jail

World

Award-winning Cambodian reporter quits journalism after arrest

A high-profile Cambodian reporter who won an international award for uncovering alleged cyber scams told AFP Tuesday that he is quitting journalism, saying he...

AFPNovember 5, 2024