Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Russians rally for internet freedom

Russians Protest Ban On Telegram App During Traditional May Day Parade - Radio Free Europe::

May 1, 2018 - "Thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets of Moscow and St. Petersburg to protest against government attempts to curtail Internet freedom -- marching defiantly while more than 100,000 other Russians took part in the traditional May Day parade....

"The May Day parade has become a highly orchestrated show of power by Russian authorities and the ruling United Russia party in recent years, with demonstrators refraining from criticizing the government. "But demonstrators this year marched through the streets to protest the government's ban on the popular messaging app Telegram.

"About 10,000 people rallied in Moscow on April 30 to protest the blocking of Telegram, chanting that Russian President Vladimir Putin 'is a thief!'

"The event was organized by the Libertarian Party of Russia, which has called the attempts to block Telegram 'a national shame.' Opposition politician Aleksei Navalny ... has scheduled another demonstration for May 5."

Read more: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-protest-ban-on-telegram-app-during-traditional-may-day-parade/29202739.html


Vera Kichanova, Boundless Liberty:

May 1, 2018: "More than 12,000 people ... rallied in Moscow to defend internet freedom today. The rally was organised by the Libertarian Party of Russia. Our largest event so far!...

"Two weeks ago the encrypted messaging app Telegram was blocked in Russia after Telegram had refused to hand over its encryption keys to the Russian secret service. The ban hit not just Telegram but over 15 million IP addresses used by Telegram in Russia including Google, Amazon, Spotify and many more. In a matter of days Russians were cut off from the global internet so that users couldn't even check their emails....

"On a positive side, when and where was the last time you've seen (any) Libertarian party getting over 10,000 people to the streets?"

Read more: https://www.facebook.com/BoundlessLiberty/posts/1491927464263890?notif_id=1525193333570803&notif_t=page_post_reaction&ref=notif
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