Revealed: Hundreds of words to avoid using online if you don't want the US government spying on you
The Department of Homeland Security has been forced to release a list of keywords and phrases it uses to monitor social networking sites and online media for signs of terrorist or other threats against the U.S. The intriguing the list includes obvious choices such as 'attack', 'Al Qaeda', 'terrorism' and 'dirty bomb' alongside dozens of seemingly innocent words like 'pork', 'cloud', 'team' and 'Mexico'.
Released under a freedom of information request, the information sheds new light on how government analysts are instructed to patrol the internet searching for domestic and external threats.
The words are included in the department's 2011 'Analyst's Desktop Binder' used by workers at their National Operations Center which instructs workers to identify 'media reports that reflect adversely on DHS and response activities'. Department chiefs were forced to release the manual following a House hearing over documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit which revealed how analysts monitor social networks and media organisations for comments that 'reflect adversely' on the government. However they insisted the practice was aimed not at policing the internet for disparaging remarks about the government and signs of general dissent, but to provide awareness of any potential threats.
As well as terrorism, analysts are instructed to search for evidence of unfolding natural disasters, public health threats and serious crimes such as mall/school shootings, major drug busts, illegal immigrant busts. The list has been posted online by the Electronic Privacy Information Center - a privacy watchdog group who filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act before suing to obtain the release of the documents. In a letter to the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counter-terrorism and Intelligence, the centre described the choice of words as 'broad, vague and ambiguous'.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2150281/REVEALED-Hundreds-words-avoid-using-online-dont-want-government-spying-you.html#ixzz1w2g7qFRu
Also see: Pakistani Telecommunications Authority orders blocks on obscene sms messages
What do the words sex, lavender, flatulence, quickie, butt, mango and pud have in common? They are among more than 1,000 words deemed so obscene by the Pakistani Telecommunications Authority that they have instructed mobile phone operators to block them from all text messages. It is a decision that has left many in Pakistan unsure whether to be staggered, amused or outraged. Social media sites such as Twitter have been flooded with posts about the decision. An unconfirmed list has been circulating online. Many of the words are sexually explicit but the inclusion of some words and phrases appear to have defied even those who admit to possessing the lewdest of minds.
Some Pakistanis have expressed their delight and gratitude, saying the list has taught them so many forbidden words and provided such a source of mirth. Censorship in Pakistan has a rich history, from public lashings of journalists and those who were anti-regime in the 1980s to people getting shot in public places for religious beliefs. For many, this is just the latest and most bizarre twist, in a culture where freedom of expression is hard fought. But many people have picked up on inconsistencies: the banned list includes every conceivable incorrectly spelled version of "masturbation". Bizarrely, if spelt correctly, the word is not banned. One Twitter user who used the identity, @KaalaKawa also noted: "Oh no! They banned "kiss ass"! That's the end of all political commentary via text messaging. #PTABannedList" as well as pointing out that while "breast job" is forbidden, "boob job" is not.
It is unclear if the ban has been put into practice yet, but many people say they have tried to send out text messages which include swear words. Some have succeeded in getting through; others have not, so the ban appears patchy for now. Many note, with irony, that "Jesus Christ" and "Satan" are on the list - underscoring that it also has the potential to offend cultural and religious sensitivities. Every possible irony has been pored over by Pakistanis talking on the street and online. MahwashB tweets: "You can't use the word "devil". There goes the religious sermon. #PTABannedList".
What many people want to know is who the creative genius behind this list of words is? What anonymous bureaucrat has toiled over this list of more than 500 Urdu and 1,000 English expletives and other words for the love of decency in telecommunications?.. some in Pakistan - not without some irony - are lauding it as a work of art: "The #PTABannedList is what Charles Dickens would have wrote if he lived in Federal-B-Area right now," one user tweets
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15793721
Released under a freedom of information request, the information sheds new light on how government analysts are instructed to patrol the internet searching for domestic and external threats.
The words are included in the department's 2011 'Analyst's Desktop Binder' used by workers at their National Operations Center which instructs workers to identify 'media reports that reflect adversely on DHS and response activities'. Department chiefs were forced to release the manual following a House hearing over documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit which revealed how analysts monitor social networks and media organisations for comments that 'reflect adversely' on the government. However they insisted the practice was aimed not at policing the internet for disparaging remarks about the government and signs of general dissent, but to provide awareness of any potential threats.
As well as terrorism, analysts are instructed to search for evidence of unfolding natural disasters, public health threats and serious crimes such as mall/school shootings, major drug busts, illegal immigrant busts. The list has been posted online by the Electronic Privacy Information Center - a privacy watchdog group who filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act before suing to obtain the release of the documents. In a letter to the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counter-terrorism and Intelligence, the centre described the choice of words as 'broad, vague and ambiguous'.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2150281/REVEALED-Hundreds-words-avoid-using-online-dont-want-government-spying-you.html#ixzz1w2g7qFRu
Also see: Pakistani Telecommunications Authority orders blocks on obscene sms messages
What do the words sex, lavender, flatulence, quickie, butt, mango and pud have in common? They are among more than 1,000 words deemed so obscene by the Pakistani Telecommunications Authority that they have instructed mobile phone operators to block them from all text messages. It is a decision that has left many in Pakistan unsure whether to be staggered, amused or outraged. Social media sites such as Twitter have been flooded with posts about the decision. An unconfirmed list has been circulating online. Many of the words are sexually explicit but the inclusion of some words and phrases appear to have defied even those who admit to possessing the lewdest of minds.
Some Pakistanis have expressed their delight and gratitude, saying the list has taught them so many forbidden words and provided such a source of mirth. Censorship in Pakistan has a rich history, from public lashings of journalists and those who were anti-regime in the 1980s to people getting shot in public places for religious beliefs. For many, this is just the latest and most bizarre twist, in a culture where freedom of expression is hard fought. But many people have picked up on inconsistencies: the banned list includes every conceivable incorrectly spelled version of "masturbation". Bizarrely, if spelt correctly, the word is not banned. One Twitter user who used the identity, @KaalaKawa also noted: "Oh no! They banned "kiss ass"! That's the end of all political commentary via text messaging. #PTABannedList" as well as pointing out that while "breast job" is forbidden, "boob job" is not.
It is unclear if the ban has been put into practice yet, but many people say they have tried to send out text messages which include swear words. Some have succeeded in getting through; others have not, so the ban appears patchy for now. Many note, with irony, that "Jesus Christ" and "Satan" are on the list - underscoring that it also has the potential to offend cultural and religious sensitivities. Every possible irony has been pored over by Pakistanis talking on the street and online. MahwashB tweets: "You can't use the word "devil". There goes the religious sermon. #PTABannedList".
What many people want to know is who the creative genius behind this list of words is? What anonymous bureaucrat has toiled over this list of more than 500 Urdu and 1,000 English expletives and other words for the love of decency in telecommunications?.. some in Pakistan - not without some irony - are lauding it as a work of art: "The #PTABannedList is what Charles Dickens would have wrote if he lived in Federal-B-Area right now," one user tweets
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15793721
