[liberationtech] Fwd: There is an app for online freedom - Hotspot Shield

[Jose Rojas]

Hi all,

My first post in this list...

Hotspot Shield, Tor and Freegate are NOT working in China... where I am now.

So, if somebody knows of an effective tool to bypass the Great
Firewall of China, I'll appreciate if you let me know!

Jose

On Fri, Feb 18, 2011 at 9:24 AM, Evgeny Morozov
<evgeny.morozov at gmail.com> wrote:
> I thought I'd share this email with the list - if only to highlight the
> aggressive PR efforts of some of the "Internet freedom warriors". I guess
> unless the Tor folks are prepared to hire a PR firm, it will be a tough
> fight.
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Sara Suddes <ssuddes at launchsquad.com>
> Date: Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 12:30 PM
> Subject: There is an app for online freedom - Hotspot Shield
> To: evgeny.morozov at gmail.com
>
>
> Hi Evgeny,
>
> Caught today's story, "America's Internet Freedom Agenda," and really
> enjoyed your nuanced commentary on Hillary Clinton's speech. I'm writing
> because the following paragraph caught my eye:
>
> While it's wonderful that so many young activists can use the Web for
> protest, the reality is that in all too many cases they will be using it to
> fight against the very dictators that the US has supported for decades.
>
> With all the talk of Internet freedom in the news, and the disconnect
> between what government leaders are saying versus what they're doing when it
> comes to that topic, I wanted to let you know about a company I work with
> called AnchorFree. AnchorFree's free VPN, Hotspot Shield, has and is
> allowing young activists to address censorship issues head on, rather than
> waiting for our government or theirs to lift the blanket of censorship.
>
> Clinton said that "there's no 'app'" for online freedom, but she's wrong.
> Hotspot Shield is already used by millions around the world to circumvent
> censorship.
> A little background on Hotspot Shield:
>
> 1. It's free
> 2. It helps users bypass firewalls and access online content that's been
> censored
> 3. It has about 10 million monthly users worldwide
> 4. During the social network blockade in Egypt, traffic on Hotspot Shield
> surged to 10 times its average amount in Egypt: from 100,000 users to one
> million. Traffic subsequently plummeted once the government initiated a
> five-day Internet blackout on 1/27
> 5. However, during the blackout, many Egyptians plugged in their old dial-up
> modems and turned on HSS to continue accessing Internet content while
> remaining anonymous
> 5. HSS saw heavy usage during the last Iranian election protests, as
> protesters went online to rally the numbers needed to protest a totalitarian
> government
>
> I think some of these tools that enable Internet freedom and access to
> information are making a huge impact China, Egypt, Iran and other countries
> where online content is heavily censored. I wasn't sure if you planned to
> write more on this topic but, if so, I'd love to put you in touch with the
> company's CEO or provide you with more info if you'd like. Please let me
> know how I can help.
>
> Thanks!
> Sar
>
> --
> Sara Suddes | LaunchSquad | 415.625.8555
> 116 New Montgomery St, Suite 620. San Francisco, CA 94105
>
>
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