Asia Pacific Censorship News

A New Zealand health campaign designed to help curb hepatitis C has been censored after one of its advertisements showing people raising the middle finger was deemed too offensive to air.

The campaign included videos, outdoor posters and online material featuring actors raising their middle finger to another person, while smiling. The advertisement then goes on to show an actor having his middle finger pricked for a blood test, to determine if he has the blood-borne virus.

But the Advertising Standards Authority has upheld a complaint describing the advertising imagery as deeply offensive. While the complaints board agreed that those watching the advertising were likely to understand that there is an easy finger prick test to determine if you have been exposed to hepatitis C and a new effective treatment, meaning you can say 'Fuck you' to hep C', the context would be missing for most people who were likely to only focus on the hand gesture.

The gesture was one of the most offensive gestures you can give to another person and always has negative connotations, the board said, disagreeing with the advertiser that the smiling faces of the characters mitigated any aggressive intent. It agreed the advertisement used an indecent and offensive hand gesture, and was a breach of standards.

The middle finger photograph has been removed from the main campaign image in favour of a double thumbs up, but the YouTube clip remains online, and the middle finger imagery is still featured on the campaign's website.

Thor: Love and Thunder is a 2022 Australia/US film by Taika Waititi
Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman and Christian Bale

Thor enlists the help of Valkyrie, Korg and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster to fight Gorr the God Butcher, who intends to make the gods extinct.

Malaysia: Banned by the film censor in August 2022

Disney likes to add a little preachy moralising about gay positivity and this film is not an exception with a couple of minor script references. Korg (Taika Waititi) mentioned his two dads and briefly ending up with another male Krogan. The other reference was the female character, Valkyrie, taking an interest in a concubine of Zeus.

Malaysia's Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister Zahidi Zainul Abidin spotted the gay references and said that he would continue to look out for LGBT content that would continue to censored in future.

The film censor did propose that cuts could be made to secure a release but Disney declined and the film was formally banned.

Hong Kong has banned the screening of an award-winning animated short film over a one-second depiction of the city's 2014 democracy protests.

The Ground Up Film Society told AFP that it cancelled a Sunday screening of Losing Sight of a Longed Place at their film festival after Hong Kong authorities would not allow an uncut version to be shown.

The eight-minute film began as a student project and tells the true story of a Hong Kong gay rights activist.

Hong Kong censors demanded cutting a scene that lasts less than a second. The contentious shot shows tents and slogans reminiscent of Hong Kong's pro-democracy Umbrella Movement in 2014, which authorities describe as an unlawful occupation of thoroughfares.

The Indonesian government has blocked website access to a range of online services, including Steam, Epic Games, PayPal, and Yahoo after the companies failed to comply with a new censorship requirement.

Recent censorship laws require that companies deemed Private Electronic System Providers must register with the government's database to operate in the country, or otherwise face a nationwide ban. Indonesia gave companies until July 27th to comply and has since banned those that haven't. The requirement is part of a law called MR5

The laws give the Indonesian government the ability to obtain data about specific users, as well as coerce companies into removing content that disturbs public order or is considered illegal. Platforms have four hours to take action on urgent removal requests, or 24 hours in the case of any other content.

The ban has left users in Indonesia stuck without the ability to process payments or even play certain games. Some other popular games and services affected by the ban include Origin, DOTA 2 , and Counter-Strike.

Meanwhile, Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, TikTok, Twitter, Netflix, and Spotify registered for a license last week , and all remain available.

 

Update: Blocks partially lifted

6th August 2022. See article

Indonesia has lifted its ban on Steam and Yahoo now that both companies complied with the country's restrictive laws that regulate online activity (via @ZhugeEX). The Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Information (Kominfo) announced the news in a translated update on Twitter, noting that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Dota 2 are back online as well.

Although PayPal has yet to comply, Indonesia unblocked access to the service for five days starting July 31st to give users a chance to withdraw money and make payments. According to the Indonesian news outlet Antara News, PayPal reportedly plans on registering with the country's database soon.

Epic Games and the EA-owned Origin still remain banned in the country, which makes games like Fortnite and FIFA unplayable.

Major social networks operating in New Zealand have agreed to voluntarily self-censor content considered misinformation and hate speech.

Those signing up to what's known as Aotearoa (New Zealand) Code of Practice for Online Safety and Harms include Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Amazon's Twitch, Twitter, and TikTok.

The initiative comes from Netsafe, a New Zealand campaign group.

It is not stated what type of action the platforms will now be taking in order to achieve that goal, but the companies behind them will be publishing reports each year to demonstrate compliance, and will detail what tools, policies, processes and systems are being used to this end.

The list of content requiring censorship includes child sexual exploitation, bullying or harassment, hate speech, incitement of violence, violent or graphic content, misinformation, and disinformation.

New Zealand is also preparing to adopt actual new laws that would impose further censorship of content labeled as misinformation or hate speech.

The Chinese property sector has been struggling of late and some provincial banks have failed as a consequence. And people unable to withdraw or have lost their savings have unsurprisingly been protesting.

The Chinese authorities don't like their failures to be publicised so these protests have been very much frowned upon. And the authorities have found a novel way to silence the protestors before they can get started.

Authorities in the Chinese province of Henan are restricting the protestor's movements using the country's Covid app. Multiple protestors say they are being forced to quarantine, blocked from public transport or entering buildings.

Most appear to be customers of four rural banks which had run into difficulties providing cash withdrawals. The failing banks froze deposits, prompting angry demonstrations last month.

In China, residents use a health code app to enter buildings and shops, use public transport, or leave the city. Users must scan a QR code and show a colour-coded health status on their phone before entering. If this status turns red, it indicates the person has tested positive for Covid recently or is suspected to have Covid, and must be quarantined for 14 days.

Last week protestors found their status had turned red when they tried to enter train stations, buildings, or hotels.

One bank customer in Zhengzhou told BBC Chinese her status was red even though she had never been in contact with a confirmed case, and her most recent tests showed she was negative. She added that she was visited by health officials who asked her to stay at home and refused to explain why her status had suddenly turned red.

A music video by Thai activist rap collective Rap Against Dictatorship has been blocked on YouTube in Thailand following an alleged legal complaint from the government.

The Patiroop (Reform) video, which was originally released in November, was filmed during the country's anti-government protests in Bangkok demanding royal reforms. The video featured the rap group walking with fellow supporters and protestors, and featured clips of the Grand Palace in the Thai capital.

On January 4 2022, Rap Against Dictatorship announced they had discovered the video's ban from YouTube in Thailand:

Our music video 'Reform' was ordered to be banned by the government, which notified YouTube to restrict access.

Since the video's release, it has garnered over 9 million views on YouTube (from outside of Thailand).

On 7 July 2022, Patiroob was again blocked on YouTube as a result of a Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES) petition to the Court that it should be prohibited under the terms of the Computer Crime Act.

According to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), the Court agreed that the song's lyrics, which seemingly allude to both the prime minister and king, have a bearing on national security. They also ruled that the song, which promotes the idea of equality, was filled with obscene language.

According to the ruling, the music video also elicited comments from netizens about the monarchy that were likely to affect public sentiment and national security. The Court dismissed arguments that the song was in keeping with constitutional freedoms of expression and that it was a creative work of benefit to society, saying that liberty must not cause damage to others, especially figures many people respect.

After the ruling, R.A.D. posted on its Facebook page that it would remove the Patiroob music video and song from all its public platforms.

A Malaysian feminist has been charged with knowingly making and initiating the transmission of obscene communication after she uploaded a collage of vulva like flowers on her Twitter account.

Amira Nur Afiqah Agus Salim pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur. She was released on bail and has a new hearing next month.

According to Yahoo News Malaysia, the vulva collage, posted in September 2021, was meant as a commentary regarding an ad campaign by Libresse, a popular feminine care brand in Malaysia. Libresse had launched a line of sanitary products featuring images of vulvas interpreted into flower motifs on the packaging.

Salim tweeted in response, Libresse uses flower as representation of vulva instead of this? and attached the collage, which the authorities consider a violation of the country's strict obscenity laws.

Religious organizations have also successfully objected to even the stylized, flower-like design that the tweet criticized. The Yadim Muslim Women's Council called the representation a misuse of an image of women's private parts and a dishonor to women.

The Libresse campaign was eventually cancelled due to the uproar.