- An open letter to Google: Stop the censorship of the Internet! Stop the political blacklisting of the World Socialist Web Site! (25 August 2017)
- The bicentenary of Marx’s birth, socialism and the resurgence of the international class struggle (3 January 2018)
- The Place of the October Revolution in World History and Contemporary Politics (13 November 2017)
- Palace coup or class struggle: The political crisis in Washington and the strategy of the working class (13 June 2017)
- A Quarter Century of War: The US Drive for Global Hegemony 1990–2016 (11 July 2016)
- Socialism and the Fight Against War (10 February 2016)
Internet Censorship
The US government, in collaboration with social media companies, is implementing massive restrictions on Internet access. Capitalist governments in Europe and throughout the world are enacting similar repressive policies.
In late April 2017, Google announced the implementation of new algorithms aimed at limiting or blocking access to the WSWS and other left wing, anti-war and progressive websites. Similar measures to deny Internet users access to revolutionary socialist and oppositional information and commentary have been implemented by Facebook and Twitter.
The World Socialist Web Site has taken the lead in exposing this conspiracy to censor the Internet and issued a call for the formation of an International Coalition of Socialist, Anti-War and Progressive Websites to fight back against this attack on freedom of speech and basic democratic rights.
Chinese regime further suppresses internet freedom of speech
By Zhang Yang, 3 March 2021
The Chinese Communist Party is terrified that the working class and the rural poor could be radicalized by “unlicensed” political commentary by internet bloggers that does not parrot the party line.
Facebook censors WSWS article exposing Wuhan lab conspiracy theory
By The WSWS Editorial Board, 25 February 2021
Facebook has labeled the WSWS Perspective column, "Washington Post’s 'Wuhan Lab' conspiracy theory stands exposed,” as “misinformation” and blocked users from sharing it.
Facebook reaches deal with Australian government
By Nick Beams, 25 February 2021
The deal involved an amendment to government legislation, backed by the opposition Labor party, that requires Facebook to pay news outlets for content under a bargaining code
999 Macron doubles down on political censorship of French universities
23 February 2021
Workers and youth speak out against Facebook’s Australian news ban and corporate media cash grab
By Our reporters, 23 February 2021
“The creation and distribution of news is controlled by a few corporations, ruthless in promoting their class interests.”
Assange’s partner exposes ongoing denial of his legal and democratic rights
By Oscar Grenfell, 21 February 2021
Assange is still being denied proper access to his lawyers and to crucial legal documents, even after a Magistrates’ Court verdict blocking his extradition to the US last month.
Facebook shuts down group with 90,000 cruise ship crew members
By Tom Casey, 21 February 2021
On Friday, Facebook removed without explanation a group with 90,000 members who work in the international cruise ship industry.
Facebook news ban continues in Australia
Oscar Grenfell, 19 February 2021
Facebook’s actions are only the latest shot in a war between the social media companies and the largest news conglomerates over control of lucrative advertising revenue streams.
Facebook blocks all news content in Australia
By Oscar Grenfell, 18 February 2021
Facebook has responded to a conflict with the Australian authorities and media corporations over advertising revenue, with what could be described as a declaration of online martial law.
Democratic Senators introduce new bill to remove Section 230 internet speech protections
By Kevin Reed, 14 February 2021
There have been more than thirty legislative proposals over the past two years from Democrats and Republicans to abolish the legal framework—known as Section 230—that protects online services such as social media channels from liability for content posted by users on their platforms.
999 Section 230 legislation targeting social media
12 February 2021
Facebook moves forward with “depoliticization” of News Feed
By Kevin Reed, 11 February 2021
Following up on the remarks of CEO Mark Zuckerberg two weeks ago, Facebook has issued an official statement spelling out how it will move forward with plans to reduce political content on its social media platform.
Biden administration will continue with extradition of Julian Assange
By Kevin Reed, 10 February 2021
President Biden’s Department of Justice stated on Tuesday that it will continue with the Trump administration policy of seeking the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from the UK to the US.
London bus workers denounce Facebook censorship: “Hands off the WSWS!”
our reporters, 10 February 2021
A resolution protesting Facebook censorship of the World Socialist Web Site and Socialist Equality Party has been received from the London Bus Rank-and-File Committee, along with statements of support from bus drivers.
Facebook’s “depoliticization” aimed at censorship of left-wing and socialist organizations
By Kevin Reed, 10 February 2021
The recent announcement by Facebook that it would “reduce the amount of political content” on its platform is part of the drive by the US ruling establishment to block the spread of progressive, left-wing and socialist ideas on social media.
999 Facebook "depoliticization"
8 February 2021
Emmy Butlin and Maxine Walker of the UK Committee to Defend Julian Assange oppose Facebook censorship of the Socialist Equality Party/IYSSE
By By our correspondent, 1 February 2021
The WSWS has been sent letters from Emmy Butlin and Maxine Walker, of the Committee to Defend Julian Assange (JADC) in opposition to the censorship of the World Socialist Web Site and Socialist Equality Parties by Facebook.
Facebook CEO Zuckerberg says company will “depoliticize” its News Feed
By Kevin Reed, 30 January 2021
Facebook is working on plans to permanently reduce “the amount of political content in News Feed” as part of an ongoing effort to purge socialist and left-wing organizations from its platform.
WSWS’s fight against Facebook censorship draws international support
By Kevin Reed, 27 January 2021
Statements of support, social media posts and shares, news reports and messages sent directly to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg denouncing the political censorship of the socialist left played a decisive role in the restoration of the University of Michigan IYSSE Facebook page and the accounts of leading members of the SEP.
Facebook restores service to socialist pages, claiming the purge was an “automation error”
By Andre Damon, 26 January 2021
Facebook backed down in the face of public protests but failed to provide a credible explanation for its actions.
Facebook escalates attack on socialist left
By Statement of the Socialist Equality Party, 25 January 2021
Facebook is engaged in an escalating campaign of state-backed internet censorship targeting socialist organizations, including the International Youth and Students for Social Equality.
Facebook purges left-wing pages and individuals
By Andre Damon, 23 January 2021
On Friday, Facebook carried out a purge of left-wing, antiwar and progressive Facebook pages and accounts, including members of the Socialist Equality Party.
Free COVID-19 whistleblower Rebekah Jones!
By Bryan Dyne, 18 January 2021
Jones is being prosecuted by the state of Florida for exposing its effort to cover up cases of COVID-19 and opposing the state’s policy of prematurely reopening schools.
Google engineers form Communications Workers of America-affiliated union
By Kevin Reed, 11 January 2021
A group of 200 employees have formed a union called the Alphabet Workers Union that is open to all employees and contractors at the parent company of the tech giant Google and is affiliated with the Communications Workers of America of the AFL-CIO.
Police arrested more than 117 journalists in the US in 2020
By Alex Findijs, 16 December 2020
The mass multiracial anti-police violence protests that erupted over the summer were met by brutal repression, with police forces across the country taking particular aim at intimidating and silencing journalists.
Pandemic exacerbates internet access crisis in Midwestern US
By Cole Michaels, 15 December 2020
The 12-state region of 65 million people in the center of the US has some of the lowest rates of high-speed connectivity in the nation.
UN rapporteur Nils Melzer demands Assange’s immediate release after ten years’ arbitrary detention
By Oscar Grenfell, 14 December 2020
Melzer’s statement was issued amid a major coronavirus outbreak in Belmarsh Prison, that threatens the WikiLeaks publisher’s life, and in the lead-up to a ruling on his extradition to the United States.
NLRB says Google illegally spied on and fired workers in 2019
By Kevin Reed, 14 December 2020
A complaint filed by the San Francisco office of the NLRB has charged Google with violating the National Labor Relations Act by interfering with, disciplining and firing employees who were engaged in legally protected organizing activities.
Macron government authorizes police documentation of political views of French population
By Will Morrow, 14 December 2020
At the beginning of the month, the Macron government quietly released far-reaching changes to its police intelligence guidelines.
New York Times smears COVID-19 whistleblower Rebekah Jones
By Genevieve Leigh, 14 December 2020
The Times is attempting to dig up completely irrelevant episodes from Jones’ past in order to discredit her work in exposing the state cover-up of COVID-19 cases.
999 Google spying on employees
12 December 2020
US Federal Trade Commission sues Facebook over monopolistic acquisitions and anticompetitive practices
By By Kevin Reed, 11 December 2020
The FTC, along with 48 US attorneys general, filed an antitrust lawsuit against the social media giant Facebook on Wednesday, seeking to split off its popular Instagram and WhatsApp properties and regulate the firm’s business practices.
Spain’s ruling PSOE, Podemos use “anti-disinformation” tool for internet spying
By Alice Summers, 11 December 2020
The ELISA tool aims to detect “disinformation seeking to generate polarisation” amid mounting social anger at austerity and official handling of the pandemic.
999 DELETE
11 December 2020
999 Google spied on employees
10 December 2020
Stop government attack on COVID-19 whistleblower Rebekah Jones!
By Statement of the Socialist Equality Party, 10 December 2020
The SEP condemns the fascistic police raid on Jones’ home, meant to suppress her work exposing the spread of COVID-19 in Florida and in schools across the US.
Letter to Boycott Return to Unsafe Schools (BRTUS)/Parents United Against Unsafe Schools
Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee, 3 December 2020
Workers and parents must have the right to decide which political programme and perspective they wish to adopt or discuss and debate. Blocking access to this through censorship is a reactionary tool to silence opposition.
Biden-Harris tech policy: militarism and censorship
By Kevin Reed, 2 December 2020
Democratic Party president-elect Joseph Biden is formulating policies and assembling a team committed to the use of advanced technologies for the purposes of warfare and suppression of free speech.
999 Biden tech policy team backs censorship
1 December 2020
Microsoft’s new “Productivity Score” helps employers spy on workers
By Mike Ingram, 30 November 2020
Microsoft has released new software that turns its Office 365 product into a full-fledged workplace surveillance tool, allowing corporations to spy on their workforce in multiple ways.
Ten years since WikiLeaks published the US diplomatic cables
By Thomas Scripps, 28 November 2020
WikiLeaks contributed to a growing recognition among workers and young people that state criminality and ruling class conspiracies are not accidents or the work of a few bad individuals, but the product of a whole social system based on the rule of competing oligarchies which must be overthrown.
999 Matt Taiibi interview with Andre Damon
27 November 2020
Censored Planet: University of Michigan research finds worldwide increase in internet censorship
By Kevin Reed, 27 November 2020
Data collected by a group of UM researchers has revealed that online interference is growing internationally and that “the world’s freest countries are not safe from internet censorship.”
Meet the Censored: Andre Damon
By Matt Taibbi, 26 November 2020
Increased content moderation has been sold as a tool to control the far right, but the World Socialist Web Site was among the first to sound the alarm.
Zoom cancels meetings at several universities on Zoom censorship
By John Conrad, 24 November 2020
Zoom’s dramatic escalation of censorship has major implications as schools, academic institutions as well as political organizations have become increasingly dependent on the platform to conduct classes, conferences and meetings.
Solomon Islands government to ban Facebook
By John Braddock, 23 November 2020
The ban follows moves by governments across the Pacific to attack freedom of speech and basic democratic rights amid escalating social crises and political instability.
21 November 2020
Trump administration delays enforcement of TikTok ban
By Kevin Reed, 21 November 2020
The White House backed off from its threat to shut down the video-sharing app TikTok if its Chinese owner ByteDance did not divest itself of the popular social media platform to an American owner by November 12.
Twitter ends suspension of IYSSE account after widespread opposition
By our reporter, 20 November 2020
The effective ban on the youth movement of the Socialist Equality Party was overturned after statements of opposition from prominent defenders of democratic rights, including Pink Floyd founder Roger Waters, along with workers and young people around the world.
Facebook censors IYSSE online meeting about Trump coup threat
By Kevin Reed, 18 November 2020
The blocking of a meeting about the post-election coup plotting of Donald Trump from being posted on Facebook is an example of the intensification of political censorship being carried out by the social media platforms against left-wing and socialist organizations and publishers.
Spain’s PSOE-Podemos government imposes internet censorship
By Alice Summers, 17 November 2020
The “left populist” Podemos party is endorsing state censorship of the Internet, supposedly to fight “disinformation” and “foreign intervention.”
Students, workers, and artists denounce censorship
Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters condemns Twitter’s suspension of IYSSE account
By Gabriel Black, 16 November 2020
The censoring of the IYSSE, at a time of growing interest in a genuine socialist perspective among young people has been met with an outcry and statements of protest.
Stop online censorship: Restore the Twitter account of the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (US)!
By Kevin Reed, 13 November 2020
In an act of online political censorship, Twitter has suspended the account of the International Youth and Students for Social Equality in the US.
US judge blocks shutdown of TikTok scheduled for November 12
By Kevin Reed, 10 November 2020
A Pennsylvania district court judge ruled in favor of a lawsuit filed by three TikTok users seeking a temporary injunction against the Trump administration’s plan to shut down the video sharing app if it is not sold to a US owner by November 12.
FBI seizes internet domain names it claims are part of Iranian influence campaign
By Kevin Reed, 7 November 2020
The Justice Department made vague assertions of “covert influence” and “pro-Iranian propaganda,” but presented no evidence of its allegations.
Social media platforms implement aggressive censorship during the 2020 US elections
By Kevin Reed, 6 November 2020
The major social media platforms took their political censorship operations into high gear on election day, including Facebook placing a fact checking label on every single post by anyone on their platform who is commenting or sharing content about the election in any way.
Google admits to censoring the World Socialist Web Site
By Kevin Reed, 4 November 2020
In an extraordinary public admission, Google CEO Sundar Pichai stated during congressional testimony on October 28 that the online search giant has been censoring content from the World Socialist Web Site.
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald resigns from the Intercept in protest against censorship
By Andre Damon, 4 November 2020
Glenn Greenwald, the most prominent collaborator of whistleblower Edward Snowden and a world-renowned critic of the US media and intelligence agencies, has resigned from The Intercept, the publication he founded in 2013, in protest against its attempts to stifle his reporting critical of the Democratic Party.
US Senate hearing on Section 230 law devolves into demands for social media censorship
By Kevin Reed, 30 October 2020
The Senate Commerce Committee held a four-hour hearing on Wednesday to discuss the relevance of legal protections for online services that included testimony from three big tech CEOs.
The New York Times attacks the First Amendment and embraces censorship of “disinformation”
By Kevin Reed, 28 October 2020
An essay published in the October 18 edition of the New York Times Magazine argues that online “disinformation” has rendered First Amendment rights to free speech “inadequate,” requiring government and social media censorship of “unfettered speech.”
Faceboook moderators forced to return to offices as COVID-19 continues to spread
By Mike Ingram, 28 October 2020
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the world, Facebook and its contractors are forcing content moderators to return to offices and risk their lives.
Facebook deploying teams with advanced censorship tools in advance of the US election
By Kevin Reed, 27 October 2020
Citing concerns over election-related “chaos” and “violence,” Facebook is preparing—in collaboration with the US intelligence state—advanced software tools for implementing a censorship regime during November 3 and its aftermath.
Australian spy agency raises new alarm about foreign “plot”
By Mike Head, 27 October 2020
This is not the first such lurid allegation by ASIO, accusing China of conspiring to take over Australia.
999 The New York Times embraces censorship
27 October 2020
999 The New York Times embraces censorship
26 October 2020
US Justice Department and eleven states file antitrust lawsuit against Google
By By Kevin Reed, 22 October 2020
The US Department of Justice submitted a lawsuit against Google on Tuesday saying the $1 trillion corporation was in violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.
999 Google anti-trust case
21 October 2020
The Social Dilemma: The “curse” of social media
By Joanne Laurier, 20 October 2020
The Social Dilemma is a docudrama hybrid that explores, according to its creators, “how social media is reprogramming civilization” in a dangerous direction.
Twitter and Facebook censor New York Post report on Hunter Biden
By Kevin Reed, 17 October 2020
The social media platforms Twitter and Facebook blocked and suppressed the sharing of links to a news article from the New York Post on Wednesday in a blatant act of online censorship.
Democratic Party House antitrust report calls for breakup of big tech monopolies
By Kevin Reed, 13 October 2020
The Democrats have mounted their antitrust initiative as a means of persuading the tech firms to work more closely with their faction of the political and intelligence establishment.
Trump intensifies conflict with big tech over Section 230 protections following censorship moves by Facebook and Twitter
By Kevin Reed, 10 October 2020
After Facebook and Twitter both censored Trump for falsely comparing the coronavirus to the flu, the president called for a repeal of the law protecting social media companies from liability for content posted on their platforms.
Grayzone questions US intelligence claim of “Russian influence campaign” run by PeaceData
By Kevin Reed, 6 October 2020
An article published by Grayzone shows that the website PeaceData—which US intelligence claims was part of a Russian misinformation campaign—was likely a false flag operation aimed at linking left-wing websites with the Moscow government.
Biden-Harris campaign demands increased censorship by Facebook before 2020 election
By Kevin Reed, 3 October 2020
The Biden-Harris campaign has issued an open letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg demanding that Trump campaign posts be removed from the social media platform.
White House nears antitrust lawsuit against Google while advancing new censorship rules for social media
By Kevin Reed, 26 September 2020
Any antitrust action against Google by the US government, whether focused on the search or advertising aspects of the tech firm’s business, has nothing to do with stopping anti-competitive practices or protecting the rights of consumers.
Facebook plans political censorship in anticipation of “chaos” and “violence” in the 2020 US elections
By Kevin Reed, 23 September 2020
Facebook is working with “world-class military scenario planners” to prepare for civil unrest in the US and “restrict the circulation of content” during the November elections.
White House bans TikTok and WeChat: A major intensification of internet censorship
By Kevin Reed, 19 September 2020
The move is an assault on freedom of expression and an effort to consolidate control of the internet by a handful of massive corporations working in partnership with the American government.
Announcing the Relaunch of the World Socialist Web Site on October 2, 2020
A statement by David North, chairman of the International Editorial Board
David North, 18 September 2020
On Friday, October 2, 2020, the World Socialist Web Site will be relaunched with an entirely new design and with vastly enhanced functionality.
NYU’s Center for Social Media & Politics: A think tank for a frightened ruling class
By Elliott Murtagh, 12 September 2020
The establishment of the center at NYU, a university with close ties to the state, reflects the ruling class’s increasing concerns over the political effects of social media.
Facebook announces political censorship plan in advance of US presidential election
By Kevin Reed, 7 September 2020
The new measures are aimed at protecting the capitalist two-party system and labeling left-wing political ideas as the work of “Russian interference.”
The unanswered questions in the latest Russian “meddling” allegations
By Andre Damon, 7 September 2020
The US media's claims of a nefarious campaign by Russia to "sow divisions" during in the 2016 election have been discredited. But the New York Times is “at it again.”
NSA surveillance program exposed by Edward Snowden ruled illegal by US Ninth Circuit
By Kevin Reed, 5 September 2020
The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the bulk phone record collection program of the NSA—exposed by former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden in 2013—violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
End the blacklist of the World Socialist Web Site on Reddit!
By Kevin Reed, 5 September 2020
The blacklisting of the World Socialist Web Site on r/politics is a politically-motivated and unjustified attack on the rights of Reddit users to speak freely and read whatever they want on the link-sharing platform.
US-China conflict over TikTok intensifies as Trump’s forced divestiture deadline approaches
By Kevin Reed, 2 September 2020
The drive to force the Chinese-owned video sharing app to be sold to a US company was countered by Beijing’s imposition of export restrictions on software components of the platform.
Reddit moderators censor WSWS article on Trump’s speech at Republican convention
By Kevin Reed, 29 August 2020
After the article appeared on the front page of Reddit with over 9,000 upvotes, moderators removed it on the grounds that the WSWS is an “unacceptable source.”
Facebook censors anti-fascist and anarchist groups, falsely linking them with extreme-right violence
By Kevin Reed, 22 August 2020
Facebook has adopted positions put forward by the Trump administration and US Justice Department targeting left-wing opposition in the latest expansion of its political censorship regime.
Big tech firms meet with US national security agencies in advance of November elections
By Kevin Reed, 14 August 2020
Nine of the largest tech firms in the US met with multiple government police and intelligence agencies on Wednesday to discuss “election security” in the campaign prior to and on election day in November.
White House engineering a takeover of TikTok by Microsoft
By Kevin Reed, 3 August 2020
Under the White House’s direction, Microsoft is preparing to acquire the video-sharing app TikTok in a forced-divestiture from its China-based company ByteDance.
Open Letter from WSWS Chairman David North to Alphabet Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai
31 July 2020
This letter from David North was written in response to Pichai’s testimony on Wednesday before the House Committee on the Judiciary, in which he acknowledged complaints from the WSWS of censorship by Google.
Reports on Twitter hack confirm existence of admin tool used for social media censorship
By Kevin Reed, 24 July 2020
The revelations about Twitter’s methods for manipulating the account activity of users show that censorship is a top level priority of the social media company.
US moving to ban China-based TikTok social media app
By Kevin Reed, 18 July 2020
There is bipartisan support in Congress for the Trump administration’s aggressive efforts against the Chinese app.
Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approves anti-encryption EARN IT Act
By Kevin Reed, 16 July 2020
The bipartisan vote passed to the floor of the Senate a redraft of the bill which exploits online child sexual abuse as a cover to attack free speech and encrypted electronic communications.
Amid Sri Lankan elections, YouTube censors Tamil-language WSWS posts
By V. Gnana, 16 July 2020
The move aims to prevent the Socialist Equality Party of Sri Lanka from alerting Tamil-speaking workers internationally in a timely fashion of the political dangers they face.
210 YouTube censors WSWS Tamil podcasts
15 July 2020
Reddit bans 2,000 communities in major censorship action
By Kevin Reed, 2 July 2020
On Monday, the news aggregation site Reddit banned the pro-Trump r/The_Donald and the left-radical r/ChapoTrapHouse, along with hundreds of other subreddits, in a censorship move aimed at satisfying the demands of advertisers.
Republicans introduce Senate bill to abolish strong encryption on consumer devices
By Kevin Reed, 29 June 2020
Three Republican Senators introduced a draft bill that would force tech companies to decrypt private consumer data on-demand for law enforcement.
New Zealand government introduces internet censorship legislation
By Tom Peters, 8 June 2020
The Labour Party-led government’s legislation would empower the Chief Censor “to make swift time-limited interim classification assessments of any publication.”
Trump threatens to close social media platforms after Twitter puts fact-check warnings on his tweets
By Kevin Reed, 28 May 2020
President Trump issued a threat to shut down social media companies on Wednesday after Twitter placed a fact-checking label on two of his tweets making unsubstantiated claims about mail-in ballots.
US government to file antitrust lawsuit against Google this summer
By Kevin Reed, 21 May 2020
The DOJ case will reportedly raise “concerns that Google uses its dominant search business to stifle competition.”
US Senate reauthorizes domestic surveillance, allows access to internet histories
By Kevin Reed, 16 May 2020
The Senate voted 80 to 16 to reauthorize the domestic surveillance provisions of the USA Freedom Act, including rejection of an amendment that would have barred law enforcement from accessing the internet browsing and search histories of citizens.
Apple and Google implementing smartphone-based contact tracing technology
By Kevin Reed, 20 April 2020
The two US tech monopolies that dominate the international mobile devices market have announced a joint effort to implement COVID-19 contact tracing technologies.
