Malaysia on Sunday deported Saudi journalist Hamza Kashgari, who was wanted in his home country after his tweet about the Prophet Mohammed sparked calls for his execution and prompted top clerics to brand him an "infidel".
MEDIAWATCH FRANCE, Thurs, 9/2/2012: Newsrooms around Paris are on edge waiting for Nicolas Sarkozy's announcement that he's running for re-election. We take a look at some of the buzz. Also, a French fraudster and a tweeting bishop.
The Chinese government is cracking down on the country's most popular microblogs in an effort to prevent any Facebook or Twitter-inspired revolution spreading to China. As of mid-March, users of Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, will be forced to register their microblogs under their real name. But with 250 million Chinese people logged on, it's unlikely the government can clamp down completely.
A French commercial court ruled Wednesday that Google Maps had abused its dominant business position to undercut competitors and ordered the US Internet giant to pay 500,000 euros to the plaintiff in the case.
Twitter’s announcement that it will censor content in countries where content contravenes local laws has sparked outrage. The site’s CEO has defended the new policy as the only way to navigate a treacherous legal minefield.
Twitter users accuse the micro blogging site of giving in to censorship. Fast food chain McDonald’s incurs the wrath of web users with its latest social media campaign. And it will soon be possible to download 3 dimensional objects…
In the first-ever Twitter map of Africa, South Africans are the most active tweeters on a continent where young people armed with smartphones are embracing social media to connect across borders.
MEDIAWATCH FRANCE, 06/01/2012: French Minister Nadine Morano's Twitter use begs the question: can politicians and Twitter get along? Carla Bruni-Sarkozy's charity is under fire for alleged corruption. Christian-Democrat Party leader Christine Boutin threatens to vote for Sarkozy's rival François Bayrou if she doesn't get the signatures she needs to run for president. And Belgian fast food chain Quick has a Darth Vador burger out to celebrate Star Wars' return to the silver screen.
The French papers look back at 2011 and at the key words that emerged: from Tweet to Fukushima. There's also a report on US soldiers returning home only to find indifference in their home town. And, economic troubles oblige, the French are enjoying their year-end office parties more than ever. That's the focus for this review of the French press, Friday 30th December 2011.
