It's Lalit Modi again! BCCI domain name almost sold for $270 on non-renewal

BCCI, the richest cricket board in the world, has not been able to renew the domain of its official website www.bcci.tv in time.
Website registrars register.com and namejet.com have put the domain name up for public bidding, receiving seven bids so far with the highest of USD 270.
The The domain was valid from 2-2-2006 to 2-2-2019.

The updation date, however, happened to be February 3, 2018.
According to a Times of India report, the glitch occured because BCCI’s internet domain is still owned by former IPL czar Lalit Modi, who had not paid for the renewal in time. BCCI and Modi estranged ties in 2010 after the former Rajasthan Cricket Association chief was suspended on 22 charges. He was subsequently banned for life in 2013.

Netizen report: China has a new cybersecurity law

It has been only two weeks since China's new Cybersecurity Law came into force, but its effects are already being felt across social and news media networks.

On June 1, public social media accounts were officially barred from writing or republishing news reports without a permit, as stipulated by the Provisions for the Administration of Internet News Information Service.

On June 7, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), the country’s online censorship agency, shut down at least 60 major celebrity news accounts across Weibo, Tencent, NetEase and Baidu. The CAC said the move is intended to “proactively promote socialist core values and develop a healthy and positive atmosphere” by curbing coverage of sensationalist celebrity scandals.

This marks a shift in focus for the CAC. In the past, many believed that the driving force of censorship was mainly political and that people could enjoy “online freedom” as long as they refrained from commenting on current affairs. The crackdown on entertainment news indicates that ideological struggle is not only directed against foreign enemies, but also at thoughts and activities seen to go against “socialist core values.”

The new cybersecurity law has also become a point of contention for foreign technology companies operating in China. Among other things, it requires that companies store their data in China and that users register with their real names to use messaging services. Officials have yet to convey much information about how the law will be implemented, but these provisions do not bode well for the protection of digital rights.

Online censorship keeps rising in Egypt

Media rights advocates and independent news outlets in Egypt are reporting that web censorship has continued to rise since authorities officially banned 21 news websites in late May, alleging that they were “supporting terrorism and spreading lies.” These websites include the Arabic edition of Huffington Post, Al Jazeera, and local independent news site Mada Masr, among others. This past week, the Association for Freedom of Thought in Egypt reported that five virtual private network sites (which help circumvent censorship) were blocked, along with blogging platform Medium, and multiple Turkish and Iranian media outlets. On June 11, the group reported that the total number of sites currently blocked in the country had risen to 64.
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