The General Secretary of the National Union of Press Workers and communications coordinator of the non-governmental organization ‘Conexión Segura y Libre’ (Free and Safe Connection), Marco Ruiz, reported this Friday that in Venezuela there are 64 media outlets blocked on the Internet, of which one is in Carabobo, in addition to 98 domains.
lapatilla.com
He explained that the latter occurs because a media outlet can be blocked on two or three URLs at the same time.
He explained that according to what is documented by the NGO ‘Conexión Segura y Libre’ and its ‘VE Sin Filtro’ project, the blocking of information platforms on the Internet represents 60% of the total number of blockages.
In light of this, he stressed the importance that journalists and media workers use tools and strategies to protect themselves online and ensure that information reaches audiences.
Digital security
During the workshop held in Valencia this Friday by ‘Noticias sin Filtro’ and the National Union of Press Workers (SNTP), which was aimed at press workers, the main threats in the digital environment faced by journalists and media outlets were addressed.
Ruiz mentioned that one of them is “Phishing”, where the objective is to obtain personal information from users. “It comes from an English term that means fishing, casting the hook and seeing who falls for offers that seem plausible and seem to be true, but normally that ends up with one giving information about oneself to an unreliable source,” he commented.
The topic of how to prevent hacking of accounts and the importance of safeguarding private information on devices was also touched upon.
Unfiltered News
Ruiz said that they are promoting the use of a free application called ‘Noticias Sin Filtro’, in which the user has unfettered access to 18 media outlets in the country, some of which are blocked.
“It is valuable for the media outlets that are within the application and it is also valuable for the people, because there are many serious media outlets within the same space. Some of these media outlets have restrictions on being visited without the use of anti-censorship mechanisms, such as VPNs, and that is an inconvenience that the user will not encounter with the use of this application,” he said.
He said that the application is a bridge between the media outlets and audiences eager for information, which is why they are in the process of incorporating other media outlets.