"We don't negotiate with terrorists," has long been the standard refrain of governments when it comes to violent extremists. But these days, in the realm of social media, at least, they are talking to them.

Turkey's parliament on Thursday approved a law boosting the powers of the secret service (MIT), a move seen by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's critics as a bid to tighten his grip on the apparatus of state as he wages a bitter power struggle.

Turkey's government has said it still hopes Twitter will open an office in the country, a day after the social networking site ruled out any such move. In a statement on Thursday following several days of talks with Twitter executives, Communication Minister Lutfi Elvan said Turkey had suggested that the company open a "liaison office" to improve coordination with the government.

Under the slogan "Sidikewe! Vukani! Vote no!" (We've had enough! Wake up! Vote no!), more than one hundred veterans of South Africa's ruling party are calling for citizens to protest at the ballot box. Former government ministers are leading the campaign, accusing President Jacob Zuma and ANC leaders of corruption and complacency. 

Google the phrase “democracy is,” and you'll get several instant search suggestions. But when you Baidu it, you only get one. Coincidence? Maybe. But China's largest search engine has a bit of a track record when it comes to politically-motivated censorship. 

In May 2012, the law school at George Mason University hosted a forum billed as a “vibrant discussion” about Internet search competition. Many of the major players in the field were there — regulators from the Federal Trade Commission, federal and state prosecutors, top congressional staffers.

For over a decade, the United States has promoted a free and open Internet as a central tenet of its foreign policy. To date, this has most visibly involved shaming governments that limit access to online content and developing tools that help individuals circumvent censorship and surveillance.

The United States discreetly supported the creation of a website and SMS service that was, basically, a Cuban version of Twitter, the Associated Press reported Thursday. ZunZuneo, as it was called, permitted Cubans to broadcast short text messages to each other. At its peak, ZunZuneo had 40,000 users.