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The 200,000 or so Russian Internet users who have signed up with Tor since Vladimir Putin regained the countrys presidency in 2012 might soon have to find new ways of getting around Internet censorship. Under Putin, Russia has increased the Kremlin's ability to control information online, and now, based on the remarks of a powerful politician, it looks like Tor could be next.

One of the factors in the formation of the Internet environment in our country has become the authority for the pretrial blocking of websites, Leonid Levin, the head of the Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technologies and Communications, said in a speech Thursday, as quoted by RBC.Ru. It allows [us] to block information banned in Russia quickly. At the same time the pretrial blocking of anonymizing services deserves attention, such as access to the anonymous network Tor.

Tor, which stands for The Onion Router, cloaks Web users' Internet activities and physical locations, gives them access to otherwise inaccessible regions of the Internet and provides other services that help people hide themselves online. Its open to question exactly how safe the software is, but it's clear that Russia is not the only country trying to find out who is doing what -- and where. Originally a U.S. military project, Tor has been a target of virtually every major intelligence agency (including the National Security Agency) and repeatedly demonized by lawmakers throughout the world.

This could mean the Russian government's offer last July to pay $3.9 million rubles ($111,000 at the time) to anyone who could study the possibility of obtaining technical information about users and equipment on the Tor anonymous network wasn't successful.

Levin, who also said the state could pursue virtual private networks, expressed frustration that Moscow invests substantial additional funds in police and military but lacks the wherewithal to do so online.

Maybe the only surprise about the Russian government's going after Tor is that it hasn't clamped down already. Not content with television and radio, the Kremlin quickly increased its control of the Internet with laws targeting foreign social media outlets, popular Russian bloggersand was recently cited as the possible perpetrator of iOS malware launched against Russia's European rivals.

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Russian Censorship: Tor, Anonymous VPNs Could Be Target Of Next Crackdown, Kremlin Warns

The Cleveland Cavaliers star forward sat down with Hollywood Reporter to discuss his growing media empire.

When sports stars achieve global fame, the assumption is that they do socompletelythrough the meritocracy of the playing field. More so than any other modern icon, a sports star does not have to be beautiful or rich or connected, they simply have to be great at what they do.

LeBron James is undoubtedly great at what he does, but that alone is not the source of his power as an international idol.

LeBron is featured in an issue of Hollywood Reporter, where the magazine was able to get an in-depth look at the star as he extends his global image from beyond the basketball court. But the piece is not a view inside LeBron the person; its a view inside LeBron the product.

Ever since the fateful decision of 2010, where LeBron created a spectacle out of his free agency choice to join the Miami Heat, he has been careful to monitor how he can control his perception with the media.

When he chose to return to Cleveland for this year, he did so by publishing a piece at Sports Illustrated outlining his choice. This move was perhapsdone as retroactive damage control for the outrage in Cleveland for leaving.

James discusses his role in the upcoming Judd Apatow film Trainwreck, and the anecdotes from James and Apatow portrays the basketball star as the perfect mixture of humility, informality and dedication to whatever craft he approaches.

From Hollywood Reporter:

We tested the movie, and he gets laughter as big as anyone, says Apatow. The only fear you ever have with people of his stature is whether or not theyre game to have fun and take chances. Theyll say: I dont want to say that. That will sound weird. Thats not good for my reputation. LeBron is a very strong actor, and he has a fantastic sense of humor. We do a lot of improvisation, and he was really good at it. As a result, its a really fun, wild, slightly strange performance that really scores.

James admits that he was as anxious on the New York City set of Trainwreck as he was for his very first NBA game. Last summer on a Nike promotionaltrip to China, he had his entourage Carter, Mims read the other characters. I was just trying to stay ready, he recalls. I was very nervous all the way to the point where they said, Action.

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LeBron on fame, movies and growing media empire

Social media star is an actual job title now, with so-called influencers raking in tens of thousands a month to craft tweets, Vines, and other content for paying brands. Twitter sees this activity and has decided it wants a cut: The company just bought Niche, a talent agency and analytics firm that connects some 6,000 top content creators with advertisers.

Now Twitter and its 6-second video-looping service Vine, where some of social medias biggest stars were born, control the connection between creators and brands that want to make ads that dont seem like ads. That means the company presumably gets a cut when popular Viners signed to Niche make clips for brands.

Vine doesnt insert ads into your feed, but that doesnt mean theres no advertising on the app. The platforms most popular users have signed on with Niche or other social media talent agencies (yes, those are a thing now) to connect with companies who will pay for content. A prime example is HP, which hired Viners to create clips using the companys x360 Pavilion hybrid PC. Not only did the clips rack up millions of loops on Vine, but HP then strung the Vines together to create a TV commercial, getting even more bang for its buck.

As more users and creators use different products as a way to share whats happening in their world, brands are also looking to partner with those individuals in hopes of generating moments that resonate with the people they are trying to reach, Twitter product management director Baljeet Singh said in a Wednesday blog post.

Niche and Twitter developed a close relationship shortly after Niche launched in late 2013, and that partnershipand now ownershipgives Twitter an advantage when it comes to attracting advertisers. Now the network can simply point to talent and say, This person has millions of followers. Want to buy placement? Vines are also embeddable and viewable within tweets, giving advertisers cross-platform promotional opportunities.

The Niche acquisition also brings Vine stars into the Twitter fold. Twitter has allowed Vine to grow as a stand-alone service with little overlap, and now that the network has its own native video creation tool, it seemed like the two services were starting to duplicate efforts. But Twitter CEO Dick Costolo has said that Vine and Twitter video are complementary services with different purposesVine encourages creativity, while Twitter will now enable real-time news to unfold visually. Costolo reiterated the importance of both kinds of video at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference this week.

Content creators want to go into an ecosystem, deliver great experiences to users and tell stories, and then make money from it, he said.

Twitter is struggling to add new users, but with Niche, at least it can make money off its most popular ones. Costolo said there will be "more to come" on that front.

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Why Twitter just bought a social media talent agency

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Introducing SoaR Soniiic!
Today I am bringing you my first gaming montage! I #39;ve only just begun editing so please let me know in the comments down below if you like it or what I could do to improve? Make sure to subscribe...

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