News of Google Shopping’s censoring (i.e. not allowing) searches containing the search term ‘gun’ are greatly exaggerated. Earlier this week Business Insider reported, and we quote, that “Google Shopping bans searches for ‘water guns’ and ‘Guns N Roses'”

There has been a lot of chatter this week about Instagram banning certain hashtags. A list of recently banned Instagram hashtags include #EDM, #goddess, and #curvy (EDM, goddess, and curvy, respectively – “EDM” stands for Electronic Dance Music). But why? Here’s why.

There are many banned words that are prohibited in Amazon reviews, and that will get your review rejected in a New York minute. Unhelpfully, Amazon doesn’t offer a list of forbidden words, and they don’t let you know the offending word or words in their rejection notice. So we have decided to create a list here. Below are the words that we know or suspect will get your review rejected by Amazon – please help fellow Amazon reviewers by adding to this list.

Always remember, and never forget, that the protections of the United States constitution extend only to U.S. citizens, and not to those hoping to visit the US. That is something that British teenager Luke Angel found out the hard way, when an email he sent to U.S. President Barack Obama landed him on the “banned forever from and never allowed entry to the United States” list. No freedom of speech for Luke!

The Handy Light iPhone app was an iPhone flashlight app with a difference: it enabled iPhone tethering. Tethering – using your cell phone as a modem to connect your laptop to the Internet – is one of the most demanded features on cellphones and, being not allowed on iPhones, has long been the Holy Grail among iPhone owners. In fact the desire to tether with an iPhone is one of the main reasons that users Jailbreak (root) their iPhones.

As the Apple iPhone app store and T-Mobile G1 phone application market show signs of becoming more open, Microsoft has gone in the opposite direction, issuing a flat-out Mobile Market ban from their Mobile 2 Market applications market on several genre of applications, including alternate browsers or search clients. In otherwords, you and your Windows Mobile phone will remain captive and chained to only Microsoft applications.