INDEX EVENTS
NSA, surveillance, free speech and privacy
Edward Snowden’s leaks about the US’s international mass surveillance programmes has prompted perhaps the definitive debate of our age: How free are we online? Can we ever trust technology with our personal details?
25 July, Time 6.30pm, Free, but RSVP required. Space is limited.
Doughty Street Chambers, WC1N
(More information)

BRAZIL
Pope visits Brazil amid social upheaval
Bringing his message of a “poor Church for the poor,” Pope Francis headed for Brazil on Monday to find a country facing a shrinking Catholic flock and anger over government waste.
(News24)

EUROPEAN UNION
Europe divided over mass surveillance?
There have been some sharply contrasting political reactions to the US and UK’s mass surveillance programmes in European countries in recent days. Could the US perhaps play divide and rule in managing the fallout from Snowden’s revelations in Europe? Or is there enough common ground between German, UK or even Russian politicians to push for real changes in US (and UK and French) snooping?
(Index on Censorship)

GREECE
Greece confirms libel complaint against former U.N. Ambassador Wallace
The Office of the Athens District Attorney in Greece announced on Wednesday it has confirmed receipt of a criminal complaint for libel against former United Nations Ambassador Mark D. Wallace.
(BioPrepWatch)

INDIA
Muslim leaders slam Shakeel Ahmed’s ‘irresponsible’ remark
Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmed’s tweet that the 2002 Gujarat riots led to the formation of terror outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM) seems to have backfired. Muslim leaders said such an “irresponsible” remark, made with an eye on the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, would harm rather than help the community.
(Times of India)

MACEDONIA
Jailed Macedonian journalist begins hunger strike
A Macedonian investigative journalist has gone on hunger strike today, in protest against his continued detention.
(Index on Censorship)

PHILIPPINES
What PNoy didn’t say on the state of free expression
President Benigno Aquino III has again betrayed himself as enamored of his own propaganda, of valuing the form over the substance, of a glaring inability to keep what he claims is most precious to him – his word.
(National Union of Journalists of the Philippines)

SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa’s censors ban film about predatory teacher as ‘child porn’
Film board criticised for apartheid-style curbs on freedom of expression after first mainstream movie banned since 1994
(The Guardian)

UNITED KINGDOM
David Cameron’s King Canute moment
The Prime Minister’s touching belief that he can clean up the web with technology is misguided and even dangerous, says Padraig Reidy
(Index on Censorship)

Index concerned by Cameron’s filter proposals
Index on Censorship is concerned that David Cameron’s internet filtering proposals may cause unwarranted censorship.
(Index on Censorship)

Our last, best, hope?
Technology writer and broadcaster Bill Thompson spoke at the recent ISPA Awards dinner. ISPA, the Internet Service Providers Association, represents the companies that connect us all to the Net, and Thompson called on them to stand up for freedom, however hard that may be. This is an edited version of his talk.
(Index on Censorship)

Full Text of Speech: David Cameron: Protecting our children online
Today I am going to tread into territory that can be hard for our society to confront, that is frankly difficult for politicians to talk about — but that I believe we need to address as a matter of urgency.
(Index on Censorship)

UNITED STATES
The Case for Censoring Hate Speech On the Internet
For the past few years speech has moved online, leading to fierce debates about its regulation. Most recently, feminists have led the charge to purge Facebook of misogyny that clearly violates its hate-speech code. Facebook took a small step two weeks ago, creating a feature that will remove ads from pages deemed “controversial.” But such a move is half-hearted. Facebook and other social networking websites should not tolerate hate speech and, in the absence of a government mandate, adopt a European model of expunging offensive material.
(Policy Mic)

State suspends vanity plates over free speech suit
Indiana will stop offering vanity plates until the outcome of a class-action lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the agency’s restrictions on tags’ wording.
(Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly)

Previous Free Expression in the News posts
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