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)

BELARUS
Belarus internet infested with spammers
Almost 30% of all net addresses in Belarus are blocked by anti-spam firms because of the amount of junk mail passing through them, says a report.
(BBC)

CANADA
Threats against lesbian couple aren’t a free speech issue. They’re a crime
A lesbian couple in Kingston, Ontario, has been on the receiving end of a couple of appalling, hateful letters, which are also certainly against the law.
(National Post)

CHINA
Chinese censorship will fail to hide Shenhua’s ruthless water grab
A Greenpeace East Asia investigation exposing how a Chinese state-run coal company is overexploiting water resources and illegally discharging toxic wastewater has made global headlines today.
(Greenpeace)

INDIA
India moves toward media regulation
As talk in India turns to media plurality and regulation, attention is turning to murky ownership structures and monopolistic practices. But some see the government’s moves as attempts to muzzle the press.
(Index on Censorship)

CJI criticises media excesses, but bats for ‘self-regulation’
Less than a week after taking over as head of the apex judiciary, Chief Justice of India P. Sathasivam plunged straight into key debates on the changing nature of the Indian media and the policy framework that should govern it. In a speech here on Tuesday, the CJI, while praising the media, also pointed to its excesses but favoured ‘self-regulation.’
(The Hindu)

RUSSIA
What Russia blocked in May
The Russian authorities came out with two new categories of website to be banned in May: on manufacturing explosive devices and bribery. If the first is the reaction of the authorities to the Boston bombings, the latter reflects major social problems of the society in Russia.
(Index on Censorship)

TUNISIA
Tunisia PM: Tamarod is danger to democratic process
Tunisia’s Tamarod movement, which has called for the dissolution of the National Constituent Assembly, is endangering the country’s democratic process, Islamist Prime Minister Ali Larayedh said on Monday.
(Middle East Online)

TURKEY
Turkey’s main opposition leader lambastes PM over media freedom
Turkey’s main opposition leader accused Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday of cowing local media into self-censorship after a journalist group said dozens of reporters were fired for their coverage of anti-government protests.
(Reuters)

UNITED KINGDOM
David Cameron’s online porn ban unravels amid debate over internet censorship
David Cameron is facing serious questions over how his plan for automatic internet “porn filters” in every British home would work – after he suggested that topless images such as those used on the Sun’s page three would be still be accessible online.
(Belfast Telegraph)

Author Marcus Hearn reveals censorship issues in his book The Bamforth Collection: Saucy Postcards
They have delighted millions in Britain’s seaside resorts over the years. But the cheeky cartoon postcards produced in Holmfirth also fell foul of the censorship laws. So much so that no less a figure than author George Orwell was involved in a campaign against them.
(The Huddersfield Daily Examiner)

UNITED STATES
East Bay commission tries to quell ‘hate speech’ directed at gays
Prompted by a series of controversies and ugly episodes at City Council meetings swirling around the local gay community and its critics, the city’s Human Rights and Human Relations Commission explored the line between free speech and hate speech late Monday.
(Mercury News)

#RushforSubway: Citizens show support for Limbaugh, free speech, and sandwiches
Mmm, freedom. Tastes like … sandwiches! While bitter #StopRush bullies and their doofus pals freak out over Subway having the gall to advertise on Rush Limbaugh’s radio show, hungry Dittoheads and free speech proponents are rushing out to show their support for the sandwich purveyor
(Twitchy)

Banned from campus over ‘Hot for Teacher’ essay, college student loses free speech suit
A federal judge in Michigan has dismissed a free-speech suit filed by an Oakland University student who was banned from campus for several semesters after writing an essay about his attraction to his creative writing instructor.
(ABA Journal)

Previous Free Expression in the News posts
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