GLOBAL
How a handful of tech employees control the future of free speech online
Seeing the diversity of opinions online, it’s sometimes easy for the average user to forget that freedom of speech is not a universally held value. Not so for global tech companies like Facebook, Twitter, and Google who are increasingly finding themselves setting the standards for online free speech, whether they like it or not. (Think Progress)
BAHRAIN
John Kerry pushes Bahrain on rights, reforms
US secretary of state John Kerry pushed Bahrain on Monday to step up reforms and boost human rights as he met his counterpart from the Gulf kingdom shaken by two years of Shiite-led protests. (Times of India)
CHINA
Opinion: In China, let a thousand blogs bloom
Will suppression or free speech win the battle in China and beyond? (Los Angeles Times)
EGYPT
Egypt’s challenge: Free to speak
Under the Mubarak regime, the state closely monitored all forms of political and religious expression in Egypt. Now all that has changed and millions are watching a proliferation of satellite TV channels. Shaimaa Khalil reports on the new voices in the second part of her series Egypt’s Challenge. (BBC)
HONDURAS
President of Honduras toughens restrictions on freedom of expression in proposed telecom law
The president of Honduras, Porfirio Lobo, has presented the Congress with a proposal that toughens content regulations on the media, including regulation on schedules and punishments for broadcasting violent or obscene content, content that celebrates or defends crime, or content that goes against morals and good behavior, said La Prensa. (University of Texas: Journalism in Americas blog
KUWAIT
Activist in Kuwait jailed for royal insult as regimes take on Twitter ‘threat’
An opposition activist in Kuwait has been jailed for a year for insulting the country’s Emir on Twitter. The sentence was the third jail term handed down since the start of the year for online comments deemed offensive to the Royal Family. (The Times
UNITED KINGDOM
Scientists celebrate UK libel reform
New libel laws for England and Wales should help protect scientific debate, but campaigners worry that legal costs remain a threat. (The Scientist)
UNITED STATES
Mich. Arab festival being moved after religious tensions
After four years of increasing tensions between some Christian missionaries and local Muslims, the annual Arab International Festival in Dearborn is being moved from a street that has open access to a public park that could restrict admission to paid attendees. (Detroit Free Press)
