21 May 13 | In the News
AUSTRALIA
When does mission creep become censorship?
The sort of abuse of power we’re seeing out of ASIC is endemic to the regulatory state, argues Chris Berg. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is completely out of control. (The Drum)
AZERBAIJAN
Azerbaijan accused of restricting freedom of expression online
A group of Azerbaijani youths met in Baku city centre and made a Harlem Shake video, the dance that has become something off an online sensation in recent months. This video was uploaded in February and seems pretty harmless, no different from all the others doing the rounds on the web, and yet Ilkin Rustemzade may well go to prison. The opposition activist was arrested and charged with hooliganism for making this video. (France 24)
CHINA
Messaging app Line prepares the groundwork for censoring politically sensitive phrases in China
Earlier this year, Tencent-owned WeChat, a mobile messaging app with more than 300 million users, came under fire for censoring ‘sensitive’ topics that its users were discussing. Now, Line, a rival app developed in Japan which has 150 million users, is the next in line to pal up to the Chinese government and restrict the use of certain phrases on its service. (The Next Web)
EGYPT
US urges Egypt gov’t to defend political speech
The Obama administration is calling on the Egyptian government to rein in prosecutions of political expression amid what it called a “growing trend” of efforts to punish and deter people from speaking their mind. (AP via Post Bulletin)
FRANCE
‘Day Of Nude On Facebook’: French Users Protest Censorship With Bare-Skinned Photos
“Day of Nude on Facebook” — a French protest aimed at challenging Facebook’s unnecessary censorship of photos — backfired when the social media site took down the event page and suspended the accounts of some involved in the online demonstration. (Huffington Post)
JORDAN
Jordan premier: Arab Spring forces governments to widen press freedoms
The Arab Spring uprisings that toppled four Arab leaders have forced Mideast governments to allow more freedom of expression and of the press, Jordan’s prime minister said Monday, but critics charged that Jordan itself is not doing enough. (Washington Post
NEPAL
Libel charge at SC against press council
A libel case has been filed at the Supreme Court (SC) against the tri-monthly newssheet Sanhita published by Press Council.
Journalist Roshan Puri, Govinda Devkota and advocate Shree Krishna Subedi moved the court accusing that an article titled ‘Dai, JayaNepal, Comrade Abhinandan’ published in the Chaitra issue of the newssheet has slandered the petitioners. (Kantipur)
TUNISIA
Tunisian feminist arrested for ‘provocative’ appearance in holy city
A Tunisian feminist who scandalized her country by posting topless photos of herself online has been arrested after allegedly sneaking into Tunisia’s holiest city disguised in a veil, then trying to get undressed during a protest. (Washington Post)
UGANDA
Monitor offices under police siege
Police officers Monday searched Monitor offices, claiming they were looking for the Gen David Sejusa’s letter. The police later shut down the newspaper’s printing press and its sister FM radio stations – KFM and Dembe FM.Time Check, 11:15am and three fully packed police patrol vans stop outside Monitor offices. (Daily Monitor)
UNITED STATES
Fox News responds to ‘chilling’ DOJ investigation
Fox News has responded to a Justice Department probe of reporter James Rosen, reported by the Washington Post, that involved tracking his movements, phone calls and e-mails. (Washington Post)
Is A Facebook ‘Like’ Protected Under The Right to Free Speech?
Six former sheriff’s department employees who said they were fired in 2009 for “Liking” their boss’ political rival on Facebook appeared in Virginia federal appeals court this past week. (Opposing Views)
Column: Forced union dues violate free speech
Just as the government cannot stop you from supporting a political candidate, it cannot make you pay to support a candidate. The First Amendment protects both the right to support political causes and the right to not support them. But in California, that right is denied to hundreds of thousands of public school teachers who currently must pay exorbitant fees to bankroll the agenda of powerful teachers’ unions. (USA Today)
Attorney: Evansville man’s Twitter messages are protected free speech
The attorney for an Evansville man accused of making threats on the social media outlet Twitter is arguing the remarks are free speech protected by the U.S. Constitution. (CourierPress)
Movie studios send fraudulent censorship demands over Pirate Bay documentary
You’ll remember last month’s news that Fox had sent fraudulent takedown notices regarding my novel Homeland. This is hardly an isolated incident: the studios routinely exhibit depraved indifference to the inaccuracies in their automated censorship threats to search engines and webhosts. (Boing Boing)
US Supreme Court Accepts Religion Case: Will Legislative Prayer Survive Religious Censorship?
The case out of New York presents an opportunity for the US Supreme Court to bring needed clarity to Establishment Clause jurisprudence. I hope they do so. We have witnessed a growing governmental hostility toward religious faith and expression in the public square. (Catholic Online)
17 May 13 | Azerbaijan News, Europe and Central Asia, News and features
The Eurovision Song Contest gives a platform to some of Europe’s outliers on free expression. Photo: Sander Hesterman (EBU) / Eurovision 2013
Europe will once again be swept away by a sparkly hurricane of techno beats and pompous ballads, kitschy and/or traditional costumes, wind machines, pyrotechnics, heavily accented English, awkward host banter and nul points. Yes, Eurovision takes our breath away in more ways than one.
While first and foremost a showbiz spectacle, if you look beneath the layer of sequins you’ll soon discover the political tinge to the continent’s premier singing competition. From the start in 1956, it was designed as fun way of testing out new broadcasting technology. Those partial to the occasional conspiracy theory would have you believe this was also a convenient cover for pan-European satellite testing during the Cold War, which is why NATO members Turkey and Israel were invited to the party.
With the lifting of the Iron Curtain and the inclusion of the Eastern Bloc in 1990, much was said about the healing, unifying power of the contest. Since then, even more has been said about the tendency of the late arrivals to share their points amongst themselves. The UK, for instance, have been vocal about political, neighbourhood voting being the cause of their recent Eurovision failings, rather than, say, sending entries like this. And while Eurovision, somewhat censoriously, prohibits political songs that has not stopped artists from trying to get their meaningful messages across.
The most famous recent example is perhaps Georgia’s pun-tastic 2009 offering “We Don’t Want To Put In’‘, to be performed at final in — you guessed it — Moscow. They were told to change the song or drop out, and ultimately chose the latter. Krista Siegfrids, Finland’s entrant this year, has warned she might be planting a kiss on one of her female dancers in protest at her country’s failure to adopt equal marriage legislation.
Most significantly, Eurovision gives its entrants prime time access to some 800 million viewers around the world – an unparalleled platform on which to promote their nation should they choose to. Many have jumped at the opportunity, chief among them the land of fire; Azerbaijan. As 2012 hosts, the Aliyev regime poured millions of their significant oil wealth into reforming their international reputation as a repressive hereditary dictatorship. The only problem with this otherwise foolproof plan was that they forcefully evicted people to make room for an ambitious Eurovision-inspired urban renewal project in Baku, attacked journalists covering and speaking up about it, and generally conducted their notoriously human rights abusing business as usual. Not much has changed since the party left town a year ago — only this week, the regime announced they have extended libel laws to online speech ahead of October’s presidential election.
Before that, 2009 hosts Russia attempted to dazzle Europe and the world, with a spectacular stage show in the 25,000 capacity Indoor Olympic Arena in Moscow. However, LGBT activists seized the opportunity to shine the spotlight on the country’s poor record on gay rights, attempting to stage a Slavic-wide Pride parade on the day of the final. In a clear violation of the right to freedom of expression and assembly, the parade was banned. Many of the protesters who showed up anyway, were attacked and arrested. LGBT rights remain poor in Russia, with a 100-year ban on pride parades in Moscow announced only last year. The charm offensive of last year’s singing, dancing, baking grandma entry has this year been followed by the John-and-Yoko-esque ‘What If?‘, which among other gems, contains the lyrics “Together we can make a better place/ On this little island out in space”. Meanwhile, in Russia, internationally funded NGOs have to register as ‘foreign agents’, or risk fines and prison time.
You don’t have to host to be able to host to take full advantage of the promotional platform Eurovision. Like Belarus, you can condense your message to fit the 3-minute performance slot. In 2011, the country known as Europe’s last dictatorship sent Anastasiya Vinnikova to perform the subtly named “I Love Belarus“. Somehow, it didn’t progress to the final. Maybe the rest of Europe had some trouble reconciling the country described in the song, with its “fields full of gold” and “free, friendly and young people”, with the country where you’re put in prison for pointing out that your repressive dictator is, well, a dictator.
Also in the running this year is Hungary, the country with some of the most draconian press regulation on the continent. There’s Ukraine, where the former prime minister is serving a seven-year jail sentence for what is widely recognised as politically motivated charges. In Italy, the final will be broadcast on public broadcaster RAI, one half of the TV duopoly that poses a big threat to the country’s media plurality. In Greece, financial woes have also had a pretty detrimental effect on freedom of expression. Bulgaria’s web of cosy relationships between authorities and media leaves the country without an accurate picture of itself.
Yes, Eurovision is first and foremost one of the biggest parties in the world. However, as you’re watching the spectacle unfold on Saturday, spare a thought for the Europeans who are not as free to express themselves as their fellow countrymen on stage in Malmo.
16 May 13 | In the News
AUSTRALIA
ASIC request sparks internet censorship
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s use of internet censorship powers caused the accidental blocking of more than 1000 websites in April.(The Australian)
AZERBAIJAN
Azerbaijan extends libel law to web speech
Index on Censorship and partner organizations have strongly condemned moves by Azerbaijan’s government on Tuesday to criminalise online slander and abuse in the run-up to the country’s October Presidential election. (Index on Censorship)
BAHRAIN
Bahrain blogger given asylum in UK
A Bahraini blogger and human rights activist said he had been granted asylum in Britain after being in hiding for two years. (Gulf News)
Bahrain court jails six for insulting king on Twitter
A Bahraini court jailed six people for a year on Wednesday for insulting King Hamad bin Issa al Khalifa in messages on the microblogging site Twitter, the official news agency said. (Reuters)
BRUNEI
Brunei: ‘Slow Internet is Almost Like Censorship’
Brunei internet users are complaining against the slow and unreliable internet connection in their country. (Global Voices)
CANADA
U.S. man’s “supportive” web chat with suicidal Canadian teen “free speech”: lawyer
An American man convicted in 2011 of posing as a young, depressed woman in an online “suicide chat room” and helping a Canadian teenager kill herself in 2008 has appealed the verdict to Minnesota’s top court, arguing this week that the free-speech provisions of the U.S. First Amendment should have protected his “supportive” conversations with the distraught Carleton University student. (Canada.com)
CHINA
As China’s social media takes off, Beijing’s censorship campaign heats up
A few well-regarded intellectuals known to be critical of the Communist Party have drawn millions of followers on China’s Twitter. (Christian Science Monitor)
Blog of Critic of Chinese Censorship Deleted
It will hardly come as a surprise to anyone to learn that a popular writer and well-known critic of China’s pervasive censorship system has run into trouble for his views. (Reason)
EGYPT
Bassem Youssef’s fight for free speech wins cheers at AMF
Egypt’s Bassem Youssef, the TV host called to court for poking fun at President Mursi, was applauded at this week’s Arab Media Forum (AMF) after making a rousing argument for free speech. (AlArabiya)
Egyptian artists declare war on sexual harassment
Since the fall of President Hosni Mubarak two years ago, artists have been active in breaking Egypt’s age-old taboos around sexual violence, especially since sexual harassment has been on the rise. In the period after the revolution, artists — including women — have covered the country’s walls with murals and slogans, using them to amplify calls for change. Melody Patry reports. (Index on Censorship)
IRELAND
Irish mobile phone shutdown may be allowed during G8
The Irish government will allow the mobile phone network to be shut down in border areas during the G8 summit. (BBC)
KUWAIT
Kuwait: Draft Law Threatens Free Speech, Says HRW
Kuwaiti authorities should amend a proposed new press law that would increase state control of the news media and further curtail the right to free speech. The draft should be revised to protect free speech, consistent with requirements under international law, not curtail it, Human Rights Watch said. (Eurasia Review)
LIBYA
Young Libyans Find Escape in ‘Secret’ Cinema
In the basement of a villa in central Tripoli, young Libyans seeking an escape from violence and disorder watch an American movie classic screened using a simple projector and laptop. (Reuters via Voice of America)
RUSSIA
Russian bird lovers targeted as ‘foreign agents’
An organisation behind a nature reserve dedicated to the protection of Russia’s cranes has been ordered to register as “a foreign agent” under the country’s non-governmental organisation law. The case highlights how arbitrary implementation is chilling free expression in the country, Andrei Aliaksandrau reports. (Index on Censorship)
UNITED KINGDOM
Letter: Free speech, extremism and a university’s duty
Institutions have a legal obligation to promote free speech, and that may involve allowing controversial, indeed sometimes offensive, opinions to be expressed. (The Times)
UNITED STATES
The DOJ’s Freedom of Speech Breach
The seizure of AP’s phone records is legal, but that doesn’t make it an acceptable course of action for the Justice Department to take. (The American Prospect)
Lawmakers accuse Obama administration of abusing free speech rights
U.S. lawmakers accused the Obama administration on Wednesday of trampling on free speech rights and evading questions about the Justice Department’s secret seizure of Associated Press telephone records. (Reuters via The Chicago Tribune)
IRS targeting not only chills speech, it attacks 1st Amendment freedoms
The news that an office of the Internal Revenue Service targeted for review a number of groups with names that included “patriot” or “tea party” is chilling enough to hear – but there’s more reason to be concerned from a First Amendment perspective. (TriCities.com)
15 May 13 | In the News
GLOBAL
Challenging mainstream narratives with social media
A lot has been said about the impact of social media on the dissemination of news and the future of journalism. Opinions seem to span from believing Twitter and Facebook hold the power to bring down dictatorships, to despairing at the space it gives to armchair analysis and knee jerk reactions. One thing can be agreed upon: readers, listeners and viewers now have access to a platform to express themselves and challenge the mainstream narrative of events, Milana Knezevic writes. (Index on Censorship)
AZERBAIJAN
Azerbaijani Parliament Passes Controversial Internet Libel Law
Azerbaijan’s parliament has legalized tighter Internet controls in a move the country’s opposition groups fear could be used to curb online dissent. (Radio Liberty)
EGYPT
Egyptian artists declare war on sexual harassment
Since the fall of President Hosni Mubarak two years ago, artists have been active in breaking Egypt’s age-old taboos around sexual violence, especially since sexual harassment has been on the rise. Melody Patry reports. (Index on Censorship)
ISRAEL
Free Speech Under Attack in Israel
The Israeli Ambassador to London, Daniel Taub, entirely misses the point in his comments on Professor Stephen Hawking’s decision to pull out of a conference in Jerusalem as a protest at Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. (Shifting Grounds)
RUSSIA
Pussy Riot Doc Defends Free Speech But Skips the Messy Details
At the culmination of the documentary Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer, band member Maria Alyokhina tells the court that “this trial is not just an evil, grotesque mask, it is the face that the government wears when speaking to the people of our country.” (The Nation)
RWANDA
Rwanda’s Media Law Opens Gates To Self-Regulation For Journalists
Contrary to critics alleging Rwanda on violation of Human rights, democracy and freedom of speech; the country’s recently adopted law on media regulation seems to shame such accusations and it rather demonstrates maturity in the said fields. (News of Rwanda)
UNITED STATES
Judge dismisses lawsuit, says no free-speech rights violated at Detroit-area Arab festival
A judge says free-speech rights weren’t violated when police officers asked Christian demonstrators to leave an Arab festival in Dearborn last year. (The Republic)
Lawyer says law against encouraging suicide violates free speech
The Minnesota Supreme Court is considering an appeal by a nurse who says his conviction for advising two people to kill themselves is unconstitutional. (UPI.com
Does Free Speech Protect Your Right to Criticize Religion? Duh!
I’m a lawyer by training. It’s one of the most frustrating things I’ve ever done because now I can recognize all the things otherwise smart people get wrong about the Constitution. And, boy howdy, there are a lot of people who misunderstand the Constitution.(Care2)
Facebook: A ‘Like’ is free speech for Hampton case
When a wrongful termination lawsuit involving six former employees of Hampton Sheriff B.J. Roberts goes before a federal appellate court on Thursday, those employees will have a prominent backer in their corner: Facebook. (The Daily Press)
