30 Jul 2013 | In the News
#DONTSPYONME
Tell Europe’s leaders to stop mass surveillance #dontspyonme
Index on Censorship launches a petition calling on European Union Heads of Government to stop the US, UK and other governments from carrying out mass surveillance. We want to use public pressure to ensure Europe’s leaders put on the record their opposition to mass surveillance. They must place this issue firmly on the agenda for the next European Council Summit in October so action can be taken to stop this attack on the basic human right of free speech and privacy.
(Index on Censorship)
CENSORED
David Cameron: Stop Sleepwalking into Censorship
Index on Censorship launches a petition calling on European Union Heads of Government to stop the US, UK and other governments from carrying out mass surveillance. We want to use public pressure to ensure Europe’s leaders put on the record their opposition to mass surveillance. They must place this issue firmly on the agenda for the next European Council Summit in October so action can be taken to stop this attack on the basic human right of free speech and privacy.
(Open Rights Group)
BAHRAIN
Bahrain: The Arab Spring Protests You Don’t Know About
I am astonished by how little the media has covered the ongoing protests in Bahrain, Kuwait, and eastern Saudi Arabia. You would think that the oil-rich Gulf Cooperation Council states would be under a microscope, because what happens there immediately affects oil prices. But large media corporations have opted not to cover events in these countries, so as not to cause market panic. And there is a lot to panic about.
(Strat Risks)
CAMBODIA
Freedom of speech in Cambodia, but only in English
He’s back. After four years in self-imposed exile, Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy landed in Phnom Penh last Friday to throngs of flag-waving fans wearing white caps branded with a rising sun—the Cambodia National Rescue Party’s telltale logo. Rainsy came for the showdown: this Sunday, the CNRP will face ruling Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party in parliamentary elections.
(Media Politics in Perspective)
GAZA
Hamas shut down media bureaus over Egypt coverage
Gaza’s de-facto Hamas government closed the office of Al Arabiya, Palestinian network Ma’an news and the local production company Lens on Thursday.
(Index on Censorship)
GLOBAL
Microsoft Wants Google to Censor…. Microsoft.com
In an attempt to make pirated content harder to find copyright holders ask Google to remove millions of search results every week. While these automated requests are usually legitimate, mistakes happen more often than one might expect. For example, in an embarrassing act of self-censorship Microsoft recently asked Google to censor links to its very own Microsoft.com.
(Torrent Freak)
INDIA
There’s a natural censorship inside my system: Shah Rukh Khan
A ‘self aware’ actor will never do a film that is not an extension of his personality, believes superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who refrains from saying or doing certain things.
(Firstpost)
RUSSIA
RUSSIAN LGBT ACTIVISTS: BOYCOTT OF ALL THINGS RUSSIAN, OLYMPICS
Queer Nation today issued a press release which claims gay and lesbian activists in Russia support the recent dumping of Russian vodka. According to a statement included in the group’s release, those activists also support taking things a step further: boycott all Russian products – including the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.
(Towleroad)
Russian Pirate Party threatens copyright owners with ‘Black August’
Chairman of the unregistered Pirates’ Party of Russia has called upon the public to completely boycott all copyrighted content in August this year in protest against the recently introduced anti-piracy law.
(RT)
SOUTH AFRICA
Archbishop Tutu: South Africa must reject homophobic discrimination
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, famous for his role in ending apartheid, has called on South Africa to reject homophobic discrimination as part of a new LGBT global public education campaign by the United Nations Human Rights Office.
(Pink News)
TUNISIA
Tunisia Femen activist ‘cleared of defamation’
A court on Monday dismissed one case against Tunisian Femen activist Amina Sboui in which she was tried for contempt and defamation, her lawyer said, calling the verdict “a victory”.
(AFP)
UNITED KINGDOM
Mass surveillance or just Big Data?
States, and companies, collecting huge amounts of data on people and populations around the world. Is this a mass surveillance nightmare – the digital Stasi roaming free – or just big data and we should get over it?
(Index on Censorship)
Will women benefit from fewer lads mags?
The Co-operative chain has told magazines such as Nuts and Zoo to clean up their act. Will women really benefit?
(Index on Censorship)
Labour MP Stella Creasy receives Twitter rape threats
States, and companies, collecting huge amounts of data on people and populations around the world. Is this a
mass surveillance nightmare – the digital Stasi roaming free – or just big data and we should get over it?
(Index on Censorship)
UK Porn Filter Will Censor Other Content Too, ISPs Reveal
Walthamstow MP uses Twitter to inform police of abuse in wake of arrest of man for threats made to banknote campaigner
(The Guardian)
Letter to my MP about web censorship
This morning I wrote to my MP, John Hemming, via writetothem.com to express my concern about web censorship
(Bruce Lawson)
Censorship or safety?
In essence, Cameron’s plan is to block pornography from every home in the UK unless the individual householder deliberately chooses to receive it. We are left to question whether this represents charitable, moral action on the part of our Prime Minister or the early stages of internet censorship
(Nouse)
Cyber Censorship: Freedom is the best filter
The definitive lesson we have learned from the digital age is that the internet is the most dynamic and adaptable tool for individual freedom that we have known in generations. Yet, the old adages still ring truer than ever: there is nothing more cumbersome and static than government regulation. That is why David Cameron’s attempts at censorship are doomed to fail; he needs freedom to decontaminate the internet for him.
(The Freedom Association)
UK Sleepwalking Into Censorship? More Like Running Into It At Full Pelt
We do not live in a free country. We all know that. Our libel laws are ridiculous. Our freedom of speech is curtailed should we be “offensive”. We live under the gaze of corporate and Government officials. Even some websites are blocked. But we can at least try to hold on to some of the freedom we do have; we aren’t Saudi Arabia or China after all.
(Freedom Is Not The Problem)
Sleepwalking into censorship
After brief conversations with some of the Internet Service Providers that will be implementing the UK’s “pornwall” we’ve established a little bit about what it will be doing.
(Open Rights Group)
Libel, Damages and the “Remedial Gap”: a declaration of falsity?
A number of lbel cases involve substantial awards of damages against defendants who are never going to pay. Sometimes the defendant is in a jurisdiction where a damages award cannot be enforced, sometimes the defendant has no money.
(The International Forum for Responsible Media Blog)
UNITED STATES
Momentum Builds Against N.S.A. Surveillance
The movement to crack down on government surveillance started with an odd couple from Michigan, Representatives Justin Amash, a young libertarian Republican known even to his friends as “chief wing nut,” and John Conyers Jr., an elder of the liberal left in his 25th House term.
(The New Work Times)
Jenny McCarthy, Censorship and Free Speech
Most of you have probably heard by now that anti-vaccine activist Jenny McCarthy has been picked to be a host on ABC’s The View. Following the announcement, there was a media uproar lambasting the decision. Newspapers, magazines and blogs erupted with posts questioning the wisdom of giving her a platform with millions of viewers from which she could spew her vaccine-related misinformation and fear-mongering.
(Harpocrates Speaks)
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29 Jul 2013 | In the News
#dontspyonme
Tell Europe’s leaders to stop mass surveillance #dontspyonme
Index on Censorship launches a petition calling on European Union Heads of Government to stop the US, UK and other governments from carrying out mass surveillance. We want to use public pressure to ensure Europe’s leaders put on the record their opposition to mass surveillance. They must place this issue firmly on the agenda for the next European Council Summit in October so action can be taken to stop this attack on the basic human right of free speech and privacy.
(Index on Censorship)
MIDDLE EAST
Arab Spring will take time to flower: analysts
Disappointment over the lack of democratic progress in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya is understandable, but the so-called Arab Spring of 2011 will take time to mature, analysts say, warning that the process will be chaotic.
(Gulf News)
SOUTH AFRICA
Internet usage in South Africa hits 14 million mark
The internet usage has significantly grown in South Africa this year, already involving 14 million people, said a latest survey.
(Tech 2)
TUNISIA
In Turkey’s heartland, support for protest is thin
As Mohamed Brahmi becomes the second secular politician to be shot in Tunisia in the past six months questions are raised as to whether the Arab Spring has really made a difference
(Nouse)
BBC film reporter investigates rising power of Salafism in Tunisia
BBC Arabic documentary, The Battle for Bizerte, tells the inside story of a group of extremist Islamists known as Salafists in Bizerte, a Tunisian town on the Mediterranean sea, 60 kilometres from Tunis.
(Middle East Online)
TURKEY
In Turkey’s heartland, support for protest is thin
Weeks of anti-government protests in Istanbul’s Gezi Park and the squares in the capital of Ankara have not affected life here or in much of rural Turkey, where Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan enjoys solid support.
(USA Today)
Homophobic prejudices broken by Gezi incidents in Turkey
The Gezi protests have shown that society is much more aware about the rights of the LGBT community than Parliament, according to an activist. ‘Gezi did in three weeks what would have taken us three years,’ says Sedef Çakmak, adding that they have gained a lot of self confidence
(Hurriyet Daily News)
UNITED KINGDOM
Man held after banknote campaigner receives rape threats on Twitter
Police say man arrested on suspicion of harassment offences, after shadow minister criticises Twitter’s response to abuse
(The Guardian)
UNITED STATES
Gay Talk: Protecting Free Speech for Public School Teachers
In Garcetti v. Ceballos, the Supreme Court held that public employees are not entitled to free speech when speaking “pursuant to their official duties.” In most situations, this strips teachers of First Amendment protection when they discuss controversial subjects, such as homosexuality, with their students.
(Social Science Research Network)
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26 Jul 2013 | In the News
#dontspyonme
Tell Europe’s leaders to stop mass surveillance #dontspyonme
Index on Censorship launches a petition calling on European Union Heads of Government to stop the US, UK and other governments from carrying out mass surveillance. We want to use public pressure to ensure Europe’s leaders put on the record their opposition to mass surveillance. They must place this issue firmly on the agenda for the next European Council Summit in October so action can be taken to stop this attack on the basic human right of free speech and privacy.
(Index on Censorship)
CHINA
Hollywood Skeptical as China Claims Relaxed Censorship Enforcement
To many in China and Hollywood, the message seemed too good to be true: In an announcement on its official online portal July 17, the Chinese government stated that its State General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television no longer will demand that filmmakers working on projects about “ordinary topics” secure full script approval before going into production.
(The Hollywood Reporter)
INDIA
The birth of India’s film industry: how the movies came to Mumbai
There is a fascinating but little-known prequel to Indian cinema that goes right back to silent films made in the 1890s
(The Guardian)
Tim Cook: iPhone sales in India grew 400 percent last quarter
Apple CEO, Tim Cook, today announced iPhone sales in India grew over 400 percent in the last quarter over the quarter preceding it. Apart from India, iPhone sales took off in the Philippines, Turkey and Poland in the prepaid market apart from developed countries. Apple attributes it to some moves it made in the iPhone 5 and iPhone 4 space, pointing out towards the aggressive buyback schemes it launched in India with the iPhone 4.
(The Tech Gadgets)
NEW ZEALAND
Maniac Faces More Censorship Overseas
now being banned in New Zealand. Of course, the mainstream press is latching onto the fact that this is significant considering Maniac star Elijah Wood starred as Frodo in The Lord of the Rings films…which were all shot in New Zealand.
(Shock Till You Drop)
RUSSIA
Navalny, Ward, Assange, Snowden and the Attack on Free Speech
Russia does not have a functioning criminal justice system at all, in the sense of a trial mechanism aimed at determining innocence or guilt. Exactly as in Uzbekistan, the conviction rate in criminal trials is over 99%. If the prosecutors, who are inextricably an arm of the executive government, want to send you to jail, there is absolutely no judicial system to protect you. The judges are purely there for show.
(Craig Murray)
Russia legal experts warn constitutional order under threat
Russia’s constitutional order is being threatened by the current government practices, according to an open letter [text, in Russian] signed by more than 50 of Russia’s leading legal experts on Tuesday. The letter accuses the government [CSM report] of systematic rights abuses and efforts to silence political opponents and eliminate forms of legal protest.
(Jurist)
Journalist Miriam Elder Reflects on her Past Seven Years in Russia
The Guardian’s former Russian Correspondent Miriam Elder has left Russia for a new job in the US as Foreign Editor at BuzzFeed. Anchor Carol Hills speaks with Elder about her experiences reporting in Russia.
(Public Radio International (US))
LGBT Organization Calls For Boycott of Russian Vodka
A gay rights organization based in the U.S. has called for a worldwide boycott on Russian vodka in response to the country’s new gay propaganda legislation.
(The Moscow Times)
Russian Church Leaders Say Gays And Same-Sex Marriage Will Cause The Apocalypse!
Everyone! Run for your lives! It’s the Apocalypse! And it’s all the gays’ fault! As CAH-RAZY as that might sound, Russian church leader Patriarch Kirill believes every word of it.
(Perez Hilton)
Russia for Beginners: A Literary Course for Edward Snowden
Edward J. Snowden has the time, and now he has the classics. Mr. Snowden, the former intelligence contractor facing legal repercussions for the release of classified information, has been ensconced in the transit zone of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport waiting to find out if he will be granted asylum.
(The New York Times)
TUNISIA
Tunisia In Chaos After Slaying Of Second Opposition Politician
Tunisia is heralded as the birthplace of the Arab Spring.
(Public Radio International (US))
TURKEY
Turkey’s media: A polluted landscape
As protests continue in Istanbul, journalist Yavuz Baydar calls for the media to resist government pressure to filter the news
(Index on Censorship)
Yavuz Baydar sacked after columns criticising government
Journalist Yavuz Baydar has been fired by Turkish daily newspaper Sabah, after articles he wrote criticising the government were censored
(Index on Censorship)
UNITED STATES
The Perceived Conflict Between Diversity and Free Speech
The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has made headlines after releasing a “blueprint” for campus sexual misconduct policies that broadly redefines sexual harassment, ostensibly under OCR’s authority to enforce Title IX.
(FIRE)
“Military Web Restrictions to Continue as Republican Led House Panel Passes on Amendment”
The House Rules Committee passed on an amendment that would have stopped the military from filtering news websites on its bases.
(Always Question Authority)
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25 Jul 2013 | In the News
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
Brazilian sociologist threatened at gunpoint after criticising police
A Brazilian sociologist says he was threatened at gunpoint in Rio de Janeiro last week, after he gave a newspaper interview criticising police action in recent popular demonstrations
(Index on Censorship)
GHANA
Why free speech is a non-negotiable …
Nurturing institutions of society is an important aspect of growing a democracy, and encouraging free speech is an important step on that road.
(Ghana Web)
RUSSIA
Minister attacks Putin’s ‘worrying’ free speech record
A Cabinet Minister has accused Russian president Vladimir Putin of presiding over a “worrying” clampdown on free speech.
(The Telegraph)
SYRIA
On the ground in Syria: Fear still rules political expression
More than two years after the start of the uprising in Syria, the security apparatus remains committed to stifling freedom of expression. In its monthly reports, the SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom, based in Beirut, has documented the arrest of 12 journalists and dissident intellectuals since January this year. Well-known media activists, such as Mazen Darwish, who was arrested in 2012, continue to be held under charges of terrorism.
(All Voices)
TUNISIA
Tunisia: Strengthen New Constitution’s Rights Protection
It is critically important to bring Tunisia’s new constitution in line with international human rights standards and Tunisia’s obligations under international law, four human rights organizations said today.
(Human Rights Watch)
Femen Activist Amina Faces New Charges
The latest twist in the court battle of Tunisian activist Amina Sboui continued Monday (July 22nd).
(Magharebia )
TURKEY
Yavuz Baydar sacked after columns criticising government
Journalist Yavuz Baydar has been fired by Turkish daily newspaper Sabah, after articles he wrote criticising the government were censored
(Index on Censorship)
UNITED KINGDOM
Miley Cyrus fires back at ‘We Cant Stop’ censorship
Former Disney star Miley Cyrus says she is not impressed with the way her ‘We Cant Stop’ music video has been censored in the UK.
(The New Age)
UNITED STATES
‘United we stand’ not just a motto
What is America ’s favorite freedom? It’s freedom of speech by a wide margin, according to the annual State of the First Amendment survey.
(TriCities.com)
‘United we stand’ not just a motto
What is America ’s favorite freedom? It’s freedom of speech by a wide margin, according to the annual State of the First Amendment survey.
(TriCities.com)
ZAMBIA
Press Freedom Group Helps Circumvent Net Censorship in Zambia
The non-governmental organisation Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has made a strong statement in favour of freedom of the press by offering several banned websites solutions to circumvent the government’s efforts to block access by citizens.
(Zambia Reports)
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