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Jordan: On the brink between censorship and freedom

10 Jun 13 | Middle East and North Africa

Buffeted by internal and external forces, the Jordanian government’s recent move against hundreds of websites underscores the fragile nature of free expression in the country. Ramsey George reports

The country has seen an explosion of news sites that cover local politics and have become a thorn in the side of the government. A well-educated population and clever manoeuvres from the government have helped keep the political and social situation calm. At the same time, Jordan’s internet, media and cultural scenes have been growing — upsetting a delicate balance in the country.

Over the past several years, the government has repeatedly tightened efforts to censor and police the internet. Media observers see these actions as being in direct response to the rise of political news sites and expanding social media use among Jordanians.

Three high-profile cases have highlighted the Jordanian government’s attitude toward freedom of expression. Jamal al-Muhtasib was detained in 2012 for political reasons after posting an article about corruption. Mwafaq Mahadin and Sufyan al-Tell have been pursued by state prosecutors for publicly criticising Jordan’s foreign policy. While the cases were initially dismissed, all three face renewed charges and are back in court.

Middle East and North Africa
Free speech in post-Gaddafi Libya | Social media grows across the Gulf | Free speech in Tunisia: New year, same fears | What future for free speech in the new Egypt?

Recently, amendments made to the Kingdom’s notorious press and publications law have demonstrated the state’s intentions. The amendments have forced sites to register, purchase a license from the press and publications department and assign an editor-in-chief who is a member of the Jordan Press Association (JPA). Moreover, the amendments hold new websites responsible for any “inappropriate” comments left on their platforms, and give the government permission to force the deletion of comments deemed “irrelevant” to a particular article. These requirements severely restrict news websites from joining the media landscape in Jordan and impact the ability of existing sites to function. Additionally, the amendments to the press and publications require significant resources from the government to enforce.

News sites would also have to store comments and user information for at least six months. Meanwhile, the government has also declared its intentions to formulate a new telecommunications law that would force Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block pornography sites, or any material the government believes to be in contradiction to the country’s moral fabric.

In 2010, the government attempted to block over 50 news sites throughout government buildings, citing a 30-day official study that claimed public sector employees were wasting three hours per day surfing such sites. This policy was coupled with the introduction of a controversial Cyber Crimes draft law that included articles targeting news sites, including the ability to impose fines on media outlets publishing articles deemed to be “defamatory” or allow the authorities to raid offices and confiscate computers.

After pressure from interest groups that included bloggers, cyber activists and journalists, these articles were removed from the law, and the government’s policy of blocking news sites was reversed. Nevertheless, the Jordanian government has continued to find new ways to restrict and regulate new media in the country–especially in the post-Arab Spring era.

The context of these moves must also be considered, and there is perhaps nothing more that stands out as a contributing factor the state’s newfound direction than the advent of the Arab Spring and the lingering presence of domestic discontent. Jordanians, for instance, have taken to Facebook and Twitter to form new groups and hashtags, while using these platforms to mobilize people, create discussion, launch protests, or simply voice discontent with the economic, social and political status quo. By some estimates, there are over 2.4 million Facebook users in Jordan, and this includes a quarter million new users in the past six months alone. With some of the biggest Jordanian pages and groups on Facebook being media related or political in nature, both the usage and user base on Facebook alone has changed dramatically since the Arab Spring began, with Jordanians finding a new political voice, and articulating it online.

Ramsey George is a co-founder of 7iber.com, a citizen media platform based in Amman, Jordan.

Free expression in the news

06 Jun 13 | In the News

INDEX REPORT
Taking the offensive – defending artistic freedom of expression in the UK
Widespread self-censorship and fear of offence is suppressing creativity and ideas in the United Kingdom, according to a report published by Index on Censorship.

INDEX EVENTS
10 June: Caught in the web: how free are we online?
The internet: free open space, wild wild west, or totalitarian state? However you view the web, in today’s world it is bringing both opportunities and threats for free expression.

22 June: Turkey vs the UK: what’s the score on free expression?
The Turkish Writers Football Club is coming to London to play the England Writers Team and the pressure is on. But it’s not just about sport. Index on Censorship is grabbing the chance to bring both sides together to debate the state of free expression in both countries.

GLOBAL
U.N. Free-Speech Envoy Blasts “Extremely Disturbing” Government Mass Surveillance
From the FBI’s desire to wiretap Gmail to the U.S. government’s monitoring of journalists, government surveillance has attracted much attention in recent months. Now, a U.N. special envoy is calling for urgent action to tackle the untrammeled rise of mass-surveillance technologies. (Slate)

AUSTRALIA
Child porn — or art censorship by wannabe Tory pollies?
Police removed works by well-known collage artist Paul Yore’s Everything is Fucked installation at a St Kilda gallery in Melbourne on the weekend, after claims the art amounted to child pornography. No charges have yet been laid, although Yore was interviewed by Victoria Police on Monday and released pending a court summons. If charged and found guilty, he could face up to 10 years in prison for producing and possessing child pornography. But did the tip-off to police come from someone with an agenda? (Crikey)

BURMA
Violence against Muslims on the rise in Burma
Burma’s Muslim minority has come under increasing attack from Buddhist mobs. Tom Fawthorp reports from Meiktila and Yangon on the racism that is clouding the country’s future.
(Index on Censorship)

CANADA
Regina lawyer Tony Merchant sues CBC for libel
A Regina Senator, her prominent lawyer husband and the law firm that bears his name have launched a libel suit against the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. (The Star Phoenix)

EGYPT
Tamarod movement to oust Morsi gains ground in Egypt
A campaign called ‘Tamarod’ has already gathered millions of signatures calling for the ousting of Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi. Shahira Amin reports on the growing discontent with the country’s first post-revolution president (Index on Censorship)

GREECE
An open letter to European Commission President José Manuel Barroso
Index Award-winning Greek journalist Kostas Vaxevanis addresses an open letter to President Barroso. Vaxevanis is due to stand trial on 10 June for violating privacy laws in connection with the publication of the Lagarde list of alleged Greek tax evaders.(Index on Censorship)

MALAYSIA
Online censorship – gov’t shooting itself in the foot
When a line is crossed too often, there will come a time when it will cease to exist and it will become second nature for ‘trampling’ to take place. This is in light of Communications and Multimedia Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek’s comments yesterday on the possibility of the government mimicking Singapore to regulate news portals. (MalaysiaKini)

TUNISIA
Femen protests: Tunisia expels three in Ukrainian feminist group
Three members of a radical Ukrainian feminist group have been expelled from Tunisia on suspicion of planning a topless protest in front of the court where their colleagues were being tried on charges of public indecency, the interior ministry said on Wednesday. (The Guardian)

TURKEY
Turkey protests: ‘Woman in red’ pepper sprayed by police becomes symbol of Istanbul’s Occupy Gezi unrest against Prime Minister Erdogan
Endlessly shared on social media the image of the woman in red has become the leitmotif for female protesters (The Independent)

Turks skip suspected censorship with Internet lifelines
Turks are turning to encryption software to thwart any ramp up in censorship of the Internet after six days of anti-government demonstrations and a wave of arrests reportedly for urging people to protest on social media sites.
(Reuters)

Turkey cracks down on Twitter users
About 25 Twitter users have been arrested in Turkey on charges of inciting demonstrations and spreading propaganda following days of at times violent protests against the government, CNN Turk reported Wednesday. (The Hindu)

UGANDA
Free speech groups protest violence against Ugandan journalists
Index on Censorship has joined Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda (HRNJ-Uganda) in writing a letter of protest to the country’s president President Yoweri Museveni, after the network’s national coordinator, Geoffrey Wokulira Ssebaggala was attacked and arrested by police (Index on Censorship)

UNITED KINGDOM
Former Tory treasurer Peter Cruddas wins libel action over ‘cash for policy’ claims
Former Conservative Party co-treasurer Peter Cruddas has won his libel action over an allegation in the Sunday Times about charging £250,000 to meet David Cameron. (Evening Standard)

UNITED STATES
Verizon order: NSA collecting phone records of millions of Americans daily
Top secret court order requiring Verizon to hand over all call data shows scale of domestic surveillance under Obama.
(The Guardian)

Facebook ‘censorship’ of mastectomy photos angers breast cancer awareness advocates
Revealing photos of men and women displaying mastectomy scars are part of the healing and awareness-raising process for some breast cancer survivors, but the amount of skin on display sometimes triggers Facebook’s nudity censors. (NY Daily News)

Enemedia Watch: Look Who’s Supporting Free Speech Restrictions
Obama’s Department of Justice seeks to criminalize criticism of Islam — a declaration of war on the first amendment. (Jewish Press)

Senator Lindsey Graham tweets about bloggers and free speech
Senator Lindsey Graham seems to have backpedaled on previous statements that insinuated that bloggers may not have the same right to constitutionally protected free speech as journalists. On Wednesday, he tweeted ‘Just to be clear, every blogger is entitled to constitutionally-protected Freedom of Speech.’ (Examiner.com)

Campaign public financing takes away free speech
North Carolina can restore free speech in elections by completely eliminating taxpayer welfare for politicians – better known as public financing of campaigns. (The Fayetteville Observer)

Free expression in the news

05 Jun 13 | In the News

INDEX REPORT
Taking the offensive – defending artistic freedom of expression in the UK

CHINA
China’s government still mute on Tiananmen
On the 24th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests — when Chinese security forces carried out a violent crackdown on protesters occupying the legendary square in Beijing’s centre killing hundreds – Index on Censorship calls on the Chinese government to honour its constitutional commitment to free speech and to allow free access to information about the events. Sara Yasin writes (Index on Censorship)

CANADA
Defamation law applies to online slanders, too
Former Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke’s defamation lawsuit against 18 online commentators who falsely claimed he had an extra-marital affair with, and even fathered a child by, Rogers Sportsnet reporter Hazel Mae, is a gutsy move. (Winnipeg Free Press)

INDIA
Indian broadcasters draw bans for stepping over obscenity lines
Recent decisions by India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting have raised questions about the country’s approach to broadcasting regulation. Mahima Kaul reports. (Index on Censorship)

IRELAND
Indian broadcasters draw bans for stepping over obscenity lines
President Michael D Higgins has warned the International Federation of Journalists’ world congress meeting in Dublin that the risk of censorship can present itself in the form of “monopolies and oligarchy”. (Irish Times)

JORDAN
Jordan urged to end censorship of websites
Activists, journalists and the Muslim Brotherhood have criticised the decision. (Gulf News)

SINGAPORE
‘Free My Internet’ Movement Rises in Singapore
Singapore’s new licensing scheme for news websites announced by the Media Development Authority (MDA) was quickly denounced by many netizens as a censorship measure. (Global Voices)

TUNISIA
In Tunisia, a free speech tussle could land a professor in jail
Last year a Tunisian academic complained that a member of the constitutional drafting committee had watered down free speech protections in the document. (Christian Science Monitor)

TURKEY
Turkish protesters using encryption software to evade censors
Facebook and Twitter reported to have been blocked in run-up to protests, with people turning to VPNs to broadcast content (The Guardian)

UNITED STATES
U.S. Attorney Bill Killian greeted by hostile crowd at Manchester, Tenn., free speech event
U.S. Attorney Bill Killian was greeted with shouts of “traitor,” “serpent,” and calls to “resign” or “go home” Tuesday night at an event aimed at improving relations between local residents and their Muslim neighbors. (Times Free Press)

Free speech protester jailed for distributing flyer at court vows to fight
Mark Schmidter is a free man after spending 104 days in the Orange County Jail. He was convicted late last year of indirect criminal contempt by Chief Judge Belvin Perry for handing out flyers at the Orange County Courthouse in the months leading up to and during the Casey Anthony trial. He says his fight over free speech is not over. (Fox / WOGX.com)

Artist Accuses Pentagon of Censoring Christians
The artist whose inspirational painting was removed from an Air Force dining hall because it violated military standards is accusing the Pentagon of censoring Christian art. (Red State)

Verizon Says Net Neutrality Violates Free Speech and FCC has No Authority to Make Rules
The world is changing for operators of physical communications networks, and a host of regulatory issues are literally “on the docket.” And, while the intricacies of policy-making and legal maneuvering in Washington, D.C. tend to be an insiders’ game, some issues are so impactful on the future of how all of us receive and ultimately pay for services that they command attention. Such is the case with the issue of network neutrality, which goes to the heart of who controls the content that goes on a service providers’ network. (Tech Zone 360)

Balancing free speech and accountability
President Barack Obama promised to run the most “open” and “transparent” administration in history, but his administration has developed a reputation for investigating leaks far more aggressively than even the Bush administration. (World Magazine)

Free speech: The new kryptonite for regulators?
With a fight looming over the future of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, law professor Tim Wu offers an excellent analysis of one of the most significant legal trends to emerge as supposedly conservative jurists – including some on that key appeals court – have embraced a new avenue of judicial activism: allowing corporations to use the First Amendment as a shield against regulation. (Philly.com)

Free expression in the news

04 Jun 13 | In the News

INDEX REPORT
Taking the offensive – defending artistic freedom of expression in the UK

GLOBAL
UN report calls for freedom of expression in post-2015 development
Calling for a transformation in the approach to global development that includes a larger role for freedom of expression, the United Nations’ High Level Panel of Eminent Persons released its Post-2015 Development Agenda report, Milana Knezevic writes. (Index on Censorship)

BAHRAIN
Bahrain court jails three protesters
A Bahrain court on Monday jailed three protesters for up to 15 years on charges including attempting to kill a policeman and taking part in anti-government demonstrations, a lawyer said. (AhramOnline)

CANADA
CJFE disturbed by arrest of Toronto Star reporter
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) is concerned about the arrest and treatment of Toronto Star journalist Alex Consiglio, charged with trespassing for taking photos on June 2 of an injured GO Transit officer at Union Station in Toronto. (Press Release)

CHINA
7 things you can’t talk about in China
They’re like George Carlin’s seven dirty words, except it’s not the FCC who’s banning them, but the Communist Party of China. (Global Post)

JORDAN
Jordan blocks over 200 ‘unlicensed’ websites
The Jordanian government began blocking over 200 websites on Sunday for failing to obtain licenses under a strict set of new guidelines, Ruth Michaelson reports. (Index on Censorship)

MALAYSIA
‘Tanda Putera’: Let the public decide, say legal activists
Show the movie Tanda Putera and let the public decide – as to do otherwise would amount to stifling freedom of speech, say legal activists. (The Sun)

MIDDLE EAST
Freedom of Expression: The Second Arab Battle
Syria and the uprisings in Bahrain and other countries represent one of the two important battles underway in the Arab world, whose outcomes will largely determine the future shape of Arab political systems. The second battle is not about who rules in a country, but rather about the right of a citizen to express him or herself. (Cairo Review of Global Affairs)

RUSSIA
Shutting down Russia’s LGBT community
Elena Vlasenko reports on the continuing official campaign against lesbians and gays. (Index on Censorship)

SINGAPORE
Singapore’s new website licensing seen as censorship
The Government in Singapore has introduced new rules meaning popular news websites have to apply for a licence if they want to keep operating. (ABC/Radio Australia)

TAIWAN
Taiwan backs off plan to block sites violating copyright laws
Taiwan’s authorities in charge of intellectual property protection have decided to give up a plan to block overseas Internet services that violate copyright laws amid opposition to the plan from free-speech advocates.
(Focus Taiwan)

TURKEY
Turkey losing its way on free speech
The protests erupting across Turkey have shown a wider audience – domestic and international – the increasingly problematic nature of Turkish democracy, and its growing authoritarian tendencies. Index on Censorship CEO Kirsty Hughes writes (Index on Censorship)

“There is now a menace called Twitter”
Against a backdrop of unrest that started in an Istanbul park last week and has spread throughout the country, Ece Temelkuran asks why the Turkish government is afraid of the internet (Index on Censorship)

Turkey protests: Union to start two-day strike
One of Turkey’s big trade union groups is staging a two-day strike to support continuing anti-government protests in a number of cities. (BBC News)

UKRAINE
Ukraine holds first gay pride parade amidst intolerance and suppression
Ukraine successfully held the country’s first ever gay pride parade, but the level of intimidation faced by the LGBT community is growing. Andrew Connelly reports from Kiev (Index on Censorship)

UNITED STATES
AFDI to Protest Justice Department’s Attempt to Criminalize Criticism of Islam
The human rights organization American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) is holding a demonstration for free speech in Tennessee, at the site of a Justice Department initiative advising the application of civil rights laws to shut down criticism of Islam. (Press Release)

Christian Group Believes Atheists Have Right to Post Monument at Fla. Courthouse
A member of a Christian organization that posted a Decalogue outside a Florida courthouse said an atheist group posting a monument in the same location has the right to do so. (The Christian Post)

Terminated employee’s free speech case appealed to U.S. Supreme Court
An attorney monitoring a First Amendment case from Ohio being appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court says it could set a precedent for religious freedom in the United States.
(One News Now)

The United States vs. Freedom of Speech
The criminalization of journalists in the United States is not a new occurrence, but the overt and veiled threats to reporters and their sources is becoming less of a rarity. (Huffington Post)

Pitching a Tent Is Free Speech, Says ACLU
The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio has filed a lawsuit against the City of Columbus on behalf of the local Occupy Wall Street group. The complaint, filed on May 30 in U.S. District Court, claimed that placing a tent or other structure that “is not easily movable” in a public space qualifies as free speech protected by the First Amendment and the state constitution.
(National Review)

U.S. Attorney says Muslim tolerance event will discuss free speech rights
An event federal prosecutors and the FBI are planning Tuesday to discuss the enforcement of civil rights laws to protect Muslims will also focus on what kinds of speech are guaranteed by the First Amendment, U.S. Attorney Bill Killian said in a statement Monday.
(Politico)

The Distasteful Side of Social Media Puts Advertisers on Their Guard
As social media sites pursue advertising in a bid for new revenue, they are finding that they must simultaneously create a safe space for the advertisers they attract.
(The New York Times)

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