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Free expression in the news

INDEX MAGAZINE
Index magazine: The Multipolar Challenge to Free Expression
Coming up in the next issue of Index on Censorship magazine, out Monday, is a special report on the shifting world power balance and the implications for freedom of expression.
(Index on Censorship)

BELARUS
Freedom of Expression in 2013: What Would Thomas Jefferson Do?
In 1787, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”
(German Marshall Fund

BRAZIL
Demonstrators move Brazil’s lethargic politicians to action
Brazil’s mass protests represent a new force in the country’s politics. The wave of demonstrations —sparked by increasing transit fares — have shaken the country’s lethargic leaders, Rafael Spuldar reports
(Index on Censorship)

CHINA
Why China’s Internet Censors Can’t Get Enough of Edward Snowden
These are good days for China. Not so much for the United States — or Sino-American relations.
(World Crunch)

China censorship makes U.S. press freedom shine
Back in the late 1980s a purchaser of the English version of the China Daily, an approved Chinese newspaper, eventually would become baffled. It had a status among some foreigners as a glimpse of daily life among 1.5 billion Chinese citizens. What was amazing about it was the absence of any mention of bad news in its pages. There were no reports of divorces, frauds, robberies, rapes, crashes, murders, executions, the usual grist of some local newspapers in the States. It did, however, contain the recent scores of the Cubs.
(Illinois Times)

EUROPEAN UNION
Index on Censorship calls on the EU to protect whistleblowers’ right to freedom of expression
Following reports that some European countries have prevented a plane carrying the Bolivian President Evo Morales into their airspace, Index on Censorship calls on EU members to honour their commitments to freedom of expression.
(Index on Censorship)

IRELAND
Former Army ranger sues ‘Sunday World’
Seamus Griffin claims newspaper defamed him by suggesting he was involved in illegal purchase of arms and that he trained Seychelles police to become assassins
(Irish Times)

GLOBAL
Defending a free and open internet
In just the last decade, broadband Internet revolutionized every form of communication for 2.5 billion people across the globe. The transition from clunky 20th century technologies like landlines, fax machines and the printing press to mobile computing and e-commerce produced explosive economic growth, new frontiers in health and education and unlimited ways for people to connect, share and express themselves.
(Al Arabiya)

55 Charts That Prove Governments Are Increasingly Censoring Your Internet
Since 2009, Google has been lauded for publishing “transparency reports” on government requests to take information offline. Each time a government official asks for a search result to be blocked or a YouTube video to be removed, Google marks down the request and discloses the number of such takedowns each nation has asked for every six months or so.
(Huffington Post)

UNITED KINGDOM
Stormont must give us a libel law fit for modern age
MLAs will today be told that reform of Northern Ireland’s outdated law is needed or else the province will lose out on investment, writes Mike Harris
(Index on Censorship)

Shepreth village newsletter ‘freedom of speech’ row
A row has broken out over a village newsletter after a council said it wanted to check letters and emails from the public before they were published.
(BBC)

UNITED STATES
WE’RE PROTESTING TO RESTORE THE FOURTH AMENDMENT
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated…” JOIN A PROTEST IN YOUR AREA JULY 4TH
(Restore the Fourth)

McCain Slams Efforts To Curb Rampant Campus Sexual Harassment As Violating Free Speech
Over the past month, conservatives and libertarians have criticized efforts to curb sexual harassment on college campuses as “de-eroticizing universities” and claimed they violate free speech. Now, Sen. John McCain has jumped on the bandwagon in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder.
(Think Progress)

EU trade talks expected, despite spying allegations
The European Union confirmed Tuesday that free-trade negotiations with the United States would kick off as planned next week, despite widespread concerns about alleged US eavesdropping that targeted EU diplomats.
(Boston Globe)

Free expression in the news

03 Jul 13 | In the News

AUSTRALIA
Police Monitor Vagina Art Exhibition, Make Censorship Suggestions
Police in Sydney, Australia, repeatedly turned up at an art exhibition titled “101 Vagina” to make censorship suggestions to photographer Philip Werner.
(Opposing Views)

BAHRAIN
The cost of tweeting in Bahrain
A Bahraini teenager has been given jail time for a tweet. Sara Yasin looks at how the country has pursued users of the popular social networking site
(Index on Censorship)

BRAZIL
Protesters give president a tenuous truce, as she says their voices are being heard
Cristiano Gulias took a deep drag from his mini-cigar and did the unthinkable — he started a political discussion in a coffee shop the morning after Brazil’s national soccer team won a major championship, rather than a debate on the team’s performance.
(Washington Post)

GHANA
Three Persons Has Been Cited For Contempt Over Scandalizing Supreme Court
Well, taking on the Supreme Court of Ghana has landed some disgruntled political pugilists in the dock. In something of a legal novelty, these persons have been cited for contempt by “scandalizing the Court after publicly criticizing and bringing into disrepute the Supreme Court Judges and their decisions”.
(Vibe Ghana)

Free Speech, Cheap Or Can Be Expensive?
Freedom of speech is said to be political freedom or right to express one’s thought or opinion. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Right and International Human Right Law recognise this right.
(Spy Ghana)

GREECE
Far-right publishing in Greece: Stories that ‘teach’ people a lesson
Taking their cue from the neo-nazi Golden Dawn, Greece’s far-right newspapers have recently been targeting alternative opinions. While hardly breaking news, the language and symbolism of the campaign is of vital importance because it represents just the tip of the iceberg, Christos Syllas writes
(Index on Censorship)

IRAN
Iran’s president signals softer line on web censorship and Islamic dress code
Newly elected Hassan Rouhani, an opponent of segregation by gender, says Iranians’ freedoms and rights have been ignored
(The Guardian)

PHILIPPINES
Solons to de-criminalize libel in cybercrime law
Two senators are moving to delete certain provisions of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, which was signed into law by President Aquino in September last year but its implementation was deferred by the Supreme Court on the strength of a temporary restraining order.
(Manila Standard Today)

TUNISIA
Rapper Weld El 15 walks free
Tunisian rapper Weld El 15 (real name Alaa Yaacoubi) walked free from Tunis’s Court of Appeal today after his jail sentence for “insulting” police was reduced from two years to a six month suspended sentence, Padraig Reidy writes
(Index on Censorship)

Defamation Reform – New Law For A New Era?
The Defamation Act 2013 (“the Act”) received Royal Assent last month – it has not yet come into force, but is expected to do so soon. The Act has been long in the making and provoked much debate among practitioners, but in essence it is designed to modernise the law of defamation and also make it fit for purpose in the digital age. We shall examine how this is to happen by describing some of the major changes the Act will introduce.
(Mondaq)

Are Islam and Islamists taking over Britain?
Lee Rigby was a British soldier who was attacked, murdered, butchered and beheaded in broad daylight on a busy street near his barracks in London last month. He was attacked, murdered, butchered and beheaded by Islamists acting in the name of Islam.
(American Thinker)

UNITED STATES
Tennessee to appeal Occupy Nashville free speech ruling
Since when is free speech controversial? In the article “Director of Jihad Watch blog stirs controversy” (June 30) the largely one-sided article distorts a reality that is pretty clear to everyone not infected by an increasingly corrupt press.
(Times Free Press)

Free speech at stake as scandals break
Over the course of the past few months there has been cause for growing concern as we have learned about the Administration apparently violating law abiding citizens’ right to free speech and assembly.
(Chillicothe Gazette)

Daily Mail’s Martosko Cleared of Libel Claim
In mid-March, Mother Jones jabbed then-Daily Caller‘s Executive Editor and current Daily Mail U.S. Political Editor David Martosko with news of a libel lawsuit. Well, today the good folks over at MJ can read the following ruling and weep as the case has been dismissed by a unanimous 5-0 ruling in New York.
(Fishbowl DC)

North Carolina’s Anti-Sharia Bill is Now Also Anti-Abortion
The North Carolina Senate is not only considering an anti-Sharia (or Islamic law) bill passed in the state’s House earlier this year, they’ve tricked it out with a whole new issue. House Bill 695, which began as a cookie-cutter ban on the use of foreign law in family law and custody cases, now would implement several restrictions on abortion services in the state.
(The Atlantic)

Next Issue: Not Heard? Ignored, suppressed and censored voices

01 Jul 13 | Uncategorized

290-magazine-AUTUMN-2013-IssueCover-v5_3

The upcoming autumn issue of Index on Censorship magazine brings together articles from writers including Amartya Sen, Philip Pullman, Jonathan Dimbleby and Peter Kellner, and covers India, China, Brazil, South Africa, Honduras, Colombia, Afghanistan and Mali. Under discussion are development and free speech; ignored voices; digital media; reporters under fire in South America. Get the upcoming issue of Index on Censorship magazine, due to be published on 20 September, by subscribing here or downloading the iPad app.

A report from China is one of many which looks at groups of people around the world who are ignored, censored or supressed by their governments, and whose voices are not heard or are ignored:

As millions of people move from the countryside to Chinese cities they end up as “invisible members of society”. The article by Jemimah Steinfeld and Hannah Leung looks at the use of hukou, a household registration document, to control society, but also to keep rural migrants as second class citizens, who have little access to state benefits and education as well as poorly paid jobs. Most are afraid to criticise the system because of their status.

Hukou are registered to the place where they are born, restricting those rights if anyone choosing to move around the country. Shanghai, for instance, now has 10 million residents who have moved from the country, and cannot access the same services as official residents.

Also in the upcoming issue:

Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen writes on democracy, the media and free speech

Philip Pullman on copyright and why authors need to get paid

Reports on violent attacks against journalists in Honduras and Colombia

Click here to subscribe, or download the app here

Free expression in the news

28 Jun 13 | In the News

INDEX POLICY PAPER
Is the EU heading in the right direction on digital freedom?
While in principle the EU supports freedom of expression, it has often put more emphasis on digital competitiveness and has been slow to prioritise and protect digital freedom, Brian Pellot, digital policy advisor at Index on Censorship writes in this policy paper
(Index on Censorship)

BRAZIL
Brazil protesters: Is common ground really necessary?
The bus fare hikes that sparked widespread Brazilian protests have been reversed, but protests continue. Can they last?
(The Christian Science Monitor)

BURMA
Burma censors Time Magazine for coverage of radical Buddhists
Reporters Without Borders condemns the decision by Burmese magazine distributor Inwa Publications not to sell Time Magazine’s July issue, which has cover story about the Burmese Buddhist monk Ashin Wirathu headlined “The Face of Buddhist Terror.”
(Thailand Business News)

CHINA
Rethinking the Firewall as a One-Way Mirror
Maybe he should be known for hanging China’s One-Way Mirror instead constructing its Great Firewall. That’s the message Chinese Internet users are sending as the nation’s best-known censorship engineer, Fang Binxing, said he was retiring. Known as the father of China’s Great Firewall for helping develop tools that keep Internet users in the country from surfing websites available elsewhere, Mr. Fang is facing a fresh line of criticism in the wake of allegations by former U.S. defense contractor Edward Snowden that American intelligence agencies regularly compromised Chinese servers.
(Wall Street Journal)

CANADA
Bill to end ‘hate speech’ portion of human rights law gets mixed reviews but Senate approval
A contentious section of Canadian human rights law, long criticized by free-speech advocates as overly restrictive and tantamount to censorship, is gone for good.
(The Province)

EUROPEAN UNION
Post-Prism leaks, where does the EU stand on digital freedom?
The EU needs to develop a coherent and comprehensive digital freedom strategy. Brian Pellot writes
(Index on Censorship)

HUNGARY
Can free expression survive in Hungary?
Funding has been removed from projects not deemed to be in keeping with the official view of Hungarian culture.
(New Statesman)

SUDAN
Sudanese journalist targeted for allegedly insulting the military
When three journalists were invited to accompany a military official to a town supposedly recaptured from rebels, they did not expect to end up caught in crossfire. One journalist is being targeted after an anonymous and more honest account of the incident appeared online. Reem Abbas reports
(Index on Censorship)

TUNISIA
Tunisian court sets free Femen activists
Three European women who were sentenced to four months in jail for staging a topless protest in support of a detained Tunisian Femen activist have arrived in Paris after being freed a day earlier by a Tunisian court, French media has reported.
(France 24)

TURKEY
Angela Merkel warns Turkey European democratic values ‘non-negotiable’ for EU entry
GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel said she welcomed an agreement to reopen talks with Turkey about joining the European Union but warned in the light of the crackdown on Turkish anti-government protests that democratic values were non-negotiable.
(Irish Independent)

Turkey heads for Twitter showdown after anti-government protests
The Turkish government is heading towards a showdown with Twitter after asking it to set up a “representative office” inside the country. The move could presage censorship of the microblogging service it has accused of helping stir weeks of anti-administration protests.
(The Guardian)

UNITED KINGDOM
British media ‘may leave Belfast over province’s refusal to change libel laws’
British media groups may pull out of Northern Ireland because the province is refusing to implement changes to antiquated libel laws, the House of Lords has been warned.
(The Daily Mail)

Wealthy are gagging the media: Nesbitt
The UUP leader and a retired part-time judge yesterday told MLAs that the wealthy and powerful are using the current libel laws in an attempt to “control” the media.
(News Letter)

Libel lawyer: I did not lobby DUP to block bill
Belfast’s most prominent libel lawyer has said that he did not lobby DUP Finance Minister Sammy Wilson to block British libel reforms extending to Northern Ireland.
(News Letter)

Free Speech or Hate Speech? Britain Bans U.S. Anti-Muslim Bloggers
A British decision to bar a visit by two prominent American anti-Islam activists has prompted righteous indignation from the targets of the ban as well as a more measured debate about the limits of free speech.
(The New York Times)

Free Speech Dies in UK: Robert Spencer, Pamela Geller Banned from Entering
“U.S. Bloggers banned from Entering the UK.” That’s how a BBC headline broke the news that authors Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer were denied entry to the country that gave the world the Magna Carta.
(PJ Media)

UNITED STATES
Kickstarter’s Choice: How free should speech be on the web?
“No problem. I don’t want you to do anything you aren’t comfortable with.” Memorize that line. It is your go-to when faced with resistance. Say it genuinely, without presumption. All master seducers are also masters at making women feel comfortable. You’ll be no different. If a woman isn’t comfortable, take a break and try again later.”
(The New Yorker)

Another ‘Free Speaker’ Jailed for Views
Speaking one’s mind in American police state becoming an increasingly dangerous proposition
(American Free Press)

Virginia-based appeals court reinstates NC dietary advice blogger’s free-speech lawsuit
A federal appeals court has reinstated a North Carolina blogger’s lawsuit claiming state officials violated his free-speech rights. The North Carolina Board of Dietetics/Nutrition last year told Stanley resident Steve Cooksey to take down or modify parts of his website offering dietary advice to fellow diabetics. The board said it had received a complaint that Cooksey was operating as a dietician without a state license.
(The Washington Post)

For Censoring Websites, the Muzzle Award Goes to Rhode Island Public Schools
Over the past two decades, the Internet has become a crucial tool in public education, opening schoolchildren to the broader world. Yet concerns about sex, violence, and other inappropriate content has led many school districts to impose draconian restrictions limiting kids’ access to even the most innocuous material.
(WGBH Boston)

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