Index on Censorship » social networking

UK: Teenager denies making ‘grossly offensive’ comments on Facebook

Alice Purkiss — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 13:58:30 +0000

The teenager accused of making “grossly offensive” comments about the deaths of six British soldiers in Afghanistan has denied charges against him. Azhar Ahmed, of West Yorkshire, appeared before Dewsbury Magistrates’ Court today. Ahmed is charged under the Communications Act 2003 after allegedly posting a message on Facebook earlier this month commenting on the relative coverage of British soldiers killed in a bomb blast in Afghanistan and the deaths of Afghan civilians. The teen also faced a racially-aggravated public order charge, but this was withdrawn before the court today. Ahmed will will stand trial at Huddersfield Magistrates’ Court on 3 July.

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Saudi journalist facing the death penalty for his tweets reportedly to be released

Alice Purkiss — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 15:02:25 +0000

A Saudi journalist facing the death penalty for a series of tweets deemed to be blasphemous is reportedly to be released. Hamza Kashgari, who fled his own country after tweeting a conversation between himself and the prophet Mohammed which sparked calls for his death, is expected to be released in the coming weeks to face a “light sentence”. Kashgari hoped to secure political asylum in New Zealand but was arrested in Kuala Lumpur while in transit, and sent back to Saudi Arabia.

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China: More Internet regulation planned

Marta Cooper — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 11:50:48 +0000

The Chinese government plans to continue censoring social networking sites, the the Communist Party and State Council has said regarding China’s 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) on Cultural Reform and Development. The outline said the Chinese government will increase regulation of domestic social networks such as RenRen and microblogging platforms, as well as cracking down on online distribution of pornography. There will also be an increased focus on protecting private information online and improving the country’s system to assess online security, according to the outline.

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South Korea : Review of social media boosted

Alice Purkiss — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 17:38:05 +0000

Plans to intensify South Korea’s review of web content, including social networking sites and mobile phone applications have been released. The review, which aims to combat a surge in “illegal and harmful” information online, has been underway since 2008, but the Korea Communications Standards Commission’s latest plans to reshuffle departments will make way for a review team that will oversee new media content. Social media users and civic groups believe the new plans constitute a clamp down on freedom of expression.

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