If enacted, the online harms white paper on internet regulation would make China’s state censors proud, say representatives from six civil liberties organisations. Read the full article
Mimi Mefo is the 2019 Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards Journalism Fellow
Fundación Karisma is the 2019 Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards Digital Activism Fellow
Cartoonists Rights Network International is the 2019 Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards Campaigning Fellow
Artist Zehra Doğan is the 2019 Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards Arts Fellow
As Egypt’s President el-Sisi and President Trump meet in Washington, all charges and sanctions against Amal Fathy, detained for speaking out against sexual harassment in Egypt, must be dropped.
Combine a legal duty of care with very large fines and personal criminal responsibility for senior managers, and you get a strong incentive for online platforms to remove lots of content.
The vast majority of senior local news journalists are concerned they do not have the resources to hold power to account in the way they once did, a new survey by the Society of Editors and Index on Censorship has revealed. Read the full article
On March 30, 2019, a Lebanese military court ruled that homosexuality is not a crimeand refused to prosecute four individuals accused of the ‘crime’. This landmark decision is the first case of a military court refusing to equate homosexuality with...
“It’s very important that when you propose laws that will affect people on a very large scale, that it needs to be based on evidence and a thoughtful, careful approach because you can do a huge amount of damage,” Hyvarinen said.
While we recognise the government’s desire to tackle unlawful content online, the proposals mooted in the white paper – including a new duty of care on social media platforms, a regulatory body, and even the fining and banning of social media platforms as a sanction – pose serious risks to freedom of expression online.
“The government is under public pressure to be seen to be doing something about this problem,” Hyvarinen said.