Index on Censorship is appalled at the reports of alleged US mass surveillance programmes sweeping up data from internet and communications firms.
‘Mass surveillance is never justified’
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CATEGORY: Americas
Manning Wikileaks trial begins today
The trial of Bradley Manning, the US Army private who leaked thousands of documents to Wikileaks, is set to begin today at the Fort Meade military base, Maryland.
Brazilian court gags protester in latest social media ruling
A judge from the Brazilian state of São Paulo has barred a protester from an allegedly illegal construction site or even posting about it on Facebook. It’s the latest in a string of rulings targeting social media in the country. Rafael Spuldar reports
Groups call US Justice Department actions ‘appalling’
A group of organisations sent a letter to US Attorney General Eric Holder demanding a full and transparent report on the Department of Justice’s secret investigations into journalists and whistleblowers.
Brazil’s Federal Police seize journalist’s equipment
Brazil’s Federal Police seized a journalist’s equipment – including his computer – during an operation to remove indians from a farm in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. The seizure was decried as illegal by the reporter’s employer, one of the country’s most prominent aid agencies aimed at indigenous peoples, Rafael Spuldar reports.
AP president urges Obama to ‘rein in out-of-control’ investigation
Speaking for the first time since the Associated Press announced that the United States Department of Justice had seized two months of phone records, Gary Pruitt, president of the AP, said in an interview that the Obama administration should “rein in that out-of-control investigation.”
In Mexico drug gangs target local journalists
Journalists in Mexico’s border area with the United States face huge pressures from drug gangs in reporting on violence, Ana Arana reports.
Brazil loves football, but Atlético Paranaense doesn’t have the hots for the press
Brazil loves football – and it loves the game so much it’s hosting next year’s World Cup finals. But a huge number of fans from the state of Paraná are having a very hard time following their team this year because of media restrictions imposed by directors of the local club, Rafael Spuldar reports.
The press and the maiden
In Argentina, media organizations take sides: for or against the government. Graciela Mochkofsky tells the story behind the turf war between President Fernández de Kirchner and Grupo Clarín.
New law set to ease the way for biographies in Brazil
The Brazilian Congress is considering draft legislation to ease the publication of biographies without prior authorization from the subject, but the move is not without opposition, Rafael Spuldar reports.