Index on Censorship sent the following letter to Dalia Grybauskaitė, President of the Republic of Lithuania, and Herman van Rompuy, President of the European Council: I am writing to you on behalf of 40 non-governmental organizations (listed below)...
CATEGORY: Campaigns

Facebook video policy attempts to ‘draw the line’ on free speech
The question anyone who defends free speech gets asked most frequently is “Where do you draw the line?” The announcement by Facebook today that it will allow users to post videos of beheadings is bound to raise that question, Padraig Reidy writes

Surveillance critic barred from US
Author Ilija Trojanow, a driving force behind an anti-surveillance campaign, was travelling to the US for a conference on German literature. That was his plan, anyway. At an airport in Brazil, he was told his entry to the US had been denied. No explanation was provided then, and none has been provided since, Milana Knezevic writes

Pakistan’s gay website ban reflects bigotry
Pakistan’s move to ban access to a gay website reflects the conservative society’s inability to accept a “larger world view”, activists say, Zofeen Ebrahim writes

Committee to Protect Journalists report gauges the press freedom crisis
It’s nearly impossible to gauge the full impact of harassment of the press. How do you measure the stories that go untold because a journalist felt intimidated? How do you quantify the corruption that won’t be exposed because sources are afraid to talk? When the impact of threats is silence there’s no way to assess what we’re missing, Josh Stearns of Free Press writes

European ruling spells trouble for online comment
A judgment against an Estonian website could severely affect web hosts and commenters, Padraig Reidy reports

Obama and Harper — Modes of Support for Fossil Fuel Development
The collision between climate science and energy politics, and threats to freedom of communication, are playing out differently in the United States and Canada, Rick Piltz, founder and director of Climate Science Watch, writes
Index on Censorship calls for new transparent discussions on press regulation
In response to reports that the UK newspaper industry’s Royal Charter proposal will be rejected tomorrow, Index on Censorship Chief Executive Kirsty Hughes said today: Unconfirmed reports that the Privy Council will reject the newspaper industry’s...

Proposed app ban sparks outrage in Pakistan
Sindh province announced last week it would ban mobile messaging apps like Viber, Whatsapp and Skype for three months. Zofeen T. Ebrahim investigates the fallout

Social media becomes the scapegoat in India
The regulation of social media in India has been a subject of great controversy, Mahima Kaul writes
Petitions, letters, and press releases from Index on Censorship