Two key meetings being held in Geneva this week are exploring digital expression and internet governance, Brian Pellot writes.
Digital freedom, internet governance on agenda at two key meetings
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CATEGORY: Campaigns
Internet outage in Syria
Syria appears to be cut off from internet access, according to reports from web monitoring groups. Google's transparency report shows that access to its services has been cut off in the country since 22:00 local time on Tuesday. Similarly, web...
The Queen’s speech and free speech
Padraig Reidy: The Queen’s speech and free speech
Google asks DC to explore free speech in digital age
Google’s Big Tent pitched up in Washington, DC, last Friday to challenge and debate the place of free expression in the digital age. Brian Pellot reports.
UN report on the right to artistic expression and creation
The 25-page report is now available in all UN languages. “This is the first time such a comprehensive study is carried out. Unfortunately artists all over the world are trapped between political, religious, cultural and economic interests,” said...
Nick Clegg kills Snooper’s Charter – for now
Padraig Reidy: Clegg kills Snooper’s Charter – for now
China’s two main censorship bodies to merge
The Chinese government’s two main bodies of censorship, SARFT (State Administration for Radio, Film, and Television) and GAPP (General Administration for Press and Publications), are to merge and become one super administration. Although some denied the reports, the merge was announced during the 2013 session of China’s parliament, with the motion passed in March. Zhang Jin, deputy editor at technology publisher Popular Science Press, told state news agency Xinhua: Over the last 30 years of the opening up and reform period, both GAPP and SARFT have developed tremendously, but with this development of industry and flourishing of culture, many new problems have risen, for example the lockdown of departments, and individual management by each media type of themselves, and approval […]
Poverty and freedom of expression: How the poor are being silenced
Milana Knezevic: How the poor are being silenced
The big issues for Indian web users
Some of India’s most prominant internet writers, researchers and policy analysts came together in Bangalore on 9 April to discuss “Strengthening Freedom of Expression on the Internet in India”, organised by the Internet Democracy Project. The subject has been intermittently making headlines in India, with a number of politically motivated arrests made under the Information Technology Act’s controversial Section 66a. Causing more confusion, in 2011, the Minister for Communications & Information Technology, Kapil Sibal, made headlines by asking social media intermediaries to take down “objectionable” content. At the time, the content in question seemed to be mainly objectionable to to the government itself. The content in question seemed to be mainly objectionable to the government alone. This caused a huge public uproar, […]
Brazil’s politician pile on pressure to remove “offensive” web content
Brazil has been caught up in a fresh controversy over attempts to curb online criticism of politicians. This time, the main players are tech giant Google and the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house in the country's congress. Brazil is already one...
Petitions, letters, and press releases from Index on Censorship