Software engineer and open-source advocate Bassel Khartabil spent his second birthday in prison yesterday. Index calls on the Syrian government to release Khartabil.
• Bassel’s second birthday in prison
CATEGORY: Digital Freedom
Stockholm Internet Forum: Balancing rights and security
Does surveillance and monitoring chill free expression? Is population-wide mass surveillance always a bad idea? Amongst many questions and debates at today’s Stockholm Internet Forum, the answers to these two questions are surely obvious – yes to both, writes Index on Censorship CEO Kirsty Hughes from Sweden.
Today is Bassel’s second birthday in prison
Software engineer and open-source advocate Bassel Khartabil will spend his second birthday in prison today. On his birthday and the 799th day of Syria’s conflict, Index calls on the Syrian government to release Khartabil. We’ve asked friends of Bassel from around the world to share their birthday messages to him with us.
India’s plan to monitor web raises concerns over privacy
The Indian government has been implementing a system to track and access calls, texts and online activities. Mahima Kaul reports from Delhi that the Central Monitoring System will be used by tax authorities and India’s National Investigation Authority to fight terror-related crimes. But digital freedom activists are worried.
Azerbaijan extends libel law to web speech
Index on Censorship and partner organizations have strongly condemned moves by Azerbaijan’s government on Tuesday to criminalise online slander and abuse in the run-up to the country’s October Presidential election.
Digital freedom, internet governance on agenda at two key meetings
Two key meetings being held in Geneva this week are exploring digital expression and internet governance, Brian Pellot writes.
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...
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.
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
