25 Jul 13 | Volume 42.02 Summer 2013
The media’s infatuation with a single narrative is drowning out the country’s diversity, giving way to sensationalist reporting and “paid for” news. But, says Bharat Bhushan, moves towards regulation could have a chilling effect too (more…)
25 Jul 13 | Volume 42.02 Summer 2013
Writer and artist Htoo Lyin Myo gives his personal account of working under government censorship in Burma
I became familiar with censorship as a boy in the 1990s, when certain pages of the monthly magazines I read were covered with black ink, which censorship officials manually brushed over printed words. The paragraphby- paragraph, line-by-line ink-covered pages made me curious, so I would place them on a lit-up surface in order to have a peek. Indeed, the hidden words covered with ink criticised government economic policy or local businessmen.
But when the ink was changed from black to silver, I could hardly see those hidden words: it was a totally hidden, reflective surface, like metallic camouflage.
Burma’s notorious censorship developed alongside the dictatorship, a government that created the 1962 Printers’ and Publishers’ Registration Act. So censorship is ‘the problem child’ of the dictatorship. Currently, Burma has nine laws that provide for censorship both directly and indirectly, including the Electronic Transactions Law (2004). It carries with it a penalty of up to 15 years’ imprisonment for internet users who receive email messages that are deemed to be detrimental to the security of the state.
From about 2005, browsing the internet became part of my daily routine. Low-speed internet connection, which continues today, made it difficult to access information.
In addition, though, a great number of websites were banned, including the BBC, Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA). At that time, most of my friends who used the internet exchanged proxy website addresses in order to access government-banned websites. Hardly anyone was astonished when, in 2009, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) ranked Burma the worst country in the world to be a blogger.
As the decade went on, I internalised the censorship I experienced in my journalistic career.
FROM INDEX ON CENSORSHIP MAGAZINE
Global view: Who has freedom of expression? | The multipolar challenge to free expression | News in monochrome: Journalism in India
This article appears in the current issue of Index on Censorship, available now. For subscription options and to download the app for your iPhone/iPad, click here.
INDEX EVENTS
18 July New World (Dis)Order: What do Turkey, Russia and Brazil tell us about freedom and rights?
Weekly journals were required to submit samples to the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division (PSRD) of the Ministry of Information before publication. So a full-page translated article about the Dalai Lama was banned. A so-called PR clerk, a post appointed in every publishing house to deal with the PSRD, sent the article back, telling me to ‘substitute’ it with another ‘lighter’ one. This happened on the day of our deadline and the team, like so many others in the media business, had to pull the front page at the last minute.
I experienced censorship, too, when it came to my work as a performance artist. At one of the international performance festivals held in Rangoon, local and international artists were scrutinised by an army of censorship board officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Homeland Affairs, the Ministry of Information and so on. Artists had to queue to be granted permission to perform and officials checked each participant artist’s materials, making sure their chosen colours and ‘ideas’ complied with guidelines to protect the ‘security of the state’. If officials suspected that an artist’s materials might go against the ‘will’ of the state, these materials were prohibited and the artist banned from using them. In addition to jeopardising the security of the state, artwork and materials could be banned on grounds of religion (offending Buddhism, mainly) or for posing a threat to law and order.
If an artwork was deemed to be critical of the state or going against its ‘will’, an artist could be completely rejected and denied permission to exhibit or perform that particular work. In order to avoid including anti-social materials in their art, artists often had to self-censor, imagining a potential ‘justification’ for banning pieces prior to the ‘permission hearing’. In 2008, I took part in a clandestine international performance festival held in a compound in a countryside township an hour outside of Rangoon. The event was moved there after local authorities denied permission for it to take place in a public park in the city.
Visiting foreign artists also had to practise self-censorship. During a workshop in 2009, a renowned Chinese artist originally suggested participants walk down the streets of Rangoon, pointing to the sun with their index fingers. Later, he rejected this performance art idea because, in Burma, the sun, ne in Burmese, implicitly refers to the late dictator Ne Win. The artist said he ‘understood’ why the activity might be refused and decided to withdraw it from the workshop.
Self-censorship evolved in the print media in a superficially different way: if the PSRD was known to reject a certain kind of front-page headline, journalists and editors made changes before submitting them for approval. However, occasionally a newspaper’s once-rejected headline could, with luck, be approved upon its second submission to the censor board, so journalists often kept this in mind when planning headlines.
After the 2010 elections – perhaps as a reaction to widespread accusations that the election was rigged – some subjects covered in the print media, including sport, health and entertainment, did not require censor officials’ approval prior to publication. News stories and articles about politics and religion, however, were still required to be submitted for approval. Leading print media companies seldom faced week-long publication bans for subversive stories on front pages, but journals could be subject to defamation lawsuits – and this law still exists today.
Since September 2011, formerly banned websites VoA, BBC Burmese and RFA have been accessible, as have the websites of some Burmese exiled media outlets like Irrawaddy and Democratic Voice of Burma. The latter are popular among the Burmese middle class because of their critical insight into the military government. With a handful of amnesties for journalists, activists, whistleblowers and bloggers, who had been given sentences of decades-long prison terms, the Burmese media environment has become more relaxed.
Almost overnight it became possible to report on land seizures for state projects like dams or for use by regional military bases, or on workers’ protests against unjust wages and corruption. Yet the silence around taboo subjects has not altogether lifted.
In terms of democracy, Burma is in its infancy. Freedom of speech is not 100 percent guaranteed. And government cronies have their eyes on the print media as a viable market they can control and which will earn them a nice profit. In Burma, the ruling party owns one of the most prominent daily newspapers and crony businessmen own a number of weekly and monthly journals.
The last time I confronted pressure from local authorities was after I joined a temporary art space called 7000 Padauk in March 2013. On the second day of opening, a group of ward-level authorities ordered those wanting to enter the space to formally check in, resulting in a dispute with artists. The ward official insisted it was illegal to use the premises for such events, demanded to know who the owner was, asked for information about planned events, the names of those involved, and so on. I have witnessed firsthand that people on both sides – those who rule and those who are ruled over – still engage in a process of ‘bargaining’. A free space like 7000 Padauk is very much needed at this time of so-called transition for Burma. But when I arrive there, I still look over my shoulder.
©Htoo Lwin Myo
Htoo Lwin Myo is a journalist, translator and artist living and working in Rangoon. His translation of a biography of the Dalai Lama, the first of its kind to be published in Burmese, was published in 2012
24 Jul 13 | Brazil, Politics and Society
A Brazilian sociologist says he was threatened at gunpoint in Rio de Janeiro last week, after he gave a newspaper interview criticising police action in recent popular demonstrations.
Paulo Baía says he left home around seven o’clock last Friday, 19 July, to take a walk in Flamengo Park, when two armed men wearing balaclavas and sunglasses put him into an unmarked car with tinted windows.
“They told me I should give no more interviews like the one I gave today to Globo and that I shouldn’t say anything else ever again about the Military Police because, if I did, it would be the last interview I would give in my life”, Baía told Globo newspaper.
Globo printed Baía’s interview on the same day he was flash kidnapped. In the article, the sociologist from Rio de Janeiro’s Federal University (UFRJ) analysed groups that acted more violently during demonstrations that happened days before at Leblon, a higher-class area in the south side of Rio. He was critical of police action towards protesters.
“Police saw crimes being committed and did nothing. Police’s message was this: now I’m going to beat everybody up”, he told Globo on the interview.
Baía says he was eventually left at Cinelândia, a public square in Rio, 20 minutes after he was kidnapped. He says guns were not pointed at him, but his kidnappers made them visible the entire time.
The sociologist is wary of alleging that his kidnappers are policemen, as he says that they may be imposters attempting to make a case against the military police.
Later on Friday Baía met Rio State attorney general Marfran Vieira, who said that both the Public Ministry and the Civil Police would check images taken by CCTV cameras at Flamengo Park and Cinelândia.
“This was an attempt to shut down an important voice in the political scene and ends up harming the democratic state based on the rule of law”, said Vieira.
Popular demonstrations that started on early June recently became more violent in Rio, where some protesters have targeted journalists and media outlets, and have also vandalised businesses.
24 Jul 13 | News and features, Politics and Society, Turkey
In late June, Baydar, who was reader’s editor at the newspaper, had attempted to use his regular slot in the newspaper to condemn the authorities’ actions during Istanbul’s Gezi Park protests. But the newspaper’s editorial board pulled the column.
Baydar, who took a leave of absence from the newspaper following the decision, went to to write a column in the New York Times headlined In Turkey, Media Bosses Are Undermining Democracy. The column appeared on 19 July. According to Today’s Zaman, Baydar subsequently submitted another column to Sabah, but the article was rejected, and Baydar was fired on 23 July.
In an article for the current edition of Index on Censorship magazine, written before he was fired, Baydar wrote:
In big media outlets, fierce censorship and self-censorship are practised on a daily basis. They are severely crippled in their pursuit of journalism, unable or unwilling to cover corruption and abuse of power or to allow critical voices and dissent to be heard. When it comes to particular topics, such as criticism of the government, corruption or abuse of power, news stories are either filtered or unpublished; direct censorship – the actual blacking out of text – is exercised when material is found to be ‘too sensitive’ for the government’s or newspaper owners’ interests.
You can read the full article for free here
Find out more about Index on Censorship Magazine and subscribe here
24 Jul 13 | News and features, Politics and Society, Yemen
A picture of the journalist, smiling broadly as he left the capital’s Political Security Prison, quickly circulated online following his release, having served half of his five-year prison sentence handed down in January 2011.
Shaye’s reprieve was hailed late on Tuesday “as a victory for common values of media freedom, justice and human rights,” in a statement by Yemeni press freedom organisation, Freedom Foundation, which has campaigned for his release.
The first indications of a possible discharge came in May – after more than 2.5 years in solitary confinement – an order was made by President Hadi for Shaye to be released “soon”. But, it was not the first time a Yemeni president had attempted to free him. Days after being sentenced in 2011, Ali Abdullah Saleh – Yemen’s president of 33 years – issued a pardon for his release. However, due to direct intervention by Barak Obama, Shaye remained in jail. As a result his family were very sceptical that this most recent pledge would be fulfilled.
Ten days after reports of Hadi’s order, a note from Shaye was smuggled out of the prison.
“The only person responsible for kidnapping and detaining me is Obama,” read the letter. “I’m eagerly longing to see my mother and family. Still, I have not forgotten my loyal colleagues and friends. Everything you do for my sake makes my solitary confinement tolerable.”
The holy-month of Ramadan is used annually as a period of amnesty and this week local reports suggested Shaye might be released on the 17th day [July 26] of the religious month of daylight fasting. But similarly, the US has previously stepped in to prevent such pardons in Yemen. In 2004, the release of 28 prisoners during Ramadan was blocked because of ‘objections by the US government.’
Shaye’s eventual release appears to have come as the Freedom Foundation suggested “despite all the American pressures on him [President Hadi] to keep Shaye in prison.” In a recent meeting with local journalists US Ambassador to Yemen, Gerald Feierstein reinforced the US government’s position saying: “Shaye should be kept in prison.”
Shaye was arrested in August 2010 following his outspoken criticism of the Yemeni government and his reporting of a cruise missile attack on a suspected al-Qaeda training camp in al-Majala, southern Yemen, in December 2009 that left 55 dead, including 21 children. After visiting the bomb site and collecting evidence, Shaye reported that the killings were caused by cluster munitions and had been carried out by the United States, not the Yemeni government who claimed responsibility at the time.
In 2010 Shaye was found guilty of assisting al-Qaeda by the Special Criminal Court for Security Affairs, a court seen as illegal by international human rights organisations. He refused to recognise the legitimacy of proceedings, turning down legal representation he was given only a few minutes to defend himself. Shaye was later sentenced in January 2011 to five years in prison for his links to al-Qaeda – Shaye had specialised in reporting on the Yemeni off-shoot Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. His reporting on the al-Majalah bombing was later – after the conclusion of his trial – corroborated by leaked US diplomatic cables.
The conditions of his release as part of his original sentence will be upheld, according to the state news agency [also Shaye’s former employer] Saba News: He will not be allowed to leave the capital, Sana’a for two years.
24 Jul 13 | In the News
INDEX EVENTS
NSA, surveillance, free speech and privacy
Edward Snowden’s leaks about the US’s international mass surveillance programmes has prompted perhaps the definitive debate of our age: How free are we online? Can we ever trust technology with our personal details?
25 July, Time 6.30pm, Free, but RSVP required. Space is limited.
Doughty Street Chambers, WC1N
(More information)
BELARUS
Belarus internet infested with spammers
Almost 30% of all net addresses in Belarus are blocked by anti-spam firms because of the amount of junk mail passing through them, says a report.
(BBC)
CANADA
Threats against lesbian couple aren’t a free speech issue. They’re a crime
A lesbian couple in Kingston, Ontario, has been on the receiving end of a couple of appalling, hateful letters, which are also certainly against the law.
(National Post)
CHINA
Chinese censorship will fail to hide Shenhua’s ruthless water grab
A Greenpeace East Asia investigation exposing how a Chinese state-run coal company is overexploiting water resources and illegally discharging toxic wastewater has made global headlines today.
(Greenpeace)
INDIA
India moves toward media regulation
As talk in India turns to media plurality and regulation, attention is turning to murky ownership structures and monopolistic practices. But some see the government’s moves as attempts to muzzle the press.
(Index on Censorship)
CJI criticises media excesses, but bats for ‘self-regulation’
Less than a week after taking over as head of the apex judiciary, Chief Justice of India P. Sathasivam plunged straight into key debates on the changing nature of the Indian media and the policy framework that should govern it. In a speech here on Tuesday, the CJI, while praising the media, also pointed to its excesses but favoured ‘self-regulation.’
(The Hindu)
RUSSIA
What Russia blocked in May
The Russian authorities came out with two new categories of website to be banned in May: on manufacturing explosive devices and bribery. If the first is the reaction of the authorities to the Boston bombings, the latter reflects major social problems of the society in Russia.
(Index on Censorship)
TUNISIA
Tunisia PM: Tamarod is danger to democratic process
Tunisia’s Tamarod movement, which has called for the dissolution of the National Constituent Assembly, is endangering the country’s democratic process, Islamist Prime Minister Ali Larayedh said on Monday.
(Middle East Online)
TURKEY
Turkey’s main opposition leader lambastes PM over media freedom
Turkey’s main opposition leader accused Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday of cowing local media into self-censorship after a journalist group said dozens of reporters were fired for their coverage of anti-government protests.
(Reuters)
UNITED KINGDOM
David Cameron’s online porn ban unravels amid debate over internet censorship
David Cameron is facing serious questions over how his plan for automatic internet “porn filters” in every British home would work – after he suggested that topless images such as those used on the Sun’s page three would be still be accessible online.
(Belfast Telegraph)
Author Marcus Hearn reveals censorship issues in his book The Bamforth Collection: Saucy Postcards
They have delighted millions in Britain’s seaside resorts over the years. But the cheeky cartoon postcards produced in Holmfirth also fell foul of the censorship laws. So much so that no less a figure than author George Orwell was involved in a campaign against them.
(The Huddersfield Daily Examiner)
UNITED STATES
East Bay commission tries to quell ‘hate speech’ directed at gays
Prompted by a series of controversies and ugly episodes at City Council meetings swirling around the local gay community and its critics, the city’s Human Rights and Human Relations Commission explored the line between free speech and hate speech late Monday.
(Mercury News)
#RushforSubway: Citizens show support for Limbaugh, free speech, and sandwiches
Mmm, freedom. Tastes like … sandwiches! While bitter #StopRush bullies and their doofus pals freak out over Subway having the gall to advertise on Rush Limbaugh’s radio show, hungry Dittoheads and free speech proponents are rushing out to show their support for the sandwich purveyor
(Twitchy)
Banned from campus over ‘Hot for Teacher’ essay, college student loses free speech suit
A federal judge in Michigan has dismissed a free-speech suit filed by an Oakland University student who was banned from campus for several semesters after writing an essay about his attraction to his creative writing instructor.
(ABA Journal)
Previous Free Expression in the News posts
July 23 | July 22 | July 19 | July 18 | July 17 | July 16 | July 15 | July 12 | July 11 | July 10 | July 9 | July 8 | July 5
23 Jul 13 | Russia
The Russian authorities came out with two new categories of website to be banned in May: on manufacturing explosive devices and bribery. If the first is the reaction of the authorities to the Boston bombings, the latter reflects major social problems of the society in Russia.
The Russian authorities came out with two new categories of website to be banned in May: on manufacturing explosive devices and bribery. If the first is the reaction of the authorities to the Boston bombings, the latter reflects major social problems of the society in Russia. Andrei Soldatov
Extremism
Sverdlovsk prosecutor demands restrictions on Islamist site
On 27 May the Sverdlovsk regional prosecutor reported that the Prigorodny district prosecutor had filed a claim against the local branch of the ISP Rostelecom demanding that a website containing Hizb ut-Tahrir materials be blocked.
Prosecutor blocks racial hatred websites
On 28 May it was reported that Ykhta city prosecutor had filed a lawsuit against the four largest ISPs in the region – GSP, Maxim, Rostelecom, and SeverTransTeleCom – demanding that they limit access to three sites containing material intended to incite violence or racial or religious hatred. The court granted the request.
Khabarovsk court bars anti-semitic film
At the end of May it became known that the Kirov district prosecutor of Khabarovsk had filed a claim in the central district court against the ISP TransTelecom-DV, requesting restrictions on access to the website www.u-tube.ru for posting the anti-semitic video The Eternal Jew. The video is included on the Federal List of Extremist Materials. The court granted the prosecutor’s request.
Samara prosecutor demands restrictions on Hizb ut-Tahrir
On 30 May the Samara regional prosecutor reported that the Samara city prosecutor had filed 26 writs against local ISPs with the Oktyabrsky district federal court, demanding two Hizb ut-Tahrir sites be blocked.
Action against Mein Kampf and other Nazi materials
On 21 May the Yoshkar-Ola city court upheld the demands of the republican prosecutor that access be limited to a website containing extremist material. The ISP Mobilnye TeleSystemy was ordered to block the website that published Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler and the anti-semitic tract Desionizatsiya by Valerie Emelyanov, as well as the video The Eternal Jew and leaflets of the second world war produced by the German army, the pro-Nazi Russian Liberation Army and Ukrainian Liberation Army and various other Nazi units. All of these materials are legally recognised as extremist.
Kurgan moves against terrorist propaganda
On 22 May the Kurgan regional prosecutor reported that the Belozersky district prosecutor had filed a court claim against the local branch of the ISP Rostelecom seeking to limit access to a website featuring publications on the Federal List of Extremist Materials. The material included calls to terrorist activity and documents designed to incite hatred. The court granted the request of the prosecutor. The decision has entered into force.
Ulyanovsk court orders ISPs to block racist sites
On 22 May it was reported that Barishsky district prosecutor in the Ulyanovsk region had started legal action against the regional branch of the ISP Rostelecom, demanding restrictions on access to several sites. The prosecutor identified the publicly accessible websitescircassia.forumieren.de, ansardin.wordpress.com, angusht.com, shamilonline.org and other sites that publish racist and ultranationalist material. The court granted the request in full.
Nazi memorabilia sales stopped in Kirov
On 8 May the Kirov regional prosecutor reported that a court had granted its request that the local branch of the ISP MTS block access to a website selling Nazi memorabilia. The website has been blocked.
Chechen Islamist site ‘was accessible in Pushkino’
On 17 May it became known that the Pushkino city prosecutor in the Moscow region had taken legal action against the ISP Vintem-Telecom for failing to restrict access to the Chechen Islamist website Kavkaz-Center. Access to the website has been restricted.
ISP complies with court demands on extremism
On 24 May the Moscow regional prosecutor announced that the Shakhovsky district prosecutor had taken legal action against the ISP Tekhnologii Domovykh Setei Plyus to block access to a website containing extremist materials. The ISP voluntarily complied with the request of the prosecutor and the case has been dismissed.
Murmansk prosecutor tells ISP to clamp down
On 14 May it became known that the Murmansk city prosecutor had filed a claim with the Oktyabrskii court of Murmansk demanding that the regional branch of the ISP Rostelecom restrict user access to websites containing extremist materials. The prosecutor had found that subscribers in the cities of Snezhnogorsk, Gadzhievo and Polarny had access to films, articles and leaflets inciting violence on ethnic and religious grounds and calling for participation in extremist organisations.
Education and public areas
Moscow prosecutor says filtering is faulty
On 31 May the Moscow regional prosecutor reported that several irregularities had been found in the course of an inspection of the Science Education Profession Centre of Continuing Education. In particular, its content-filtering system failed to restrict access to websites with information harmful to children. The prosecutor told the head of the centre to ensure compliance with the law.
Lipetsk internet café ‘allowed access to extremism’
On 20 May the Lipetsk regional prosecutor reported that visitors to the Energy internet café in the town of Chaplygin had access to extremist materials and to websites that advertised smoking mixtures and illegal substances, despite the presence of content-filtering. The district prosecutor started legal proceedings against the owner of the café under legislation aimed at protecting children from information harmful to their health and development. The case was referred to the magistrate’s court.
Altai republic acts against internet café
On 22 May it was reported that the Ust-Kan district prosecutor in the Altai republic had started legal action against the internet café owner E Kuldin after the discovery that computers in the cafe provided access to websites containing extremist material that violated legislation on protecting children from information harmful to their health and development. The prosecutor demanded that the owner eliminate the violation. The court granted the request.
University ‘must stop students visiting prohibited sites’
On 23 May it was reported that the Kemerovo regional prosecutor had found that visitors to the electronic reading room of the Kemerovo State University of Culture and Arts had access to banned websites, in particular sites containing materials intended to incite racial hatred. The prosecutor demanded that the university administration eliminate the violations of the law.
Rostov says college has to install filters
On 23 May the Rostov regional prosecutor reported that students of the Gukovsky branch of Academician P Stepanov Shakhtinskii Regional College of Fuel and Energy had access to extremist texts, video and audio materials via computers installed in its library and computer laboratory. The prosecutor went to court demanding that the college administration install content filters. The administration complied with the request.
Nizhny Novgorod demands protection of school children
On 13 May it became known that the Nizhny Novgorod city prosecutor had found that students at the city’s School No 3 and School No 14 could access websites with information on illegal drug use. The prosecutor demanded that access be stopped. On 23 May it was reported that the Knyagininskii district prosecutor in Nizhny Novgorod region had discovered that students at three schools – Knyaginino Secondary Schools No 1 and No 2 and Vozrozhdenie Secondary School – were able to access websites containing information harmful to children via school computers. Internet filters were not installed. The prosecutor issued four demands that the violations be eliminated.
Tuymazinsky prosecutor targets library and colleges
On 11 May it was announced that the Tuymazinsky interdistrict prosecutor had demanded the installation of internet filters at the Inter-settlement Central Library, a branch of the Ufa State Aviation Technical University, a medical college and a college of education. The prosecutor had found that students and readers had access to sites containing extremist propaganda, pornographic materials and information on smoking blends.
Salekhard prosecutor acts ‘to protect students’
On 24 May it was reported that the Salekhard city prosecutor had found that, despite the existence of content filters, students of five of the city’s schools had access to sites containing obscene language, pornography, violent materials and anti-semitic propaganda. The prosecutor demanded that the schools eliminate the legal violations.
School children must not see smoking blends ads
On 23 May the Kurgan regional prosecutor reported that students of the Kislyansk secondary school and three other schools in Yurgamyshsky district had access to the websites that advertised smoking blends. The district prosecutor demanded that the schools eliminate the detected violations.
Langepas schools ‘had access to extremist sites’
On 23 May the Khanty-Mansiysk autonomous district prosecutor reported that the Langepas prosecutor had found that, despite content filters installed in the computer labs of the city’s schools, students in the majority of them had unfettered access to websites containing extremist materials. The prosecutor demanded restrictions on student access to these websites.
Gambling and online casinos
Samara court bans betting sites
On 27 May the Kirovsky district court in Samara region granted five requests by the district prosecutor to restrict access to gambling websites. The court’s decision covers ISPs located in the Kirov district or providing telecommunications services in the region.
Belgorod prosecutors demand gaming block
On 30 May the Belgorod regional prosecutor reported that there was unfettered access to gambling websites in the agricultural vocational school of the Krasnogvardeisky district and in two secondary schools of Chernyansky district. The prosecutor started court actions to block these sites.
Online casino barred in Orenburg
On 30 May it became known that the Sorochinsk prosecutor in the Orenburg region had discovered that users of an internet club had access to a virtual casino website. The prosecutor started court action to close down the club and block the online casino. The Leninsky district court granted the request.
St Petersburg bans 219 betting sites
On 31 May the St Petersburg city prosecutor reported that the Oktyabrsky district court had granted the city prosecutor’s request to ban 219 gambling websites.
Youth wing of United Russia backs site blocking
On 31 May it was reported that that the Young Guard of United Russia, the youth wing of the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, had developed a special system to block a large group of websites with inappropriate content. The launch of the search program that identifies websites on suicide, drugs, child pornography and terrorist activity was expected in late June. Once the targeted sites are found, the program will automatically notify the watchdog Roscomnadzor and the Ministry of Justice.
Samara clamps down on online casinos
On 6 May the Kirov district court of Samara granted four requests from the Kirov district prosecutor aimed at restricting access to gambling websites, ordering ISPs to take action. On 15 May the Samara district prosecutor reported that, on 29 April 2013, the same court had granted another five requests; and on 21 May in granted another 10.
Pyramid scheme sites barred in Omsk
On 22 May it was reported that, upon request from district prosecutors in Omsk, two ISPs had restricted access to the pyramid scheme websites MMM-2011 and MMM-2012. Earlier, the prosecutor of the Soviet district had filed a lawsuit against the ISP KOMMED-Info, demanding that it block the financial pyramid scheme sites. The ISP voluntarily complied with the request; the case was dismissed. The Leninsky district prosecutor in Omsk filed a similar claim against the ISP Eremenko. The court granted the request of the prosecutor.
Petrozavodsk acts on online casinos
On 16 May the prosecutor of the republic of Karelia reported that the Petrozavodsk city prosecutor had filed a court claim seeking to limit access to gambling websites in Petrozavodsk and Sortavala. The ISP concerned voluntarily complied with the prosecutor’s request.
Ivanovo bars 56 gambling sites
On 16 May the Ivanovo regional prosecutor reported that the Frunzensky district prosecutor of Ivanovo had submitted court claims against 11 ISPs. The prosecutors demanded restrictions on access to 56 gambling websites. The ISPs voluntarily complied with the requests. On 23 May the Ivanovo regional prosecutor reported that the Frunzensky district prosecutor of the city of Ivanovo had filed a lawsuit against the ISP V I Lenin Ivanovo State Energy University demanding restrictions on access to the MMM-2012 pyramid-scheme site. The ISP complied voluntarily with the request.
Ulyanovsk blocks pyramid scheme
On 16 May it was reported that Novomalyklinsky district prosecutor of Ulyanovsk region had been to court demanding restrictions on access to websites of the MMM pyramid scheme. The court granted the requests and access to the sites has been blocked.
Nizhnevartovsk restricts online betting
On 15 May the Khanty-Mansiysk autonomous district prosecutor reported that the Nizhnevartovsk city prosecutor had filed a claim with the city court demanding that the ISP Metroset limit access to a number of gambling websites. The ISP complied voluntarily with the request.
Krasnoyarsk denies access to gaming websites
On 14 May it was reported that the Krasnoyarsk regional prosecutor had issued several demands to ISPs that they restrict access to gambling websites and websites advertising the MMM-2012 pyramid scheme. The ISPs Right Side Plyus and Orion Telecom blocked access to eight sites. There was no court judgment in this case.
Online poker added to Rostelecom banned list
On 17 May it was reported that some of the largest poker websites had been added to the Register of Banned Sites. The ISP Rostelecom kept PokerStars, FullTiltPoker, PartyPoker and several other sites blocked for several hours.
Bomb making
Chechnya prosecutor demands ban on explosives tips
On 29 April the Chechnya republican prosecutor filed two court claims demanding that the ISP Vainakh Telecom block two websites containing instructions for making explosive devices (manufacturing nitroglycerin and cyclonite). The lawsuits are pending.
Bryansk prosecutor blocks bomb-making advice
On 20 May the Bryansk regional prosecutor reported that the Volodarsky district prosecutor had succeeded in blocking a number of websites that inform users about ways to make explosive devices. This prosecutor had filed a claim in 2011 with the Zheleznodorozhny district court of Ryazan against the ISP Svyaztransneft demanding termination of access to such websites, but the court dismissed the claim. The prosecutor appealed against the decision, but, once again, the claim was rejected. A further appeal to the supreme court led to the case being sent back to the Zheleznodorozhny district court for a new trial. In the course of this trial, the ISP agreed to block the sites, and the lawsuit was withdrawn.
Kirov acts against bomb instructions
On 20 May the Kirov city prosecutor filed a claim with the Pervomaisky district court requesting that access to the websites containing information about the manufacture of explosives and explosive devices be blocked.
Biysk prosecutor seeks to bar IED website
On 22 May it was reported that the Biysk city prosecutor had filed four claims with the city court against the ISPs requesting restrictions on access to a website that described making an improvised explosive device.
Stavropol prosecutors target ‘do-it-yourself’ weapons
On 8 May the Stavropol regional prosecutor reported that the prosecutors of Alexandrovsky, Kochubeevsky, Kursky, Neftekumsky, and Sovetsky districts, the city prosecutors of Essentuky and Kislovodsk and the prosecutors of Promyshlennyi and Oktyabrsky districts of Stavropol had identified several websites containing information about home manufacturing of weapons. The prosecutors filed over 20 court claims seeking to restrict access to the sites on the grounds that the weapons-making instructions constituted extremist materials.
Drugs
Ufa stops promotion of illegal drugs
On 15 May it was reported that the Kirov district prosecutor in Ufa had identified 10 publicly accessible websites with information about the manufacture and sale of illegal drugs. The prosecutor filed 30 court claims against the ISPs TTK-Center, BashTelekomServis and Cellular Bashkortostan demanding restrictions on access. The court granted the requests, and the blocking has now entered into force.
Yamal-Nenets government moves on drugs
On 24 May the governor of the Yamal-Nenets autonomous district, Dmitry Kobylkin, instructed the relevant departments of the regional government to work with ISPs to block websites involved in drug distribution.
Saratov court blocks illegal drugs sites
On 29 May it was reported that the Kirovsky district prosecutor in Saratov region had filed a lawsuit demanding that the ISP Fannet-Telecom limit access to several websites that had published information on the manufacture and sale of illegal drugs. The court granted the request.
Bribery
Samara prosecutor demands bribery shutdown
On 30 May the Samara regional prosecutor reported that the Novokuibyshevsk city prosecutor had submitted 12 court claims demanding access restrictions on websites describing methods of bribery
Ulyanovsk court targets corruption sites
On 24 May it became known that Ulyanovsk regional prosecutor’s request had been granted for a court order blocking sites describing methods of bribery. The sites in question include cripo.com, glavnoe, aloepole, krasjob, daslife, scandalim, bbcont, homearchive, tvoemnenie and posovesti.
Yamal court stops ‘how-to-bribe’ tips
On 16 May it was announced that the Salekhard city court granted the request of the Muravlenko city prosecutor to order Rostelecom to restrict access to several websites describing methods of bribery.
Kogalym prosecutors demand restrictions
On 7 May the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous district prosecutor reported that the Kogalym city prosecutor had filed a court claim demanding that the regional branch of Rostelecom and the ISP Intermir block access to several websites describing methods of bribery.
And the rest…
‘Doghunters’ face ban in Sverdlovsk
On 30 May 2013, the Sverdlovsk regional prosecutor reported that the Sukhoi Log city court had granted the request of the city prosecutor to make the ISP Uralskiie Seti restrict access to the Vreditelyam.net website organised by “doghunters” (volunteer exterminators of dogs). The decision by the Sukhoi Log city court was forwarded to the Ural federal district office of Roscomnadzor in order to add the site to the Register of Banned Sites.
Togliatti prosecutor acts on coat of arms
On 14 May it was reported that the general prosecutor of the Russian Federation, assisted by the prosecutors of the Samara region, Moscow and St Petersburg, had reviewed illegal use of the national coat of arms and had discovered the website of a Togliatti woman entrepreneur who traded in stationery and stamps with the image of the Russian coat of arms. The Togliatti city prosecutor filed a claim with the Tsentralnyi district federal court of Togliatti demanding that the state coat of arms be removed from the site and that the entrepreneur stop the trading in products featuring the coat of arms. The ISP hosting the site was told to eliminate the violation of the law and has now restricted access to the site.
Dreamwidth.org portal is blacklisted
On 8 May it was reported that several ISPs had blocked access to the portal dreamwidth.org whose IP-address was included in the Register of Banned Sites. The inclusion was triggered by a post about a method of suicide on one of its blogs.
Yamal court orders clampdown on fake diplomas
On 24 May the Yamal-Nenets autonomous district prosecutor reported that the Salekhard city court had granted the request of the Muravlenko city prosecutor to make the ISP Rostelecom resatrict access to websites selling fake diplomas and graduation certificates. The city prosecutor is overseeing compliance with the verdict.
Roscomnadzor bars social network by mistake
On 24 May it was announced that Roscomnadzor had added the VKontakte social network to the Register of Banned Sites. In some regions, particularly in Chita and St Petersburg, ISPs restricted access to the social network. According to media reports, the blacklisting took place because photos published by Vkontakte users had been identified by Roscomnadzor as child pornography. Roskomnadzor spokesman Vladimir Pikov said that VKontakte had been added to the list in error and would be removed from it.
23 Jul 13 | Asia and Pacific, India, News and features, Politics and Society
As talk in India turns to media plurality and regulation, attention is turning to murky ownership structures and monopolistic practices. But some see the government’s moves as attempts to muzzle the press.
In May 2012, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India got a new boss – a retired bureaucrat named Rahul Khullar, who has the unenviable job of not just sorting out 2011’s 2G scam that hit Indian telecom sector hard, but also trying to ensure that the growth of the Indian media is “plural and diverse”.
In what has become a controversial interview, Khullar suggested bringing regulation to control cross-media ownership in India, suggesting that a single entity should be restricted to owning only one or two types of media carriage. “We are not talking about content but carriage.” he said in an interview to The Hindu.
India’s largest media houses, including Sun TV, Star India and the Essel Group, own multiple media platforms. In fact some media houses are so huge, with complicated and largely hidden ownership structures, that it can be unclear who really owns the company. The Indian media has been covering this subject heavily since the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting asked channels to disclose their equity structures as a results of the Saradha scam in West Bengal where businessmen were running news channels at the behest of politicians. Independent news portals have been trying to disclose ownership details on their sites, revealing that many politicians partly own the news channels/papers that report on them, as do big industrial houses, mostly unknown to citizens.
Khullar’s suggestion has been drawn from telecom regulator TRAI’s recent consultation paper on cross media ownership which has suggested that media houses investing in all forms — television, print, and radio — has led to “horizontal integration,” and asked whether there ought to be safeguards to curb this monopolistic growth. The lack of these checks, it believes, is the reason why broadcasters have become “politically backed entities for distribution of their channels in that region.”
Overwhelmingly, the media industry has reacted negatively at the suggestion of being regulated. In an passionate argument, the Times of India’s Executive Editor, suggests that this latest move by TRAI is part of a larger play by the government of India to muzzle the media following its active role in exposing many scams in the last few years – some which have ended with cabinet ministers in jail. Drawing a line between regulating ownership and accountability, the article points out that India has over 80,000 plus publications and 800 channels, thereby showing extreme plurality already.
Others, such as the opinionated online magazine Firspost – owned by Network18 which is partly funded by the corporate giant, Reliance Group – has argued against this move from a media freedom point of view. It argues that corporate houses have the constitutional right to own media houses and that, “one reason why corporate houses enter the picture relates to the non-viability of many traditional media houses. If they didn’t bankroll the media, many journalists would lose their jobs. So to label corporates as villains when they are actually white knights in some cases is wrong.”
In another interview with Mint, the TRAI chairman clarified that, “in many countries you have absolute bans. Some people just cannot own a newspaper, for instance, an advertising agency cannot own a newspaper. There are pure entry issues. Then there are safeguards—like the 2×3 rule. In virtually all jurisdictions, if you own a newspaper and a TV station, you cannot own radio stations.”
However, the most compelling argument against this suggestion, made by Firstpost, but also others, is the question of the internet; that TV and print are fast merging with the internet, and in that in reality, it would be tough to restrict media ownership to only two platforms. While TRAI has no ready answers, its consultation paper on cross media ownership stipulates that any future rules on the subject must include broadcasting, print and new media.
At the same time, the crux of the matter — “It is, therefore, important that an arm‘s length distance is ensured between the media and organs of governance, political institutions and other entities which have a profound sway over public opinion” – is addressed in the paper, by suggesting that political bodies, religious bodies, government departments and ministries, urban and local bodies and state governments should not be permitted to enter the business of broadcasting and/or distribution of TV channels.
There can be no doubt that in India, corporate and political interests have invested heavily in the media. The Economist carried a story in June 2013 about the condition of TV news in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, stating – “every large party in the state now has an affiliated station, often owned or co-owned by the party leader’s followers or relatives.” It talks of the Sun Group, a Chennai-based conglomerate with 32 TV channels and 45 radio stations. Sun, which is run by former Tamil Nadu chief minister M. Karunanidhi’s grand-nephew, and also owns one of the more lucrative parts of the television industry—a cable-distribution network. This is exactly the kind of media monopoly TRAI is looking to break, or at the very least, limit.
However, is the way forward to diverse news to limit the growth of media empires, even if they do tend to be monopolistic? How does the state broadcaster, both over TV and radio, fit into this model? Is it better to focus on regulating ownership or content to ensure citizens get a plurality of voices? There is already a parallel debate on media regulation in the country to ensure that the content reaching Indians is not paid for by vested interests and is clearly identified when it is. And finally, is TRAI’s solution take away corporate control and hand it over to the State?
These are questions India must grapple with very carefully, if it aims to retain press freedom – already perilously at 140 on the Press Freedom Index, 2013.
Mahima Kaul is a New Delhi-based writer and a Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, India. She tweets @misskaul
23 Jul 13 | In the News
INDEX EVENTS
NSA, surveillance, free speech and privacy
Edward Snowden’s leaks about the US’s international mass surveillance programmes has prompted perhaps the definitive debate of our age: How free are we online? Can we ever trust technology with our personal details?
25 July, Time 6.30pm, Free, but RSVP required. Space is limited.
Doughty Street Chambers, WC1N
(More information)
BRAZIL
Pope visits Brazil amid social upheaval
Bringing his message of a “poor Church for the poor,” Pope Francis headed for Brazil on Monday to find a country facing a shrinking Catholic flock and anger over government waste.
(News24)
EUROPEAN UNION
Europe divided over mass surveillance?
There have been some sharply contrasting political reactions to the US and UK’s mass surveillance programmes in European countries in recent days. Could the US perhaps play divide and rule in managing the fallout from Snowden’s revelations in Europe? Or is there enough common ground between German, UK or even Russian politicians to push for real changes in US (and UK and French) snooping?
(Index on Censorship)
GREECE
Greece confirms libel complaint against former U.N. Ambassador Wallace
The Office of the Athens District Attorney in Greece announced on Wednesday it has confirmed receipt of a criminal complaint for libel against former United Nations Ambassador Mark D. Wallace.
(BioPrepWatch)
INDIA
Muslim leaders slam Shakeel Ahmed’s ‘irresponsible’ remark
Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmed’s tweet that the 2002 Gujarat riots led to the formation of terror outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM) seems to have backfired. Muslim leaders said such an “irresponsible” remark, made with an eye on the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, would harm rather than help the community.
(Times of India)
MACEDONIA
Jailed Macedonian journalist begins hunger strike
A Macedonian investigative journalist has gone on hunger strike today, in protest against his continued detention.
(Index on Censorship)
PHILIPPINES
What PNoy didn’t say on the state of free expression
President Benigno Aquino III has again betrayed himself as enamored of his own propaganda, of valuing the form over the substance, of a glaring inability to keep what he claims is most precious to him – his word.
(National Union of Journalists of the Philippines)
SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa’s censors ban film about predatory teacher as ‘child porn’
Film board criticised for apartheid-style curbs on freedom of expression after first mainstream movie banned since 1994
(The Guardian)
UNITED KINGDOM
David Cameron’s King Canute moment
The Prime Minister’s touching belief that he can clean up the web with technology is misguided and even dangerous, says Padraig Reidy
(Index on Censorship)
Index concerned by Cameron’s filter proposals
Index on Censorship is concerned that David Cameron’s internet filtering proposals may cause unwarranted censorship.
(Index on Censorship)
Our last, best, hope?
Technology writer and broadcaster Bill Thompson spoke at the recent ISPA Awards dinner. ISPA, the Internet Service Providers Association, represents the companies that connect us all to the Net, and Thompson called on them to stand up for freedom, however hard that may be. This is an edited version of his talk.
(Index on Censorship)
Full Text of Speech: David Cameron: Protecting our children online
Today I am going to tread into territory that can be hard for our society to confront, that is frankly difficult for politicians to talk about — but that I believe we need to address as a matter of urgency.
(Index on Censorship)
UNITED STATES
The Case for Censoring Hate Speech On the Internet
For the past few years speech has moved online, leading to fierce debates about its regulation. Most recently, feminists have led the charge to purge Facebook of misogyny that clearly violates its hate-speech code. Facebook took a small step two weeks ago, creating a feature that will remove ads from pages deemed “controversial.” But such a move is half-hearted. Facebook and other social networking websites should not tolerate hate speech and, in the absence of a government mandate, adopt a European model of expunging offensive material.
(Policy Mic)
State suspends vanity plates over free speech suit
Indiana will stop offering vanity plates until the outcome of a class-action lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the agency’s restrictions on tags’ wording.
(Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly)
Previous Free Expression in the News posts
July 22 | July 19 | July 18 | July 17 | July 16 | July 15 | July 12 | July 11 | July 10 | July 9 | July 8 | July 5 | July 4
22 Jul 13 | Digital Freedom, News and features, Politics and Society, United Kingdom
The Prime Minister’s touching belief that he can clean up the web with technology is misguided and even dangerous, says Padraig Reidy
Announcing plans to clean up the internet on Monday morning, David Cameron invoked King Canute, saying he had been warned “You can as easily legislate what happens on the Internet as you can legislate the tides.”
The story of Canute and the sea is that the king wanted to demonstrate his own fallability to fawning fans. But David Cameron today seems to want to tell the world that he can actually eliminate everything that’s bad from the web. Hence we had “rape porn”, child abuse images, extreme pornography and the issue of what children view online all lumped together in the one speech. All will be solved, and soon, through the miracle of technology.
Cameron points out that “the Internet is not a sideline to ‘real life’ or an escape from ‘real life’; it is real life.” In this much he’s right. But he then goes on to discuss the challenge of child abuse and rape images in almost entirely technological terms.
I’ve written before about the cyber-utopianism inherent in the arguments of many who are pro filtering and blocking: there is an absolute faith in the ability of technology to tackle deep moral and ethical issues; witness Cameron’s imploring today, telling ISPs to “set their greatest minds” to creating perfect filters. Not philosophers, mind, but programmers.
Thus, as with so many discussions on the web, the idea that if something is technologically possible, then there is no reason not to do it, prevails. It’s simply a matter of writing the right code rather than thinking about the real implications of what one is doing. This was the same thinking that led to Cameron’s suggestion of curbs on social media during the riots of 2011.
The Prime Minister announced that, among other things, internet service providers will be forced to provide default filters blocking sites. This is a problem both on a theoretical and practical level; theoretically as it sets up a censored web as a standard, and practically because filters are imperfect, and block much more than they are intended to. Meanwhile, tech-savvy teenagers may well be able to circumvent them, meaning parents are left with a false sense of security.
The element of choice and here is key; parents should actively choose a filter, knowing what that entails, rather than passively accepting, as currently proposed by the Prime Minister. Engaging with that initial thought about what is viewed in your house could lead to greater engagement and discussion about children’s web use – which is the best way to protect them.
It is proposed that a blacklist of search terms be created. As Open Rights Group points out, it will simply mean new terms will be thought up, resulting in an endless cat and mouse game, and also a threat of legitimate content being blocked. What about, say, academic studies into porn? Or violence against women? Or, say, essays on Nabokov’s Lolita?
Again, there is far too much faith in the algorithm, and far too little thinking about the core issue: tracking down and prosecuting the creators of abuse images. The one solid proposal on this front is the creation of a central secure database of illegal images from which police can work, though the prime minister’s suggestion that it will “enable the industry to use the digital hash tags from the database” does not fill one with confidence that he is entirely across this issue.
The vast majority of trade in abuse images comes on darknets and through criminal networks, not through simple browser searches. This is fairly easily proved when one, to use the Prime Minister’s example, searches for “child sex” on Google. Unsurprisingly, one is not immediately bombarded with page after page of illegal child abuse images.
As Daily Telegraph tech blogger Mic Wright writes: “The unpleasant fact is that the majority of child sexual abuse online is perpetrated beyond even the all-seeing eye of Google.”
The impulses to get rid of images of abuse, and shield children from pornography, are not bad ones. But to imagine that this can be done solely by algorithms creating filters, blacklists and blocking, rather than solid support for police work on abuse images, and proper, engaged debate on the moral and ethical issues of what we and our children can and cannot view online, really is like imagining one can command the tides.
22 Jul 13 | Europe and Central Asia
A Macedonian investigative journalist has gone on hunger strike today, in protest against his continued detention.
The wife of Tomislav Kezarovski told local media that both she and her jailed husband are now on hunger strike, in hopes that it will call attention to his “absurd” situation.
Kezarovski has been held in Skopje’s Shutka prison since May, for a 2008 article he wrote for Reporter 92 magazine, for supposedly revealing the identity of a protected witness in an an ongoing murder investigation. However, in February this year the witness confessed that his testimony against the accused killers was fabricated, and that he did not have protected status until 2010.
Skopje criminal court decided in June to extend the journalist’s detention by 30 days, saying that if released, he may “escape or influence other witnesses” in a wider investigation. The court will decide this week whether or not he will be held for another 30 days. Since the investigation is now over, Kezarovski’s family members hope that he will be released.
The Macedonian Journalists Association, the Trade Union of Macedonian Journalists and Media Workers, SSNM, ZNM, and the Macedonian Institute for Media expressed “deep concern” over the journalist’s “fragile physical and mental” condition in a joint statement released today. In June, UN Rapporteur for free speech Frank LaRue was prevented from visiting Kezarovski in prison.
Reporters Without Borders has condemned the arrest of the journalist, as well as the “constant decline in freedom of information in Macedonia”, which ranks 116 out of 179 in the organisation’s 2013 press freedom index.
Sara Yasin is an Editorial Assistant at Index. She tweets from @missyasin
22 Jul 13 | Campaigns
Index on Censorship is concerned that David Cameron’s internet filtering proposals may cause unwarranted censorship.
Index CEO Kirsty Hughes said today:
“Encouraging internet service providers to automatically turn filters on for legal content will legitimise the censorship of legal material and will also lead to overblocking of sites, such as sexual health and education sites — as research has shown. Such filters can also lead to a false sense of security – active involvement of parents in choosing filter levels for their children is the best approach and need not be implemented in ways that result in censorship for the adult population.
“Tackling child abuse including associated images, both of which are illegal is crucial. Cameron’s proposals are though unclear – creating an ever expanding blacklist of illegal search terms risks censorship of perfectly legal and innocuous searches.”
Related
• Full text of David Cameron’s speech
