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Free expression in the news

27 Jun 2013 | In the News

INDEX POLICY PAPER
Is the EU heading in the right direction on digital freedom?
While in principle the EU supports freedom of expression, it has often put more emphasis on digital competitiveness and has been slow to prioritise and protect digital freedom, Brian Pellot, digital policy advisor at Index on Censorship writes in this policy paper
(Index on Censorship)

AUSTRALIA
Australia doubles down on censorship, refuses R18+ classification to State of Decay
Australia, coming off the back of refusing classification to Saints Row IV yesterday, apparently wasn’t satisfied with just one act of censorship. Today Undead Labs announced that their game too had been refused classification, so for the foreseeable future Australia will not be seeing State of Decay. Again, the issue seems to be related to some sort of drug use. The team is currently exploring their options with Microsoft
(NeoSeeker)

BAHRAIN
Bahrain mulls clamp on Internet calls
Bahrain is considering introducing controls on calls made via the Internet, including those on Skype and Viber, said a top official.
(Trade Arabia)

BRAZIL
Brazil’s left and right struggle for ownership of protests
Rival groups split on the political direction of the protests, with claims two organisations back military rule
(The Guardian)

EGYPT
Egypt journalists to march for free expression on 30 June
Journalists criticise attacks on freedom of expression under President Mohamed Morsi
(Ahram Online)

EUROPEAN UNION
EU adopts guidelines to “protect and promote” LGBTI rights
Coming on the heels of Russia’s enactment of a “gay propaganda” law, the European Union’s decision to adopt guidelines to protect the rights of lebian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons in foreign relations on Monday is welcome. Sean Gallagher writes
(Index on Censorship)

FRANCE
Pro-Israeli activist found guilty of libel
A man has been convicted of defamation in France for his claims about a widely-publicised video which showed a 12-year-old Palestinian boy’s death in Gaza Strip.
(Al Jazeera)

ISRAEL
Knesset members seek libel protection for IDF soldiers
If passed, legislation will enable class-action suits against critics who make false claims about army operations
(The Times of Israel)

INDIA
Censor laws are extremely ambiguous: Anand Gandhi
Independent filmmaker Anand Gandhi was in the city recently to screen his film ‘Ship of Theseus’ for the students of Film and Television Institute of India. Anand spoke to TOI about being an independent filmmaker, film censorship and why serious engagement from the government for Indian films is the need of the hour.
(The Times of India)

JORDAN
Jordan Accused Of Targeting Online Dissent
Jordan’s King Abdullah vowed to make the desert kingdom a “free Internet” country as he began his rule more than a decade ago. On June 2, when local Internet providers were ordered to block hundreds of news websites across the kingdom, Web publishers protested the broken promise and international media watchdog organizations charged censorship.
(NPR)

RUSSIA
Blockage of Major News Websites Raises Censorship Fears
A ruling by a court in the central Russian town of Ulyanovsk ordering a state-run Internet provider to block access to 15 websites, including those of two prominent national newspapers, has sparked fears of a broader campaign of Internet censorship in the country.
(The Moscow Times)

SOUTH AFRICA
South African groups seek arrest warrants for Obama
Two South African groups were trying to obtain arrest warrants for US President Barack Obama, who will visit the country later this week.
(Times Live)

TURKEY
Turkey seeks to tighten grip on Twitter after protests
Turkey said on Wednesday it had asked Twitter to set up a representative office inside the country, which could give it a tighter rein over the microblogging site it has accused of helping stir weeks of anti-government protests.
(Reuters)

UNITED KINGDOM
Banning of Geller and Spencer from UK will only build grievance
Britain’s ban on anti-Muslim activists could do more harm than good, says Padraig Reidy
(Index on Censorship)

Change in libel laws ‘not required in Northern Ireland’
A Stormont committee has been told there is no need to reform antiquated Northern Ireland’s libel laws by a high-profile libel lawyer.
(Belfast Telegraph)

Daily Mail in £110k libel payout over Syrian chemical weapons story
The Daily Mail has been forced to pay more than £100,000 in damages and apologise for a story linking a UK defence company with the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
(Press Gazette)

UNITED STATES
Jeff Olson Faces 13 Years In Jail For Writing Anti-Bank Messages In Chalk
Jeff Olson, a man who is being prosecuted for writing anti-bank messages on sidewalks in water-soluble chalk last year, is facing a 13-year jail sentence.
(Opposing Views)

Companies win U.S. free speech shield over scientific articles
Authors and publishers of controversial scientific articles, and the companies sponsoring those articles, won broad free speech protection from a U.S. appeals court on Wednesday.
(Reuters)

Sexual predator cries censorship over Jaycee Dugard memoir
Eight years ago, a New York journalist named Peter Braunstein, then 41, forced his way into the apartment of a 34-year-old Manhattan woman by pretending to be a firefighter. He proceeded to drug the woman, a former colleague, and sexually assault her for more than 12 hours.
(Los Angeles Times)

VIETNAM
In Vietnam, “Depraved” Blogging Could Get You Locked Up for a Decade
Vietnam is not a good place to be a blogger. At least, it’s not a good place to be a blogger if you actually want to write what’s on your mind.
(Motherboard)

Free expression in the news

21 Jun 2013 | In the News

BAHRAIN
HRW: ‘No Space for Political Dissent’ in Bahrain
New laws and lengthy jail terms for activists have put freedom of association in Bahrain under severe threat, according to a report from Human Rights Watch.
(VOA)

BANGLADESH
Facebook and freedom of speech
The parliament of Bangladesh on June 11 passed the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill 2013 which will allow the courts to accept videos, still photographs and audio clips used in Facebook, Twitter, Skype, and other social media for trial cases.
(Dhaka Tribune)

BORNEO
Film industry players told to instil patriotism, cultural values
Film industry players have been urged to instil the values of patriotism and culture in their products to educate society.
Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said this was in order to change the perception of society towards the values of culture and nationhood.
(The Borneo Post)

BRAZIL
Brazil’s president meets protests with an anti-Erdogan response
Protests have popped up across the globe in recent years, but government response has varied. Rousseff’s approach contrasted with the adversarial position of Turkey’s Erdogan, for example.
(Christian Science Monitor)

CANADA
BC Supreme Court rejects Zesty’s comedian appeal
The BC Supreme Court has upheld a decision by the BC Human Rights Tribunal which found that Lorna Pardy’s complaint against comedian Guy Earle and the owners of Zesty’s restaurant was justified.
(Xtra!)

EUROPE
Media: freedom has declined in West Balkans, Turkey
Freedom of the media has declined in the past two years in the Balkans and in Turkey, OSCE Representative Dunja Mijatovic said at the EU ”Speak Up!” conference on Freedom of Expression here today.
(Ansa Med)

GHANA
Defamation against FCT Minister: Kaduna-based Publisher Risks N5b Libel Suit
FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed has served notice of his intention to slam a Five Billion Naira (N5,000,000,000:00) on the Kaduna based Desert Herald newspaper and its publisher, Alhaji Tukur Mamu for defamation and libel following series of damaging publications against him by Mamu through his newspaper and two others. Similarly, the Director of Treasury of FCT Administration, Alhaji Ibrahim Bomai through the same solicitors has threatened to institute a Two Billion Naira (N2,000,000,000:00) against Mamu for the same offence of defamation and libel.
(Spy Ghana)

IRELAND
“The ferociousness of the censorship made Ireland a laughing stock”
Diarmaid Ferriter discusses the widespread censorship of publications in Ireland during the 20th century
(NewsTalk 106-108FM)

LIBYA
Blasphemy Charges Over Election Posters – Political Party Officials Could Face Death Penalty
Libyan judicial authorities should immediately drop all criminal charges that violate freedom of speech over election poster cartoons against two Libyan National Party officials. Under the laws being applied in this case, the men could face the death penalty over posters their party displayed during the 2012 election campaign for the General National Congress.
(All Africa)

MEXICO
Will Mexico’s plans for reducing violence mean anything for journalists?
Mexico’s president, Enrique Peña Nieto, promised that tackling crime and drug-related violence is a priority for his six-month-old government. While improving safety is important, Peña Nieto must also remember that protecting journalists and human rights workers must go beyond words, says Sara Yasin
(Index on Censorship)

TANZANIA
Zanzibar Legislators Call for National Unity Govt Self-Censorship
A LEGISLATOR of the Zanzibar House of Representatives, Mr Omar Ali Shehe (CUF), has said Zanzibaris were unhappy with the performance of the Government of National Unity (GNU), formed jointly between Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and CUF two-and-half years ago.
(All Africa)

TUNISIA
How Tunisia is Turning Into a Salafist Battleground
An interview with a professor who was attacked for standing up for secularism.
(The Atlantic)

TURKEY
Şanar Yurdatapan on Turkey: ‘Things will never be the same again’
In Phnom Penh, Cambodia, for the IFEX General Meeting and Strategy Conference 2013, Index Director of Campaigns and Policy Marek Marczynski spoke with 2002 Index on Censorship award winner Şanar Yurdatapan, a composer and song writer who campaigns against the prosecution of publishers by the Turkish authorities. Yurdatapan shared his views on the events sweeping Turkey
(Index on Censorship)

UNITED KINGDOM
The end of Britain’s social media prosecutions?
Keir Starmer’s new guidelines aim to minimise controversial criminal cases against Twitter and Facebook users. But will they work, asks Padraig Reidy
(Index on Censorship)

Psychic wins libel case over claim she duped Dublin audience
The publisher of the Daily Mail has agreed to pay “substantial” damages to a psychic after an article suggested she had “perpetrated a scam” on a Dublin theatre audience.
(Irish Times)

Government to propose new free speech clause for marriage supporters
Government ministers are expected to announce new proposals to offer more protection in law for those who express the view that marriage can only be between one man and one woman.
(Christian Concern)

UNITED STATES
Supreme Court upholds free speech for groups fighting AIDS
The Supreme Court rejects a federal law that requires organizations to announce anti-prostitution policies in order to receive funding.
(Los Angeles Times)

L. Brent Bozell III: Media coverage shows ‘anti-gay’ view censorship
The media elites have never been less interested in objectivity than they are right now on “gay marriage.” They don’t wear rainbow flags on their lapels when they appear on television, but the coverage speaks for itself.
(NVDaily)

Student wins free-speech lawsuit against teacher
A Michigan teacher who kicked a student out of class after the teen made a comment against homosexuality during a high school anti-bullying day was ordered to pay $1 for violating his free speech rights.
(Associated Press via SFGate.com)

No Sympathy For Media Just Now Realizing Obama ‘A Serious Threat’ To Free Speech
On Thursday, conservative columnist Michelle Malkin joined Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy where she dug into the ongoing scandals and controversies that have engulfed President Barack Obama’s administration. Malkin noted that some in the media who had previously supported the president are now more leery of the administration.
(Mediaite)

Fair Trade Music Project Speaks Out for Silenced Songwriters
Following the success of the World Creators Summit held in Washington, DC, June 4-5, the Music Creators North America (spearheading the Fair Trade Music Project) took another step toward defending the rights of creators.
(Herald Online)

Planned Parenthood says Kansas abortion law violates doctors’ free speech rights
Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit Thursday over a new Kansas law requiring doctors to inform women seeking abortions that they’re ending the life of a “whole, separate, unique, living human being.”
(The Washington Post)

UCF Professor Accused of ‘Hate Speech Toward Islam’
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has filed a complaint against a University of Central Florida (UCF) professor, who they claim is teaching that Muslims are taught to hate “from the cradle.” According to The Raw Story, CAIR referenced a seminar held by Professor Jonathan Matusitz in January, which included “inaccurate information, anti-Muslim bigotry and hostility in the form of hate speech toward Islam and Muslims.”
(Ring of Fire)

EU-US trade talks won’t exclude film, culture: US envoy
The US ambassador to the European Union insisted Thursday that Europe’s film and cultural industry will not be totally excluded from upcoming talks on striking the world’s biggest free trade deal.
(AFP)

VIETNAM
Access submits UPR report on Vietnam: Cyber attacks on civil society a key concern
Access has partnered with ARTICLE 19, PEN International, and English PEN on a joint submission on Vietnam to the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The submission focuses on the lack of improvement of human rights, specifically freedom of expression, in Vietnam since the last UPR in 2009, and highlights the Vietnamese government’s troubling response to the recent increase in cyber attacks against civil society.
(Access)

Free expression in the news

11 Jun 2013 | In the News

CANADA
Rob Ford wins partial costs in wake of failed libel suit
Boardwalk Pub restaurateur George Foulidis must pay mayor and Bruce Baker $137,000, judge ruled Monday. (Toronto Star)

CHINA
Beyond the Great Firewall: How and What China Censors
China’s lack of transparency has long posed a daunting challenge to outside observers trying to understand what the government’s interests, goals, and intentions are. Gary King, a Professor in Government at Harvard University, has provided telling new insights into these questions with his research on the government’s censorship of social media websites. (The Diplomat)

EGYPT
Maspero in crisis: report
The AFTE also claimed former head of the state-run TV sector Essam El-Amir resigned last December because of intervention in the coverage of the presidential palace clashes. (Daily News Egypt)

HONG KONG
Yes, Free Speech Is Big in Hong Kong—Because They Must Constantly Defend It
Hong Kong has a strong tradition of free speech.” That’s how Edward Snowden, the 29-year-old leaker who slammed National Security Agency surveillance as an “existential threat to democracy,” described his decision to flee to China. (New Republic)

RUSSIA
Accusations of censorship as more exhibitions are shut down at Perm festival
The White Nights festival in Perm has come under pressure after four of its exhibitions have been closed, seemingly at the request of unhappy local politicians. In response, Marat Guelman, one of the festival’s organisers has accused critics of political game-playing. (Calvert Journal)

UNITED STATES
Should the Lubbock AJ host Blogs?: Freedom of Speech Issues
In the spring of 2012 I was invited to begin a blog hosted on the Lubbock AJ on-line site. Having been drawn into the arena of public debate during the effort to close the city’s Health Department I felt that such an opportunity to encourage civic involvement was a good idea.
(Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)

‘Free Speech’ Doesn’t Include Showing Dead Fetus Posters to Kids
The Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal of an anti-abortion protestor who claimed his free speech was violated by the state of Colorado. By declining to hear the case, the Court allowed a lower court ruling barring certain types of anti-abortion protests in public areas to stand, which, on its surface, might sound like a good thing. But the truth’s a little messier.
(Jezebel)

As libel trial losers battle $1M legal bill, FBI probes claimed mid-trial DUI set-up of their lawyer
The trial in a defamation case between two radio shock jocks in Florida has been over for months. But there’s no end in sight to continuing issues involving the law firms for both sides, the Tampa Bay Times reports.
(ABA Journal)

A twist in the tale of the Christian valedictorian
You’ve probably heard about the South Carolina high school valedictorian who tore up his prepared speech at graduation ceremonies and instead recited the Lord’s Prayer, to cheers and applause. But there is a twist in the tale of Roy Costner IV, who has become a poster boy for Christian conservatives.
(Los Angeles Times)

VIETNAM
Vietnam bans action movie despite removal of violent scenes
Vietnam latest action movie about gang fights in Ho Chi Minh City’s Chinatown has been officially banned after the censors disapproved of the new, censored version. (Thanh Nien)

Free expression in the news

10 Jun 2013 | In the News

GLOBAL
UN report slams government surveillance
The UN’s Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression Frank La Rue delivered a report to the Human Rights Council outlining how state and corporate surveillance undermine freedom of expression and privacy. (Index on Censorship)

GREECE
Kostas Vaxevanis faces fresh trial
The Greek journalist who published the infamous “Lagarde list” of Swiss bank accounts could face two years in jail for breaching privacy. (Index on Censorship)

INDIA
HC directive on film posters a springboard for double censorship
The Kerala High Court’s directive to the State Police Chief to take up investigation of cases registered for indecent representation of women could end up as a double censorship, it is felt. (The Hindu)

Defying censorship, the reporter who exposed the killings
Brahma Chellaney exposed the killings of young unarmed Sikh youths for a foreign news agency, and faced severe government harassment (The Hindu)

IRAN
Regime’s media slam mullahs censorship
The Iranian regime’s own media has spoken out in protest at the censoring and restrictions imposed on their work. More than one hundred media staff covering next week’s election have released a statement criticising the oppressive scrutiny of their news websites, including reporters from the state-run Fars news agency. (National Council of Resistance of Iran)

IRELAND
Media must be free to ‘be arrow and not target’
THE first President Roosevelt coined the term “bully pulpit” when describing the less obvious charms of the American chief magistracy. (Irish Independent)

JAMAICA
Free Speech And Gay Rights
Boyne: Tolerance does not mean acceptance. And this is my problem with some gay people: … Any rejection of homosexuality as morally wrong is seen as homophobia. That is nonsense and an abuse of language to shut down conversation. (The Gleaner)

MALTA
‘Adult plays should be protected from police’
When censorship laws were relaxed last year, theatre buffs rejoiced thinking that no play would suffer the same fate as Anthony Neilson’s Stitching. (Times of Malta)

SINGAPORE
Singapore Bloggers Protest Licensing Rules for News Websites
More than 2,000 Singaporeans gathered at a downtown park to protest a regulation requiring websites that regularly publish news on the city state to be licensed. (Jakarta Globe)

UNITED STATES
Former FCC Chairman: Let’s Test an Emergency Ad Hoc Network
As the Boston Marathon bombings unfolded, thousands of anxious people in the region pulled out their mobile phones to connect with friends and family—and found that calls couldn’t be placed or received. Rumors that officials had shut down these mobile networks for security reasons weren’t true. The system was simply overloaded at a time when people needed it most.
(MIT Technology Review)

Produced By Conference: Death Threats, But No Network Censorship For ‘Walking Dead’ Execs
The Walking Dead exec producer Gale Anne Hurd admitted this afternoon that one of the hazards of her job is receiving death threats from the rabid fan base of smash hit AMC zombie drama when it dares to kill off a character. “That’s one of the dirty little secrets of social media,” she admitted.
(Deadline Hollywood)

School deliberately cuts valedictorian’s mic mid-speech
A US high school valedictorian had his microphone deliberately switched off in the middle of his graduation speech because the school had not approved what he was saying.
(9 News)

Freedom of speech under attack by Islamophobes in Tennessee
I’ve noted before that Pamela Geller Does Not Understand Freedom of Speech when she found fault with American Muslims and others for denouncing her hate ads. This she called an attempt to “impose blasphemy restrictions on free speech”.
(The American Muslim)

Do news organizations hurt free speech when they ban offensive words?
From now on, no one will be described in an Associated Press news story as an “illegal immigrant,” “illegal alien,” “illegal,” or as “undocumented.”
(Denver Post)

OPINION: Pro-Palestinian groups don’t respect free speech on campus
College is meant to be a place where free speech comes alive. Different viewpoints are supposed to be welcome and intellectual diversity celebrated.
(Campus Reform)

Disputed ads are protected speech
The ad we placed on city buses quoting Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu comparing what Palestinians endure to South African apartheid was meant to educate the public about Israeli and U.S. policies.
(San Francisco Examiner)

Conservatives as Defenders of the Media
The conservative pundit Glenn Beck took the lectern at a conference center on Manhattan’s East Side last Thursday to accept the Freedom of Speech Award for his commentary on TheBlaze television network and his syndicated radio show.
(The New York Times)

VIETNAM
Vietnamese Directors Speak Out On CHO LON and Censorship
The banning of the Nguyen brothers’ Cho Lon caused extreme rage in Vietnam yesterday. And not just for filmmakers or film geeks, but all over the country; I haven’t seen anything like this before. Previously banned films came and went quietly, but Cho Lon is now the focus of a national conversation. (Twitch)

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