August, 2012

Stories from August, 2012

Colombia: CELE Analyzes Constitutionality of Bill Lleras 2.0

  29 August 2012

The Center for Studies on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information (CELE, according to its Spanish acronym) requested to be considered as “friend of the court” in order to provide inputs for the discussions around the unconstitutionality of Bill 1520, also known as "Bill Lleras 2.0", which reforms the copyright regime in Colombia.

Netizen Report: Malaysian Edition

  22 August 2012

This week's Netizen Report starts in Malaysia, where activists staged a Web blackout to protest Section 114A, which overextends liability for content posted by users on a network. From there, we move to Myanmar, which has made promising steps toward freedom of expression by ending prior censorship of newspapers by government. From there, we turn to Pakistan, South Korea, India and beyond.

Assange Asylum Granted After Threats from UK Authorities

  16 August 2012

This morning, Thursday 16 August, 2012, in a press conference streamed from the website of the Ecuadorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Minister Ricardo Patino declared that the country would grant asylum to the Founder and Editor of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange. This comes after threats by UK authorities to remove Assange from the Embassy.

Middle East and North Africa Netizen Report: First Edition

  16 August 2012

In this first edition of the Middle East and North Africa Netizen Report, we look at various threats facing netizens in the region, from the widespread use of a surveillance tool called FinFisher to new censorship measures facing Jordanian Internet users. The edition also covers issues in Bahrain, Iraq, the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Syria, Morocco, and more.

Netizen Report: Search Edition

  15 August 2012

This report starts off in the Googleplex, looking at a series of challenges Google has faced over the management of its search results. From there, we turn to other Sovereigns of Cyberspace, including Craigslist, Facebook and Apple, each of which is reshaping the Internet environment through a series of policy changes. Then we turn to Hong Kong, the Ukraine, and beyond.

Hong Kong: Google Search Engine Sued for Defamation

  12 August 2012

Albert Yeung Sau-shing, the Chairman of Emperor Group in Hong Kong is suing Google Inc for defamation. He claimed that when searching his name, both in Chinese and English, in Google's search engine, there are listed items that defame him. He demanded the court to issue injunction to Google for...

Netizen Report: Pan-African Edition

  9 August 2012

This week's Netizen Report starts out in Sub-Saharan Africa, where we look at how Pan-African organizations and a number of countries are debating issues of free expression online. From there, we move on to cover the latest developments in the struggle for freedom and control of the Internet in Myanmar, China, France, United States, the United Nations, Facebookistan, and beyond...

Hong Kong: Citizen Media Office Attacked

  9 August 2012

Yesterday (August 8 2012), 4 masked men rushed into a citizen media advocacy group's office and smashed its computer equipment. [Disclosure: the writer of this article is a member of the organization.] The organization is Hong Kong In-Media, a non-profit organization aiming at promoting the development of independent and citizen...

“Don’t Fear the Internet”: An Infographic

  7 August 2012

We’ve already shown you how the Internet, without freedom of expression, loses its value; and how this right involves things as simple as choosing a domain name. Now we present a new infographic from our campaign #NoTemasaInternet (Don’t fear the Internet) where we want to show, in simple and didactic terms, some of the things you can do on the Internet thanks to your right to freedom of expression.

Brazil: Congress to vote on “Bill of Rights” for Internet users

  3 August 2012

The Marco Civil da Internet, a "bill of rights" for Internet users proposed in Brazil, would represent a paramount advance in country's progressive digital policymaking agenda. Officials expect the law will come to a vote on August 8. Rather than framing digital policy as a matter of criminal violations, the law sets rights for users and aims to balance these with the interests of online companies and law enforcement.

Netizen Report: Olympic Edition

  2 August 2012

This week's report focuses on the Olympics. While the opening ceremony celebrated freedom and creativity, the games have in reality been plagued by widespread censorship and restrictions online. In addition, we discuss the challenges Twitter has faced as a primary platform for discussions online during the Games. After leaving London, we go to China, Tajikstan and beyond.