Stories about Censorship from October, 2019
30 October 2019
Pakistan shuts art installation depicting extrajudicial killings
"The closure is both an attack on free expression and an attempt to sweep under the rug a longstanding human rights problem."
29 October 2019
Australians respond to media campaign that calls out “creeping culture of secrecy”
Mixed reactions to the Australian media's #righttoknow campaign range from broad community support to denial by government ministers and senior public servants, plus some predictable cynicism on social media.
28 October 2019
Netizen Report: How are protests in Lebanon affecting digital rights?
Protests continue in Lebanon, phone service is back in Kashmir (but the internet is still down) and Egyptians are getting censored on Twitter.
25 October 2019
Iran’s drive to block international services continues with Google Play ban
The decision to block Google Play is consistent with the authorities' strategy to foist home-grown Iranian apps and services on Iranian internet users and limit the availability of international services.
Despite ban, Telegram survives in Russia — but for how long?
Most users still have access, but the authorities aren't giving up on attempts to block the instant messaging and voice app.
23 October 2019
Mozambican journalists and activists targeted with threats in election year
Human rights organizations documented several cases in which journalists and activists were threatened and subjected to pressures interfering with their work in relation to the elections.
22 October 2019
Australian newspapers ‘censor’ their front pages in protest against government secrecy laws
"Journalists and whistleblowers in Australia live in fear of criminal charges, police raids and damaging court battles that threaten their professional careers and personal freedom."
18 October 2019
How Ethiopia's ruling coalition created a playbook for disinformation
Manipulation tactics used by Ethiopia's ruling coalition members against each other in their internal power struggle serve as a blueprint for opposition groups to attack their opponents and the government.
From dictatorship to democracy: All eyes on The Gambia’s upcoming Universal Periodic Review
Ahead of The Gambia's Universal Periodic Review, which issues top the agenda of civil society organizations? "There has been a kind of a media boom after the dictatorship."
15 October 2019
Internet censorship in Sudan: Rethinking laws and tactics that served an authoritarian regime
Sudan's transitional authorities have taken small steps toward improving the climate for internet freedom in the country— but these remain inadequate.
11 October 2019
Google removes Hong Kong protester role-playing game from its Play Store
The mobile game, entitled "The Revolution of Our Times", provides details on the political context leading up to the protests with a map on key protest sites in Hong Kong.
10 October 2019
Bangladesh regulator blocks engineering university webpage containing reports of student abuse
The Telecommunication Regulatory Commission blocked an online page where over 175 complaints were anonymously made by current and former students of the top engineering university of the country.
The Hungarian journalists who wouldn't keep quiet
Interview with Csaba Lukács, journalist and managing director of the independent weekly Magyar Hang, on the trials and tribulations of running a critical, conservative newspaper in Viktor Orbán's Hungary.
9 October 2019
US gaming company Blizzard bans Hong Kong e-sport player from tournament for shouting pro-democracy slogan
The e-sport player will be removed from the tournament without receiving any prize money and banned from Hearthstone contests until 2020. Chinese tech giant Tencent owns about 5% of Blizzard’s...
Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa: Global Voices represents at Addis Ababa digital rights conference
The forum represented a huge step forward for digital rights in Ethiopia, where, just five years ago, press freedom and digital rights were at an all-time low.
8 October 2019
South Park creators mock the NBA with a sarcastic apology to China
One single tweet about Hong Kong demonstrations is able to set a war of words between China and the US and to end NBA's business prospects in mainland China.
5 October 2019
Video: Two months of lockdown in Kashmir
It has been 60 days since public transportation was suspended, mobile services blocked, schools and colleges shut in Kashmir. Community correspondent for Video Volunteers Basharat Amin reports from Shopian.
1 October 2019
While El Salvador's security improves, the country loses ground in press freedom
While there are fewer murders in El Salvador, the government appears to show censorship tendencies towards the media and critical voices.
