· January, 2014

Stories about Freedom of Speech from January, 2014

Films on Digital Security Turn a Shade of Noir

  31 January 2014

Tactical Technology Collective, an organization dedicated to the use of information in activism, has produced a series of short films that focus on digital security and privacy. The movies are in a film noir style and include three interviews with human rights defenders from different regions, talking about the digital...

Photos Uzbek Authorities Do Not Want You To See

  31 January 2014

EurasiaNet.org presents “Twenty Photos Uzbekistan Does Not Want You to See“, a collection of black-and-white images by photojournalist Timur Karpov. The photos were removed [ru] from a group exhibition at Tashkent's House of Photography two hours before the beginning of the show on January 25, apparently because they were deemed to be “undermining” national pride....

Jamaicans Deserve Details About Proposed Logistics Hub

  27 January 2014

You are being manipulated. Jamaicans are effectively begging and paying their government for vital information about their country. How can we accept this? Talk of developing an environmentally protected area of Jamaica as a major logistics hub has Cucumber Juice up in arms, as she says key information is not...

Bermuda: Gambling with Democracy?

  21 January 2014

catch a fire explains why he got involved in a petition for a referendum on casino gambling in Bermuda, then publishes a follow-up post asking: What does that say for our democracy when people are afraid to sign a petition that they support because they fear consequences from the Government...

European Citizens Call for the Protection of Media Pluralism

  20 January 2014

“European institutions should safeguard the right to free, independent and pluralistic information”. The quote, from the Media Initiative website, summarizes the main idea behind a pan-European campaign that aims at urging the European Commission to draft a Directive to protect Media Pluralism and Press Freedom. The Media Initiative is running a European Citizens’ Initiative – a tool...

INFOGRAPHIC: The New Anti-Democratic Laws of Ukraine

  18 January 2014

On January 16, 2014, Ukrainian Parliament adopted a series of bills with a severe violation of the voting procedure. Nevertheless, on the eve of the same day the bills were signed into law by President Yanukovych. Below is an infographic by civic movement CHESNO [uk, en] outlining the major legislative...

Japan Scores Well on Internet Freedom Status Report

  17 January 2014

U.S. based watchdog organization Freedom House compiled a report on Freedom on the Net 2013 and included the report on Japan for the first time. Japan was evaluated as “Free”,  where the constitution protects all forms of speech and prohibits censorship, and Internet and digital media freedom are generally well established. For...