Stories about Freedom of Speech from March, 2017
Back in the USSR?: Critics Say Draft Legislation Puts State Above Rights in Kazakhstan
"Can we designate people that leave their rubbish bags lying around outside their apartment doors enemies of state interests and remove their citizenships?"
The Day Latin America Declared Itself Feminist
Activists from Uruguay, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, and Venezuela explain why the International Women's Strike was so important to their region.
Russian Web Censor Cracks Down Ahead of Next Anti-Corruption Protests
In the wake of the largest opposition protests since 2011-12, Russia's prosecutor general is cracking down on the organizers of demonstrations planned for April 2.
Netizen Report: India Had 31 Internet Shutdowns in 2016. How Many Did Your Country Have?
Venezuelan independent media sites suffer online attacks, Japan may use mass surveillance to punish “preparations” for crime, and the UK calls for backdoors on encrypted messaging apps.
Iranians See Arrests and Intimidation of Telegram Administrators and Journalists Ahead of the Elections
Revolutionary Guards have previously attempted to limit Telegram's free flow of information with arrests for immoral or obscene content. This is the first time crackdowns have focused on political affiliation.
Young Iranian Faces Execution Over ‘Anti-Islamic’ Social Media Posts
"Sina's grandfather was a martyr of the eight-year war. Sina himself served two years. Sina has more rights to this country than most of these authorities."
Reporter's Murder in Mexico Revives Outrage over Violence against Journalists
"They killed Miroslava for talking, for making information that society demands to be public, and for annoying the powerful, in all its forms."
Netizen Report: Why Did YouTube Censor Your Videos? You May Never Know.
A Brazilian blogger is forced to identify his sources, Iran cracks down on speech pre-election, and Tunisia's Truth and Dignity Commission hears testimony from bloggers persecuted under Ben Ali.
Is Jamaica Preventing Cybercrime or Cyber Activism? The Tambourine Army Goes to Court
"Making threats through social media is a criminal offence, but making accusations is not. In interpreting the new act, the courts must ensure [...] the right to freedom of expression.”
Rio de Janeiro Is Caught Between a Yellow Fever Scare and Press Censorship
"What's left of the dictatorship? Everything except the dictatorship."
Jamaican Activist Arrested Under Cybercrime Law Amid Her Campaign Against Sexual Violence
"If the Tambourine Army believe they have exhausted all avenues of ‘proper’ ways to advocate, then I say do what you must, but please don’t give up the fight."
UAE Authorities Arrest One Rights Activist and Extend the Detention of Another
On 20 March police arrested human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor from his home. Meanwhile, UAE authorities have refused to release Osama al-Najjar, despite him having served out his prison sentence.
‘Those Who Tortured Him [Should] Tell Us the Truth': Tunisian Commission Hears Net Freedom Testimonies From Dictatorship
The Truth and Dignity Commission is investigating rights abuses committed during the dictatorship era, including internet freedom violations.
Brazilian Facebook User Prosecuted for Posting a Joke About a Politician
The administrator was prosecuted not for defamation, but rather for violating Brazil's anonymity laws.
Fake News and Fake Solutions: How Do We Build a Civics of Trust?
When posing solutions to fix fake news, we need to be careful not to build our own self-censorship machines.
UAE Court Sentences Jordanian Journalist Tayseer al-Najjar to Prison
UAE authorities took issue with a Facebook post that Tayseer al-Najjar published before he had even moved to the country.
Netizen Report: Azerbaijani Bloggers Targeted with Legal Threats, Spearphishing
Censorship is up in France, China is censoring scientists (again), and Facebook tells developers to stop using network data for surveillance.
Syrian Civil Society in Douma Navigates a Tough Crackdown
Fundamentalist backlash to a magazine article has thrown civil society in Douma and Eastern Ghouta into turmoil, as activists and journalists struggle to get back to work.
Macedonians Mourn Folk Singer Vanja Lazarova, Whose Plight Inspired Facebook Activism
Vanja Lazarova became part of digital activism history in Macedonia after her tough circumstances late in life inspired the innovative use of Facebook as a tool to petition the government.
In Kyrgyzstan, Prosecutors Sue Media for Offending President
"By advising him to sue internet publications, they are really doing him a bad turn."
Reckless Diplomacy: Turkey-Netherlands #TulipCrisis Is Scary Viewing for Minorities in Europe
A rally, a crackdown and a diplomatic standoff that stands to benefit nationalist politicians in both countries, but almost no-one else.
