Stories about Freedom of Speech from January, 2019
Netizen Report: How Venezuela’s political crisis is playing out online
As Venezuelans continue to face internet censorship, Turkmenistan is blocking Google Play, Lebanon is blocking Grindr and Brazil is chipping away at is FOI law.
Surveillance is a key concern for foreign journalists working in China, survey shows
Mobile phone surveillance and physical spying were top concerns for foreign correspondents in China in 2018.
Uganda deports three senior telecom employees citing espionage
The police stated that at least two telecom employees used their offices to access information and tap calls which compromised national security. A third was accused of supporting the opposition.
Reports of internet blocks and media censorship as power struggle tensions escalate in Venezuela
Internet access is being blocked intermittently and radio stations are being censored as Venezuela's political crisis intensifies.
Russia's isolationist ‘sovereign internet’ bill worries experts and users alike
Experts have pointed to the colossal costs associated with building the infrastructure required, and lamented that this would only lead to further monopolization of the Russian internet provider market.
Old age, hate speech, press freedom: Critical issues in Nigeria's 2019 presidential elections
Amid the cacophony of Nigeria's electoral campaigns — both online and offline — here are the key issues that may get lost in the noise in this year's elections.
Azerbaijani prosecutors drop controversial charges against political prisoner
Activists cheered the concession as a victory of people power.
Is Fiji's Online Safety Act a ‘trojan horse’ for online censorship?
"The Act on the surface professes online ‘Safety’, while its vagueness on responsible free speech leaves the act open to being a Trojan horse for online ‘Regulation’ and censorship."
Mayor of Odessa could face criminal charges after his security attacked a local reporter
This is only the most recent episode in which Trukhanov or his subordinates have attacked journalists.
Correspondence between Arundhati Roy and Shahidul Alam shares resilience and hope
"...the tide will turn, and the nameless, faceless people will rise. They will rise against the entire state machinery."
Under Peña Nieto, Mexican journalists endured threats, killings — and digital surveillance, say researchers
"If they killed Javier Valdez [the] most protected member in the field, what can the rest of us expect? It is as if we all have a target on our backs.""Si matan a Javier Valdez, [...] el más protegido del gremio: ¿qué puede esperar el resto? Es como si a todos nos hubieran puesto un blanco en el pecho."
Facing targeted attacks, Yemen's Christian minority struggles to survive
"Galileo" is a Yemeni who converted to Christianity three years ago. He's been arrested and tortured, and is now living in fear for his life.
Netizen Report: Zimbabwe’s internet goes dark amid protests, nationwide strike
The update from Zimbabwe, plus: China fines VPN users, Cuba is censoring SMS messages and Iranian officials plan to block Instagram.
Venezuela's crisis of political legitimacy has rocked Wikipedia — and might have led to its blocking
Venezuelan Wikipedians are at war over a question rattling the country: Who has legitimate claim to the presidency?
Chinese authorities go after citizens for using VPNs, skirting online censorship
The news of two men being fined for using VPNs may serve as a wake up call to Chinese netizens.
Azerbaijanis pressure government to #FreeMehman after blogger endures 12 days on hunger strike
Young, popular and politicized, video blogger Mehman Huseynov is a classic target of the Azerbaijani government's crackdown on civil society.