Stories about Freedom of Speech from April, 2014
South Korea: Samsung Sues Newspaper Over Negative Report
South Korean tech giant Samsung has launched a lawsuit against a local IT newspaper for publishing an unfavorable report. Marmot's Hole blog wrote about how things developed and the repercussion of Samsung's response to negative press coverage. Some of the highlights read; I’d caution Samsung that in terms of PR, lawsuits...
Will Russia Regulate Blogs Like Mass Media?
The regulations would require fact-checking, age restriction warnings, and obeying election laws, among other responsibilities.
Chinese Court Upholds Activist Xu Zhiyong's Prison Sentence
The ruling rejected Xu Zhiyong's appeal of his January conviction on charges of "gathering crowds to disrupt public order", a charge often used to clamp down on dissidents.
Censorship Forces Navalny to Abandon LiveJournal
Russia's most famous blogger (or as he describes himself: "corruption fighter, son, husband, father") has been forced to move away from the blogging platform that launched him to fame.
Jailed Iranian Blogger's Letter Speaks of Torture
The blogger known as Siamak Mehr writes an open letter from a small cell with 40 inmates. He is serving a 4-year sentence for writing a blog.
Russian Internet Hipsters Are Out For Blood
A cautionary tale about the dangers of ill-conceived Facebook status updates, or perhaps about the growing threat of RuNet's epistemic closure.
Spies Like US: “Fake Twitter” Violated Cubans’ Privacy Rights
The USAID-created "Cuban Twitter" revealed last week in an AP report stemmed from a shortsighted and condescending idea about what happens when repressed populations get their hands on communications technologies.
Satirist’s ‘KFC’ Podcast is Litmus Test for South Korean Free Speech
A satirist and prominent social critic has returned to the airwaves in South Korea after being acquitted on charges of defaming the president.
Top 10 Russian-Language Tweets, Week 14 of 2014
At the end of each week, RuNet Echo collects the top ten Russian-language tweets and curates them for Global Voices readers.
Donations Prolong Life of Opposition TV Station
The week-long telethon that started at the end of March has collected enough funds to maintain broadcasting for just over 53 days.
GV Face: The USA's Secret “Cuban Twitter”
A secret US plan to support regime change in Cuba with a Twitter-like messaging service called ZunZuneo has now come under the spotlight with news reports that thousands of Cubans were duped into signing up for the service under false pretenses. Will there be consequences for digital activists worldwide? Some...
Campaign to Unfollow “Occupied” Opposition Twitter
Many @lentaruofficial fans were incensed at the perceived usurpation, and started a mini-campaign to get people to unfollow the "zombie" impostor.
UNESCO Mapping World Press Freedom Day Events
May 3 is World Press Freedom Day and UNESCO is marking the occasion with an event in Paris, France that is free and open to the public. There are lots of resources on their site for anyone who wishes to learn more about press freedom or host an event. Using...
Mozambique Wants to Criminalize ‘Insulting’ Texts, Emails and Internet Posts
The proposed law, soon to be submitted to parliament, would criminalize text messages, emails and other types of online posts that "jeopardize the security of the state".
Quantifying Russia's Traitorous Media
A pro-Kremlin website says it has conducted a quantitative study that ranks Russian media outlets according to disloyalty.
Syria: My Mother, Alive
Syrian blogger/activist Marcell Shehwaro remembers her martyred mother, "who believed in love, beauty, family and the right of Syrian mothers to live a life free from fear and anxiety."
We Love to Talk, But Do We Speak Out?
What's lies at the root of the Trinidadian reluctance to speak out publicly on matters discussed so energetically in private?