Twitter may be run by a private corporation, but it has quickly become one of the strongest tools we have for free speech, which is why it’s so important that the company resist efforts to curb that speech. Read more »
A string of offensive hashtag memes in France has spurred the government to announce a consultation on hate speech with Twitter. It could mark a watershed for the country’s approach to social media — but it’s not just Paris that has a problem. We all do. Read more »
Google says it blocked viewers in Egypt and Libya from seeing a controversial video clip on YouTube, after the video was allegedly linked to violence in both of those countries. But should Google be censoring content without even a request from a government or court? Read more »
It started with an innocuous tweet and turned into a legal saga that critics said threatened free speech online. But, after two years and three appeals, the UK’s High Court has overturned the conviction of a man who joked about blowing up his local airport. Read more »
Italian bloggers are up in arms after ministers secretly resurrected their attempts to introduce a new law that could see them fined thousands of Euros for not responding quickly enough to request for corrections — an approach dubbed the “blog killer” by critics. Read more »
Twitter says it has implemented a new system that will allow it to remove tweets from specific countries if required to do so by law, but that it will try hard not to do this, and will be as transparent as possible if it does. Read more »
New antipiracy legislation recently proposed in Congress and known as the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) could force YouTube and other “user-generated content” sites to take content down, even if that content has not been proven to be infringing. Experts in freedom of speech and creators ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
A New York Times piece argues WikiLeaks is on life support, but the reality is that it and Julian Assange have been the targets of a sustained attack by the U.S. government, and that is a freedom of speech issue we should all be concerned about. Read more »
Proposals to give police the power to shut down social networks in Britain — proposed as a dramatic reaction to the riots that spread across the country this month — appear to have been dumped by the government. A victory for sensible people everywhere, or a warning sign? Read more »
The SF BART subway system admitted Friday it shut down cell phone service on several subway platforms during a planned protest Thursday. The subway operator said it was to guarantee passengers’ safety, but others are calling it “a chilling strike against free speech.” Read more »
It seems totalitarian states like Egypt aren’t the only ones struggling with the impact of social media and the desire to muzzle services like Twitter and Facebook. Britain says it’s considering a ban on social media in the wake of the riots in London. Read more »
To mark World Press Freedom Day, campaigners have examined the different tactics used by governments around the world to silence dissent and shut down free speech. And it seems the range of tools at their disposal is growing as fast as the Internet itself. Read more »
Anyone who posts early results during Monday’s federal election in Canada could be fined $25,000 or sentenced to five years in prison, according to an ancient provision in the country’s Election Act — but some Twitter users have said they will defy the ban anyway. Read more »
