Germany documents by Year:
As German hate speech law sinks Titanic's Twitter post, critics warn new powers go too far
January 23, 2018 2:05 PM ET
The satirical magazine Titanic appears to have been an unlikely victim of Germany's recently adopted online anti-hate speech law, NetzDG. "We were truly surprised," the magazine's editor-in-chief Tim Wolff told CPJ, as he explained how Twitter blocked the Titanic account for 48 hours after the magazine republished a post...
CPJ joins call for EU to stop surveillance software going to rights abusers
January 16, 2018 2:51 PM ET
The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined a group of human rights groups in calling on the European Parliament to vote tomorrow in favor of legislation that could prevent surveillance equipment from going to rights-abusing governments....
Proposed German legislation threatens broad internet censorship
April 20, 2017 9:53 AM ET
The German cabinet on April 5 approved a "Draft Law to Improve Law Enforcement in Social Networks" (Netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz), ostensibly aimed at combatting disinformation and hate speech, that raises concerns about restrictions on free expression and the privatization of censorship. The law would compel social media companies to remove content...
Deciding who decides which news is fake
March 14, 2017 6:09 PM ET
Authorities decry the proliferation of misinformation and propaganda on the internet, and technology companies are wrestling with various measures to combat fake news. But addressing the problem without infringing on the right to free expression and the free flow of information is extremely thorny....
EU rulings on whistleblowers and right-to-be-forgotten laws puts press freedom at risk
April 14, 2016 3:43 PM ET
European journalists were reminded today that their freedom to report is not only determined by national laws, but increasingly by European institutions. Today, after years of political battle, the European Parliament adopted the Passenger Name Record directive, the Data Protection Package, and the Trade Secrets Protection Act. The stakes...
Journalists not welcome: Across Europe, press and migrants increasingly barred
March 7, 2016 1:01 PM ET
"The press is not allowed in refugee centers." The message from the Greek government could not have been clearer. "No permission will be given to television crews and reporters to enter such premises that hosts refugees," Yannis Mouzalas, the minister in charge of immigration policy, said in a February...
Germany scores against the surveillance state
August 7, 2015 1:24 PM ET
It all went very fast. On Tuesday morning August 4, Germany’s chief federal prosecutor, Harald Range, was ordered by Justice Minister Heiko Maas to withdraw an independent expert from the investigation of two journalists from Netzpolitik. The investigator had concluded that leaked documents quoted by the news website amounted to...
After Charlie Hebdo attack, vigils, protests and publishing bans
January 27, 2015 2:18 PM ET
Protests against the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo were held in Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Middle East and parts of Africa over the weekend, as crowds demonstrated against the magazine's portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad, according to news reports....
EU underscores support of free expression, but slights access to information
May 28, 2014 2:13 PM ET
A new document on freedom of expression and opinion, adopted May 12 by the 28 foreign ministers of the European Union, presses nearly all the right buttons. Drawing its inspiration from international human rights norms as well as from the EU's treaties and its charter of fundamental rights, the document...
Thorning's chance to press China for media freedom
September 11, 2012 1:53 PM ET
Denmark's Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt is in China this week to meet with top leaders, according to international news reports. CPJ's Advocacy and Communications Associate Magnus Ag and Senior Asia Program Researcher Madeline Earp co-wrote an op-ed calling on Thorning--as she is called in the Danish press--to raise the issue...