Network shutdowns restrict reporting during COVID-19 crisis
The Global Network Initiative, a coalition of nongovernmental organizations of which CPJ is a member, issued a statement yesterday calling on governments to refrain from shutting down internet access amid the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Two news websites inaccessible in Algeria amid protests, social media shutdowns
New York, June 17, 2019 — Independent news websites Tout Sur l’Algérie and Algérie Part have been widely inaccessible within Algeria since June 12, according to local journalists and news reports. The apparently targeted disruption took place amid anti-government protests that have been ongoing for nearly four months, and began shortly before several social media…
Social media still blocked in Sri Lanka following terror attack
Several social media sites remained blocked in Sri Lanka today, according to NetBlocks, an independent, international civil society group that monitors internet censorship. Sri Lankan authorities blocked the sites, along with several messaging apps, throughout the country on April 21, following a terrorist attack that left more than 253 people dead, according to international news…
Under Abiy, Ethiopia’s media have more freedom but challenges remain
During a trip to Addis Ababa in January, it was impossible to miss the signs that Ethiopian media are enjoying unprecedented freedom. A flurry of new publications were on the streets. At a public forum that CPJ attended, journalists spoke about positive reforms, but also openly criticized their lack of access to the government. At…
CPJ joins call for Nigeria to ensure internet and social media services remain connected during elections
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined more than 15 rights organizations and the #KeepItOn Coalition to call for Nigerian authorities to ensure that internet and social media services remain connected during upcoming elections, and safeguard internet speeds of websites and messaging applications. In early February, Nigeria’s federal government denied rumors of plans to shut down…
Jammu and Kashmir state government censors 22 social media services
New York, April 26, 2017–Indian officials in the state of Jammu and Kashmir should immediately revoke a one-month ban on access to social media services, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The order, announced today, directed all internet service providers to block users’ access to 22 platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, WhatsApp, and YouTube,…
Egypt warns of TV shutdowns; legal threats mount
New York, June 28, 2013–Egypt’s Ministry of Investment sent notice today to all satellite television channels warning they will be shut down if the government deems that their coverage of this weekend’s political protests incites violence, insults individuals, or contradicts societal values, news reports said. Numerous journalists are also facing new legal threats in the…
BROADCAST OUTLET FORCED OFF THE AIR AS PRESSURE MOUNTS ON INDEPENDENT MEDIA
New York, March 14, 2000 — In the latest government attack on independent media in Yugoslavia, police have shut down the opposition-run station Radio Television Pozega in the city of Pozega, 60 miles southwest of Belgrade. Police seized the station’s transmitter during the night of March 11-12, after accusing RTV Pozega of operating without a…
‘Catastrophic’: Journalists say ethnic cleansing taking place in a news void in northern Gaza
On Wednesday, November 6, an Israeli strike killed at least 15 people in a house in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza. But communications difficulties meant that the Gaza health ministry struggled to determine the death toll. This is just one example among countless others where local reporters were able to help verify information about potential atrocities…