CPJ Safety Advisory: Covering the political crisis in Venezuela
UPDATED: This safety advisory was updated on February 20, 2019. In response to disputed election results, Venezuelans from both sides have taken to the streets in recent weeks, according to news reports. The crisis began following the inauguration of President Nicolás Maduro to his second term on January 10, after an electoral process characterized by…
Bangladesh orders Shahidul Alam held 7 days; more than a dozen journalists attacked
New York, August 6, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Bangladeshi authorities to immediately halt widespread attacks on journalists covering ongoing student protests in Dhaka and to release photographer Shahidul Alam from jail.
Tanzania forces forums, blogs, and streaming websites to comply with draconian regulations
Nairobi, June 12, 2018– Authorities in Tanzania should immediately rescind regulations that force online forums, blogs, and streaming websites to register with the government–a process that requires them to pay large entry fees and comply with draconian regulations–and withdraw threats of legal action for noncompliance, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Freedom of speech is guaranteed Aliyev says as Azerbaijan blocks news websites
President Ilham Aliyev claims that in Azerbaijan the internet is free and press freedom is guaranteed. But ahead of the April 11 snap elections, authorities have systematically silenced critical voices online through amending laws and blocking news websites, and hackers have attacked independent news outlets.
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,…
Right Is Might
We have the laws and institutions to fight attempts at information control By David Kaye Yevgeny Zamyatin’s strikingly original 1920s Russian novel We gets read far less than its canonical English-language descendants, Brave New World and 1984. Yet George Orwell knew of and clearly drew from Zamyatin’s book in creating 1984. The homage-paying is obvious:…
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of December 18
Court confiscates assets of 54 journalists Istanbul’s 11th Court of Penal Peace court confiscated the assets of 54 journalists, media workers, and writers, saying there was a “strong suspicion” that they were followers of exiled preacher Fethullah Gülen, whom the Turkish government accuses of maintaining a terrorist organization and “parallel state structure” (FETÖ/PDY, by its…
Thai legislation threatens online freedoms
Bangkok, December 16, 2016–Thailand’s cabinet and king should scrap legislation that would give authorities sweeping new powers to censor the internet based on vague and broad criteria, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The military-appointed National Legislative Assembly today passed amendments to the 2007 Computer Crime Act that would severely restrict Thais’ rights to…
Blogger in Singapore faces financial ruin following defamation suit
“If we want our freedom, we have to fight for it,” wrote blogger Roy Ngerng last year after he was sued for defamation by Singapore’s prime minister. The case was sparked by a blog post in which Ngerng allegedly suggested Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had misappropriated funds in a state pension system. In November,…