On Internet freedom, India’s perilous trajectory
By the time the first story based on former NSA contractor Edward Snowden’s disclosures splashed across the front pages of the world’s newspapers, India had reportedly begun deployment of its own major surveillance architecture, the Central Management System (CMS). The system is a $132 million project that allows central access to all communications content and…
While tech companies call for spying reform, telcos silent
On Monday, eight of the world’s leading technology companies set aside their rivalries to issue a direct challenge to U.S. lawmakers: lead the world by example and fix America’s broken surveillance state. Although the tech companies’ statement sends a powerful message, notably absent from the letter’s signatories is the appearance of a single telecommunications company,…
Venezuela forces ISPs to police Internet
The concept of network neutrality holds that all Internet traffic should be treated equal and that Internet Service Providers, or ISPs, should serve as free-flowing gateways for information rather than as filters. But in politically polarized Venezuela, neutrality is an increasingly rare commodity and now ISPs are feeling the heat.
Malian government accused of censoring news site
New York, December 10, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reports a Malian website based in Paris has been threatened by Mali’s government after posting an Associated Press (AP) story today implicating Malian soldiers in extrajudicial killings.
Take this survey on digital safety, then take these steps
It is an extraordinarily difficult time to be a journalist. Nearly every month, the digital security landscape shifts–new surveillance concerns are unearthed and freshly drafted laws are introduced that seek to curb freedom of expression under the guise of national security.
Journalist faced prison for posting media relations number
Carlos Miller is not one to back down. As the founder and publisher of Photography is Not a Crime, a leading blog about free speech and press rights in the U.S., Miller has made it his mission to publicize examples of government overreach and the suppression of journalists’ and other newsgatherers’ rights. And although he…
Vietnamese blogger jailed on tax evasion charges
Bangkok, October 4, 2013–Vietnamese blogger Le Quoc Quan was sentenced to prison on Wednesday for tax evasion, a charge that government authorities frequently use to stifle critical voices. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the appellate court to reverse the politically motivated ruling and urges Vietnamese authorities to end state persecution of Vietnam’s independent…
Sakharov and the fight for a free press in Ethiopia
In 1968, Andrei Sakharov braved censorship and personal risk in the Soviet Union to give humanity an honest and timeless declaration of conscience. That same year, Ethiopia’s most prominent dissenter, Eskinder Nega, was born. In January 1981, a year into Sakharov’s exile in the closed city of Gorky, Reeyot Alemu, another fierce, Ethiopian free thinker,…
Sudan must restore Internet access immediately
New York, September 25, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reports that Internet service in Sudan was shut down today in what seemed like an official attempt to stifle coverage of violent protests after the government lifted fuel subsidies on Monday.