Journalists struggle to work amid extended internet shutdowns in Myanmar, Ethiopia, Kashmir
By CPJ Africa and Asia Program Staff Even a brief shutdown of the internet impedes the press from doing its job. But some disruptions last for months, severely undermining safety and access to information, CPJ has found. Recently, authorities have imposed such measures in Myanmar and Ethiopia amid serious crises. India leads the world in internet…
Myanmar’s military should lift Facebook, WhatsApp censorship, enable news broadcasts following coup
Bangkok, February 4, 2021 – Myanmar’s military should rescind an order to block social media platforms being used to share information about this week’s coup and lift ongoing restrictions on broadcasters, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The military obstructed news stations and temporarily shuttered phone and internet access when it seized power from…
Indian police arrest, investigate journalists covering farmers’ protests
New Delhi, February 1, 2021 – Indian authorities must immediately release journalist Mandeep Punia and refrain from detaining and investigating members of the press covering protests, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On the evening of January 30, Delhi police detained Mandeep Punia, a contributor to The Caravan magazine and Junputh news website, and…
CPJ calls for press freedom to be upheld as Myanmar military takes power, imposes emergency rule
Bangkok, February 1, 2021 – Myanmar’s military must fully restore all blocked TV stations, phone lines, and internet services and refrain from imposing any orders that restrict the media’s ability to freely report the news amid emergency rule, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The military seized power from Myanmar’s elected government today, detaining…
Internet access cut, social media banned during Uganda elections
Nairobi, January 14, 2021 – Ugandan authorities should immediately cease all efforts to disrupt internet access in the country and allow the press to cover the country’s elections freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, the Uganda Communications Commission, the country’s broadcasting and telecommunication regulator, ordered telecommunications providers to suspend internet services in…
CPJ joins call for Uganda to maintain internet access during election
The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined 54 other organizations in a letter to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni calling on him to ensure open and unrestricted internet access during and after the country’s presidential election, scheduled for January 14. The letter notes that disruptions to internet access would undermine journalists’ ability to report on the…
Indian authorities seal Kashmir Times office in Srinagar
New Delhi, October 21, 2020–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the ongoing harassment of the Kashmir Times and its editor, Anuradha Bhasin, by the Jammu and Kashmir administration and called on authorities to immediately reopen and allow staff to work from its Srinagar office. On October 19, officials from the Estates Department of the…
CPJ joins letter calling on Guinea government not to disrupt internet access
The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined 35 other press freedom and human rights organizations in a letter calling on authorities in Guinea to maintain the stability and openness of all digital communication channels before, during, and after the presidential election scheduled for October 18. The letter emphasized the importance of the internet and other…
Authorities block local news websites amid Belarus protests
Vilnius, Lithuania, September 14, 2020 – Authorities threatened last week to censor another major domestic news website in Belarus, where dozens remain blocked amid nationwide protests, local journalists told CPJ. On September 9, the Ministry of Information warned Tut.by, one of the most popular independent news websites in the country, that its reporting on a…
CPJ condemns Ethiopian internet shutdown and Oromia Media Network raid
Nairobi, June 30, 2020 – In response to a nationwide internet shutdown in Ethiopia and a police raid on the Oromia Media Network, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “Ethiopian authorities’ persistence of old patterns of censorship in response to crises, when the public most needs access to timely news and information,…