Freedom of expression has been threatened more seriously in Gaza than in any recent conflict, with journalists targeted in the war-torn territory and Palestinian supporters targeted in many countries, a United Nations expert said Friday. Irene Khan, the U.N. independent investigator on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, pointed to attacks on the media and the targeted killings and arbitrary detention of dozens of journalists in Gaza. The banning of Al Jazeera, the tightening of censorship within Israel and in the occupied territories, seem to indicate a strategy of the Israeli authorities to silence critical journalism and obstruct the documentation of possible international crimes, she said. Khan also sharply criticized the discrimination and double standards that have seen restrictions and suppression of pro-Palestinian protests and speech. She cited bans in Germany and other European countries, protests that were crushed harshly on U.S. college campuses, and ...
In a deepening crackdown, Mali's ruling junta on Thursday banned the media from reporting on activities of political parties and associations, a day after suspending all political activities in the country until further notice. The order, issued by Mali's high authority for communication, was distributed on social media. The notice said it applied to all forms of the media, including television, radio, online and print newspapers. Mali has experienced two coups since 2020, leading a wave of political instability that has swept across West and Central Africa in recent years. Along with its political troubles, the country is also in the grip of a worsening insurgency by militants linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. The scope of the ban or how it would be applied in practice was not immediately clear. It was also not known if journalists would still be allowed to report on issues such as the economy, which are closely tied to politics and who would monitor their work. Th
Editors Guild of India on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court's order staying the Centre's notification setting up a fact-checking unit under the Press Information Bureau (PIB) to identify fake news about the Central government. The fact check unit was notified on March 20 under Information Technology Rules, 2021, by the Ministry of Electronics and IT, amid concerns voiced by civil society groups and media outlets about the possibility of its misuse for potential censorship. "EGI welcomes the stay on the Fact Checking Unit under the IT Rules 2021, by the Supreme Court of India," the Guild said in a statement here. The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the notification setting up a fact-checking unit under the PIB to identify fake news about the Union government.
Disney on Thursday appealed a judge's dismissal of its free speech lawsuit over what it described as Governor Ron DeSantis' retaliatory takeover of Walt Disney World's governing district, as the Florida governor separately called any appeal "a mistake." "They were wrong and we were right," DeSantis said at a news conference in Jacksonville a day after the ruling. "They should move on." Disney filed a notice of appeal over Wednesday's ruling by a federal judge in Tallahassee, saying that it would set a dangerous precedent if left unchallenged by giving states the green light to weaponize their powers to punish opposing viewpoints. A separate lawsuit over who controls the district also is still pending in state court in Orlando. Disney had argued that legislation signed by DeSantis and passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature transferring control of the Disney World governing district from Disney supporters to DeSantis appointees was in retaliation for the company publicly ...
Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra on Tuesday charged that people's freedom of speech and right to work are being attacked in the country, and said it is "worrying" for democracy. Dotasra, who unfurled the tricolour at the Rajasthan Congress headquarters, said the Congress is working to keep the country united, maintain brotherhood and strengthen it as per constitutional values. The way people's freedom of speech and right to work are being attacked in the country, it is worrying for democracy of our country, he said. Dotasra also charged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from Parliament through a "conspiracy", but our Constitution and judiciary is so strong and transparent that he got justice and the right to speak in the Lok Sabha. He said the Congress is united against the "agenda of weakening democracy, intimidating people and spreading hatred". Dotasra said the biggest threat to democracy has become how people's representatives are being ...
A day after the Supreme Court stayed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's conviction in a defamation case, senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi took a swipe at him on Saturday, saying freedom of speech cannot be used as an "armour for abuse". Gandhi on Friday got a huge relief from the Supreme Court after it stayed his conviction in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his Modi surname remark and paved the way for his reinstatement as a Lok Sabha MP. The stay which will also enable Gandhi, 53, to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections was given on the grounds the the trial court in Surat in Gujarat failed to explain why he deserved the maximum two-year punishment upon his conviction that led to his disqualification from the Lower House of Parliament. Speaking with reporters here, Naqvi said those notorious for nuisance should not misuse their freedom of speech as an armour for abuse. Some people are celebrating even as their leader has made his freedom of voice a "license for freestyle ..
Expressing concern over the police action against certain media houses in Kerala, former Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadeker said on Wednesday that freedom of the press was under attack in the state and accused the Left government of "terrorising the media" for exposing its alleged wrongdoings. Referring to the cases registered against a woman reporter of a prominent Malayalam news channel in Kochi a few weeks ago and the recent police action against a Thiruvananthapuram-based online news channel and its employees, the senior BJP leader alleged that those were the "first kind of terrorism against the media" in the southern state. He said the actions of the Left government against the media and media personnel clearly showed its 'political vendetta' against those who expose the alleged wrongdoings of the Pinarayi Vijayan-led dispensation. "This is clearly a political vendetta and an attack on freedom of the press. This is the Kerala government's effort to terroris
The decision drew harsh criticism from the supporters of free speech in the country
The groups said that the new IT Rules would censor journalism and severely jeopardise freedom of expression
The Congress on Thursday slammed the Centre after the Enforcement Directorate registered a case against news broadcaster BBC India, alleging that the government is determined to impose a "dictatorial government" where there is "tyranny of the executive." The ED has registered a FEMA case against BBC India with allegations of foreign exchange violations, official sources said Thursday, two months after the Income-Tax department surveyed its office premises. A deputy managing editor of the news company has deposed before the agency. The ED has called for documents and the recording of statements of some company executives under provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), the officials said. The probe is essentially looking at purported foreign direct investment (FDI) violations by the company, they said. Asked about the development at a press conference at AICC headquarters, Congress spokesperson Anshul Avijit said, "We know the atmosphere that is being created by the .
'I'm not familiar with the documentary you're referring to. I am very familiar with the shared values that enact the United States and India as two thriving, vibrant democracies'
Not only media institutions but also officials from France, Germany, the UK, the UN and the EU condemned the suspensions, with some saying the platform was jeopardising press freedom
Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair was arrested on Monday by the Delhi Police over a 2018 tweet
The three-member technical panel, which has been given wide ranging powers, would comprise eminent experts, Naveen Kumar Chaudhary, Prabaharan P and Ashwin Anil Gumaste
The court said it is undeniable that surveillance and the knowledge that one is under the threat of being spied on can affect the way an individual decides to exercise his or her rights
Raids also at Bharat Samachar offices
Publication's demise comes after the govt froze its funds, seized computers, halting critical reporting of Beijing
The new guidelines seek to regulate OTT platforms and digital news media, whether they use other intermediary sites or apps such as Twitter or Facebook or host news media content on their own websites
British lawmakers will debate the issue of press freedom and safety of protesters in India next Monday in response to an e-petition which had crossed the 100,000-signature threshold required for such a debate, the House of Commons Petitions Committee confirmed on Wednesday. The 90-minute debate will be held at Westminster Hall in the Houses of Parliament complex in London and will be opened by Scottish National Party (SNP) MP and member of the Petitions Committee Martyn Day, and a minister will be deputed to respond on behalf of the UK government. The debate relates to the petition entitled Urge the Indian Government to ensure safety of protesters & press freedom', which called on the British government to make a public statement on the #kissanprotests & press freedoms. Next week, the issue will come up for debate and is expected to involve backbench MPs who have been vocal on the issue of farmers' protests in India, including Opposition Labour MP Tan Dhesi. India has ...
Mr Goswami's arrest highlights flaws in free-speech argument