Index on Censorship

Australia’s new guidelines, “Social Media Policy of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet”, outline what can and cannot be done on social media by civil servants and seem at pains to cover all bases while also being remarkably intrusive compared with other similar government documents.

Making a statement during International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO-T).

A Hindu supremacist group has succeeded in getting “Ali J”, a play centred around the partition of India and communal riots, and seeking to demolish every argument advanced by Hindu fundamentalists, off the stage. This is only the latest incident aimed at censorship and “rewriting history”.

A new report, prepared by the Council for the Defense of the Human Person, said a recent rise in violence can be attributed to the mass protests that began in June 2013 against transport fare rises, corruption and the amount of money spent on preparation for the FIFA World Cup 2014.

Australia is looking at repealing sections of the Racial Discrimination Act, including section 18c which makes it unlawful to “offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate” people based upon their race. While conservatives applaud the action for reasons of freedom of speech, others argue it will allow more hate speech to go unchecked.

Bangladesh witnessed the Internet take on an increasing role in its socio-political sphere in 2013. Usage trends swung more towards positives while the country’s regulatory precedents have been mostly negative.

For years, Egypt’s bloggers have been subject to savage beatings, intimidation and even sexual assault at the hands of the police. Today, it seems that little progress has been made despite the revolution.

Of late, a series of incidents in India have sounded a note of caution against the euphoria around social media. It has been compared to a street where women are abused, threatened, ogled at, rebuked, only virtually.