Index on Censorship

As key stakeholders from government, industry and civil society come together at the Internet Governance Forum in Azerbaijan from 6-9 November, Index on Censorship sets out some of the key challenges to free expression online, and the red lines and issues that must be defended and promoted at the IGF – and elsewhere.

In a joint statement, IFEX members in the European Union and its ‘neighbourhood’ states call upon authorities to protect freedom of expression in Greece.

A social media user has been sentenced to 6 months in jail for insulting Bahrain’s King Hamad on Twitter. He is one of four Twitter users arrested in October 2012.

Putting questions to the government in Spain can be pricey, as Access Info Europe, an NGO that campaigns on transparency, has recently discovered. Today the Spanish Supreme Court ordered the NGO to pay €3,000 in legal costs for requesting information about the country’s anti-corruption measures.

Following outrage from India’s civil society and media, it appears the country’s government has backed away from its controversial proposal to create a UN body to govern the Internet.

While the Internet offers opportunities for mass communication and social interaction unprecedented in human history, the chances for governments to monitor and control how we communicate are also ample.

MFWA welcomes the move by Gambian authorities to drop charges against two journalists for seeking permission to peacefully protest the execution of death row inmates, but calls for investigation into death threats against journalists.

A coalition of human rights organisations calls on President Bashar al-Assad to release all peaceful activists, media professionals, and humanitarian assistance providers as part of an amnesty announced on 23 October, and give independent monitors access to detention facilities.