Censorship

In jurisdictions around the world, there are laws or administrative practices that can be abused to censor critical voices on- and offline.

Criminal defamation laws are easily abused by authorities to limit scrutiny and to stifle public debates, and are often used against journalists reporting on controversial issues, or members of the public expressing themselves online.

Equally, laws that criminalise so-called “false news” provide public authorities with a powerful instrument to control journalistic activities: allowing public officials to decide what counts as truth is tantamount to accepting that the forces in power have a right to silence any opposition.    Like ‘hate speech’ or terrorism, the notion of “fake news” is too vague to prevent subjective and arbitrary interpretation.

Laws that seek to deal with the dissemination of unlawful content on social media also often fail to comply with international standards, by being too broad and therefore encouraging social media platforms to over-censor.

While forms of censorship have evolved with the growth of the internet as a space for expression, efforts by states to restrict the right to freedom of opinion and expression through vague and broad provisions are still a frequent occurrence.

China: Threats and intimidation ahead of Foreign Minister’s Australia trip
18.03.2024 4 min read

China: Threats and intimidation ahead of Foreign Minister’s Australia trip

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Blog: In China, when cyber censorship fails, resort to old-fashioned intimidation
12.03.2024 11 min read

Blog: In China, when cyber censorship fails, resort to old-fashioned intimidation

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Hong Kong: Tech companies must speak out against internet censorship
11.03.2024 5 min read

Hong Kong: Tech companies must speak out against internet censorship

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Russia: Sham presidential election amid total state capture of civic space
07.03.2024 19 min read

Russia: Sham presidential election amid total state capture of civic space

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Türkiye: Big tech should protect free speech and resist state censorship
04.03.2024 15 min read

Türkiye: Big tech should protect free speech and resist state censorship

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Senegal: Restore Walf TV’s licence and protect freedom of expression
06.02.2024 2 min read

Senegal: Restore Walf TV’s licence and protect freedom of expression

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Senegal: Urgent call to maintain connectivity
05.02.2024 5 min read

Senegal: Urgent call to maintain connectivity

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Malaysia: Uphold international standards in tabling Right to Information Bill
29.01.2024 2 min read

Malaysia: Uphold international standards in tabling Right to Information Bill

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Sri Lanka: Withdraw the Online Safety Bill
19.01.2024 9 min read

Sri Lanka: Withdraw the Online Safety Bill

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