Category «Censorship»

Opinion: A frantic warning from 100 leading experts

Washington Post Opinion by Greg Sargent – Our democracy is in grave danger: “…Our entire democracy is now at risk,” the scholars write in the statement, which I obtained before its release. “History will judge what we do at this moment.” And these scholars underscore the crucial point: Our democracy’s long-term viability might depend on whether …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Congress, Courts, Government Documents, Legal Research

Americans and ‘Cancel Culture’: Where Some See Calls for Accountability, Others See Censorship, Punishment

“People have challenged each other’s views for much of human history. But the internet – particularly social media – has changed how, when and where these kinds of interactions occur. The number of people who can go online and call out others for their behavior or words is immense, and it’s never been easier to …

Subjects: Censorship, Free Speech, Internet, Knowledge Management, Social Media

Americans and ‘Cancel Culture’

Pew – Where Some See Calls for Accountability, Others See Censorship, Punishment: “People have challenged each other’s views for much of human history. But the internet – particularly social media – has changed how, when and where these kinds of interactions occur. The number of people who can go online and call out others for …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Internet, Knowledge Management, Social Media

Revealed: the Facebook loophole that lets world leaders deceive and harass their citizens

Julia Carrie Wong – A Guardian investigation exposes the breadth of state-backed manipulation of the platform. “Facebook has repeatedly allowed world leaders and politicians to use its platform to deceive the public or harass opponents despite being alerted to evidence of the wrongdoing. The Guardian has seen extensive internal documentation showing how Facebook handled more …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Social Media

Corporate America Bankrolls Voter Suppression

“Some of the biggest names in corporate America are backing state lawmakers who are pushing bills to make it more difficult to vote, a new Public Citizen report shows. Corporations have contributed $50 million since 2015 to state legislators supporting anti-voter bills, including $22 million over the past two years, according to the report, “The …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

Biden administration will investigate Trump-era attacks on science

The New York Times – “The Biden administration will investigate Trump-era political interference in science across the government, the first step in what White House officials described as a sweeping effort to rebuild a demoralized federal work force and prevent future abuses. In a letter to the leaders of all federal agencies, the White House …

Subjects: Censorship, Climate Change, Congress, Economy, Education, Energy, Environmental Law, Freedom of Information, Government Documents

The Uyghur Genocide: An Examination of China’s Breaches of the 1948 Genocide Convention

Newlines Institute – “This report is the first independent expert application of the 1948 Genocide Convention to the ongoing treatment of the Uyghurs in China. It was undertaken by the Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy, in cooperation with the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, in response to emerging accounts of serious and systematic …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Government Documents, Internet, Legal Research

Freedom in the World 2021 Democracy under Siege

Freedom House – “As a lethal pandemic, economic and physical insecurity, and violent conflict ravaged the world, democracy’s defenders sustained heavy new losses in their struggle against authoritarian foes, shifting the international balance in favor of tyranny.As a lethal pandemic, economic and physical insecurity, and violent conflict ravaged the world in 2020, democracy’s defenders sustained …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research

The Capitol riot and its aftermath makes the case for tech regulation more urgent, but no simpler

TechCrunch: “Last week and throughout the weekend, technology companies took the historic step of deplatforming the president of the United States in the wake of a riot in which the US Capitol was stormed by a collection of white nationalists, QAnon supporters, and right wing activists. The decision to remove Donald Trump, his fundraising and …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Congress, Cybercrime, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation, Social Media

House watchdog details extensive meddling with CDC Covid-19 reports

New documents show political appointees sought to influence at least 13 reports as they ignored warnings from career officials: “The House panel probing the Trump administration’s coronavirus response released new documents detailing political appointees’ extensive efforts to modify or scuttle scientific Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports, as it also ordered top Trump health …

Subjects: Censorship, Congress, Free Speech, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research

Archive, Historians, CREW Sue White House, Seek to Preserve Presidential Records During the Transition

National Security Archive – “The National Security Archive, the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, the American Historical Association, and the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington today filed suit against President Donald Trump in his official capacity, seeking to enforce the Presidential Records Act and prevent any destruction of records during the …

Subjects: Censorship, Congress, Courts, E-Government, E-Records, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

At every turn the distortion of data has been central to the U.S. government’s disastrous response to the coronavirus

Highline – HuffPo – “This is an accounting of the damage…The administration has failed on so many different fronts in its handling of the coronavirus, creating the overall impression of sheer mayhem. But there is a common thread that runs through these government malfunctions. Precise, transparent data is crucial in the fight against a pandemic—yet …

Subjects: Censorship, E-Government, E-Records, Government Documents, Health Care, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Medicine