Category «Free Speech»

A new iron curtain is descending across Russia’s Internet

Washington Post: “Advocates of an open, globally connected Internet long have worried that a major country or region would break away from the Web amid geopolitical strife, dashing hopes of a seamless network capable of uniting a fractious world. Little more than a week into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the world is coming closer to …

Subjects: Censorship, Education, Free Speech, Internet, Knowledge Management, Microsoft

Pair of cases on the Supreme Court’s “shadow docket” could eviscerate legal safeguards protecting free and fair elections

Vox: “A pair of cases are currently pending before the Supreme Court that could fundamentally rewrite the rules of US elections. Both cases are redistricting cases. In Moore v. Harper, the North Carolina Supreme Court struck down gerrymandered congressional maps drawn by the state’s Republican legislature. In Toth v. Chapman, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court selected …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, Free Speech, Government Documents, Legal Research

The Global Expansion of Authoritarian Rule Download Report

Freedom House Report – Freedom in the World 2022: “Global freedom faces a dire threat. Around the world, the enemies of liberal democracy—a form of self-government in which human rights are recognized and every individual is entitled to equal treatment under law—are accelerating their attacks. Authoritarian regimes have become more effective at co-opting or circumventing …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

Democracy Index 2021: the China challenge

Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) – “Democratisation suffered more reversals in 2021, with the percentage of people living in a democracy falling to well below 50% and authoritarian regimes gaining ground. This year’s report finds that democracy experienced its biggest annual decline since 2010, when the global financial crash led to major setbacks. The index score …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

Book bans: How Amazon, Google, and Apple can fight back with a Freedom Archive

ZDNet: “Hardly a day goes by when we don’t hear from a school or library somewhere in the United States that they’ve removed a book from circulation following complaints from parents or constituents. Last week, in a school district in Tennessee, it was the removal of MAUS, the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel by Art Spiegelman, that …

Subjects: Censorship, Education, Free Speech, Internet, Legal Research, Libraries, Search Engines

Divergent Global Views on Social Media, Free Speech, and Platform Regulation: Findings from the United Kingdom, South Korea, Mexico, and the United States

Wihbey, John and Chung, Myojung and Peacey, Mike and Morrow, Garrett and Tian, Yushu and Vitacco, Lauren and Rincon Reyes, Daniela and Clavijo, Melissa, Divergent Global Views on Social Media, Free Speech, and Platform Regulation: Findings from the United Kingdom, South Korea, Mexico, and the United States (January 3, 2022). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract= “Citizens …

Subjects: Free Speech, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Social Media

TikTok is confronting Holocaust misinformation but antisemitism persists

TechCrunch: “In honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, TikTok launched a portal on its Discover page this morning, intended to educate users about the historic catastrophe, as well as the ongoing threat of antisemitism. The platform also hosted a similar portal last year. When users navigate to the Discover page on the TikTok mobile app, …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Social Media

Eurasia Group: Top Risks 2022

“Top Risks is Eurasia Group’s annual forecast of the political risks that are most likely to play out over the course of the year. This year’s report was published on 3 January 2022. As we enter 2022, the lack of global leadership that characterizes our G-Zero World is clearer than ever. That’s not a good …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Climate Change, Defense, Economy, Energy, Environmental Law, Free Speech, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management

Fight Censorship! Updated Resources from the Office for Intellectual Freedom

The Office for Intellectual Freedom of the American Library Association: “Book challenges have been a hot topic in news and politics lately. The American Library Association (ALA) Executive Board and eight divisions recently released a statement affirming its opposition to widespread efforts to censor books in U.S. Schools. OIF has tracked 155 unique censorship incidents …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Education, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Libraries

#FReadom Fighters

Axios – “Librarians are using the hashtag #FReadom to fight book bans.” #FReadom Fighters: How we started: “On November 4, 2021 a group of librarian #FReadom fighters organized a twitter takeover of the #Txlege. We highlighted positive books and invited families, authors, librarians, teens, and parents to join. We shared this Information https://bit.ly/FReadom Where we …

Subjects: Censorship, Education, Free Speech, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation, Libraries

Free Expression in America Post-2020

Knight Foundation: “Free expression and the freedom of speech are cornerstones of American democracy. Yet the interpretation of the First Amendment continues to be a flashpoint in the 21st century as the nation debates how to apply these rights to our society.  For the 2021 “Free Expression in America Post-2020” report, Knight Foundation commissioned Ipsos …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

A For-Profit Company Is Trying to Privatize as Many Public Libraries as They Can

Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting – Janine Jackson interviewed librarian Caleb Nichols about defending public libraries for the December 17, 2021, episode of CounterSpin. [Caleb Nichols is a librarian as well as a writer, poet and musician, currently course reserves coordinator at Cal Poly/San Luis Obispo. His eye-opening article, “Public/Private Partnerships Are Quietly Hollowing Out …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Education, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Libraries