Journalism’s Digital Disruptions Doug Bernard | Washington DC It went bad at the very end, and started with the #7 car. On the last lap of last Saturday’s NASCAR qualifying heat in Daytona Beach, Florida, the race cars were bunched so tightly together they appeared to be touching. Regan Smith in the #7 “Clean Coal […]
Regulating the Sacred and the Profane
Posted September 30th, 2012 at 11:49 am (UTC-4)
Is There A Right To Not Be Offended – And Should There Be? Doug Bernard | Washington DC As arguments over freedom of speech go, this one seemed comparatively tame. Earlier this week in a New York City subway station, Egyptian-American blogger Mona Eltahawy saw an ad that she considered racist and offensive. “In any […]
A Victory for the Internet?
Posted July 6th, 2012 at 1:33 pm (UTC-4)
A New Push For, And Old Worries About, Internet Freedom Doug Bernard | Washington DC Freedom champions take heart…at least a little bit. There were some moves this week that advocates for free online expression say point to a larger trend toward more, not less, freedom on the web. But the Internet being fickle, not […]
What Do You Think: Regulating Online Speech
Posted June 25th, 2012 at 4:33 pm (UTC-4)
Adding Your Voice To The Debate Ross Slutsky | Washington DC Keen observers of the web may have noticed recently some in politics and the media expressing concern about online free speech, and an upcoming meeting of the UN’s International Telecommunications Union. The ITU works to create international standards for digital communications, and during this […]
“Blogging While Vietnamese”
Posted February 22nd, 2012 at 11:08 pm (UTC-4)
Vietnam Cracks Down On The Internet And Free Expression Doug Bernard | Washington DC Dieu Cay knows the risks and rewards of being a blogger in Vietnam. On the risk side, he’s been tossed in and out of prison cells over the last five years, today finding himself detained once more. His reward? He’s still […]
Censoring Twitter?
Posted January 31st, 2012 at 2:15 pm (UTC-4)
Twitter’s New Policy And Debate About Online Speech Doug Bernard | Washington DC The announcement caught many Internet analysts off guard. Late last week, on January 26th, the micro-blogging site Twitter said it was implementing changes that would allow it to withhold content from specific nations upon request. In other words, if a government asked, […]
The Web and The Kremlin
Posted December 14th, 2011 at 5:18 pm (UTC-4)
The Internet and Social Media Snap at Putin Doug Bernard | Washington DC There are few things worse for a politician than losing an election. One of those is being mocked. Just ask Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. In late November, two weeks before parliamentary elections, Putin decided to appear on live television to introduce […]
UPDATE: SMS vs. the King
Posted December 6th, 2011 at 7:30 pm (UTC-4)
Thailand’s Expanding Crackdown on Free Speech and Lese Majeste Doug Bernard | Washington DC UPDATE, December 7, 2011: A Thai court has sentenced American citizen Joe Gordon to 2 1/2 years in Thai prison for admitting to posting weblinks to a banned biography of King Bhumibol Adulyadej which was found to violate lese majeste. The […]
Russians Battle Over Internet Freedom – UPDATE
Posted April 11th, 2011 at 3:30 pm (UTC-4)
UPDATE: 19 hours UTC Monday – Author and cyber-security expert Jeffrey Carr reports on his blog “Digital Dao” that lists of the sites attacked, and the botnets employed, are now being released. Additionally, he reports suspicions are now turning to a group known as “the Nashi.” Who are the Nashi? Carr writes: “The Nashi was […]
Protecting Arabs Online
Posted April 9th, 2011 at 1:48 pm (UTC-4)
…And Taking Armenia Off Two items recently caught our eye. There’s not much on our part to add, but in retrospect they both seem to speak to a similar theme – that of how fragile our online worlds can be. First, the nonprofit Access Now – a loose group campaigning for expanded online freedom and […]
