New York Times Has a Sunday Dialogue on Anonymity and Civility on the Internet
Two weeks ago, the New York Times published a letter to the editor from Christopher Wolf, who leads the Internet Task Force of the Anti-Defamation League, in which he suggested:
It is time to consider Facebook’s real-name policy as an Internet norm because online identification demonstrably leads to accountability...
Government and Drug Cartels Both Threaten Freedom of Expression in Mexico
Freedom of expression continues to come under attack in Mexico. This week, Mexican President Felipe Calderon announced that his government is exploring "all options to proceed legally against those who have denounced the government in international forums and in the courts." This announcement came in response to a complaint...
Cablegate One Year Later: How WikiLeaks Has Influenced Foreign Policy, Journalism, and the First Amendment
One year ago today, WikiLeaks started publishing a trove of over 250,000 leaked U.S. State Department cables, which have since formed the basis of reporting for newspapers around the globe. The publication has given the public a window into the inner workings of government at an unprecedented scale, and...
South African Bill Poses Grave Threat to Press Freedom
“The [South African] media enjoys probably greater freedom than any other country in Africa and is seen by some as an unofficial opposition.” ~ Guardian, November 21, 2011
Today, the South African parliament is expected to pass one of the most draconian secrecy bills in world. Known as...
FBI Sanctioned for Lying About Existence of Surveillance Records
An order from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California has revealed the FBI lied to the court about the existence of records requested under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), taking the position that FOIA allows it to withhold information from the court whenever it thinks...
Syrian Surveillance Project Raises Concerns About Effectiveness of Export Controls
Over the past few weeks, numerous stories have emerged documenting just how pervasively the Syrian regime patronizes American companies. First it was Blue Coat, the company that first denied the use of their tools in Syria, which then later backtracked, admitting that thirteen of their appliances were “phoning...
Internet Community Shut Out of Stop Online Piracy Act Hearing - Again
This morning, EFF’s staff and concerned netizens across the country tuned into the live webcast of the House Judiciary Committee’s hearing on the Stop Online Piracy Act (H.R. 3261). At least we tried to. Unfortunately, we were confronted with an incredibly poor webcast stream for much of the hearing....
Who's Missing From Today's SOPA Hearing? A Short List
The House Judiciary Committee will meet today for a hearing on the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). What could have been an opportunity for the committee to hear from a variety of stakeholders has devolved into a parade of pro-SOPA partisans. Scheduled to testify are representatives from the Register...
No Room for Free Expression in Egypt
When Hosni Mubarak was ousted from the Egyptian presidency in February, Egypt's revolutionaries saw a new beginning: an Egypt in which individual rights--including the right to free expression--would be respected. Just nine months later, with several prominent bloggers languishing in prison and countless other civilians tried by military courts for...
