freedom of expression

Oral statement delivered under Item 3: General Debate UN Human Rights Council 38th Session 25 June 2018 Thank you, Mr. President. This statement is delivered on behalf of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), Derechos Digitales, and the Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET). As organisations committ...

Summary of the report on online content regulation by the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression (A/HRC/38/35). The internet is the greatest tool in history for global access to information and expression. Internet companies have become central platforms for discussion and debate, information access, commerce and human development. C...

Republished from the Save Your Internet website.  On 20-21 June, the lead committee in the European Parliament (EP), the Legal Affairs Committee, will vote on its Report on Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive. This vote is crucial to ensure that in the near future we will be able to enjoy the internet, as we know and use it today. In order to save your internet we ne...

G20 countries have both the opportunity and the responsibility to lead efforts to reinstate trust in the digital age. G20 members can inspire hope and embrace the goal that no country, no community, and no individual will be left behind and that their rights will be respected. G20 countries can set a digital agenda that places people at the centre. The Internet is estimated to contribute nearly...

As many as 88% of Pakistani journalists said they self-censor in their professional work and are most likely to hold back information related to religious and security matters in their reporting and personal conversations, according to new research by APC member Media Matters for Democracy (MMfD). The study, Surrendering to Silence: An Account of self-censorship among Pakistani journa...

Regulations pertaining to online spaces have taken many forms. Information and communication technology (ICT) laws throughout Asia have provisions that seek to censor and criminalise speech online. These regulations pose a significant challenge to people’s freedom of expression and their ability to participate in democratic processes such as elections. Media and journalists along with human r...

7amleh – The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media published its annual report on Palestinian digital activism under the title #Palestine 2017. This annual report is being published for the third consecutive year and monitors social media activities of all Palestinians throughout 2017. The research provides statistics and information about Palestinians' internet access and usage, ex...

We welcome this topic because it is current and integral to our work. On the one hand there is a lot of “noise” in the mainstream media about so-called “fake news” and what appears to be a fairly rushed response from platforms consisting of increasing in-house regulation of content. On the other hand, human rights defenders and activists we work with express concern that platforms are r...