freedom of expression
Bytes for All, Pakistan, at the Internet Freedom Festival. Valencia, 4 March 2016 “Taboos are on issues like LGBT, more than on fundamentalist and sectarian speech.” “Political expression, religious expression, minorities, human rights defenders, journalists are under threat.” “There is a feeling of panic, references to vague threats that end up criminalising journalists and human rights defenders.” These were some of the concerns shared by Bytes for All, Pakistan ...
“Joining Forces to Fight Censorship and Surveillance” is the motto of the Internet Freedom Festival (IFF) taking place in Valencia 1-6 March. The IFF has become one of the main worldwide events for activists, journalists and members of the technical community to gather around issues of surveillance, censorship and cirvumvention, with more than 800 participants this year. As a “friend of the festival”, APC supports this space as relevant to advance internet rights in the context of inc...
The best way to counter alleged misinformation is more information, not the restriction of information. This was the conclusion of a letter sent by Malaysian human rights group EMPOWER (also known as Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor), in reaction to the latest internet censorship developments in the country. The blocking of The Malaysian Insider by the Malaysian Communications and Multimed...
Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor (EMPOWER) is outraged at the blocking of The Malaysian Insider by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). We are alarmed that this is only the latest manifestation of an ongoing and worsening trend of internet censorship in Malaysia. Section 3 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA 1998) indeed provides that “[n]othing i...
Freedom of expression and freedom of religion are internationally guaranteed, interrelated, interdependent and mutually reinforcing rights to be enjoyed by all individuals without any form of discrimination. Yet, freedom of religion has often been pitted against freedom of expression, especially as fears of violent extremism and xenophobia have spread in recent times, resulting in violations of...
Violations of freedom of expression in the name of religion, are increasingly taking place online, and disproportionally impact women and sexual minorities. This was the focus of a statement launched by APC and Bytes for All, Pakistan to contribute to the last report of the UN Special Rapporteur of Freedom of Religion or Belief’s, released in light of the upcoming Human Rights Council ses...
A recent statement issued by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) claimed that Google has “promised” to remove any material deemed offensive by the PTA from YouTube. Bytes for All, Pakistan (B4A) and APC are concerned that this will pave the way for the government to further restrict the right to political expression and discussion on critical human rights issues in Pakistan. Last...
Distinguished Senators, We are a coalition of Nigerian, African, and international organisations writing to you about the proposed Frivolous Petitions (Prohibitions, etc) Bill that has provisions for social media regulation. We believe that the bill is a dangerous encroachment upon free expression and we urge you to reject it from further consideration. The use of social media is a mainstay of ...
Joint statement calling on the National Assembly of Pakistan to vote against the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill in its current form Article 19, Digital Rights Foundation, Human Rights Watch, Privacy International, the Association for Progressive Communications and other organisations remain seriously concerned by the proposed Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill in Pakistan. Regrettably, ...
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