· August, 2009

Stories about Advocacy from August, 2009

United States:Google at the center of online free speech debate

  25 August 2009

Google is at the center of online free speech debate once again. The search engine giant is being sued by blogger Rosemary Port after they released her identity following a court order. Port criticized former model Lasuka Cohen in her blog-often using harsh words. A Manhattan Supreme Court Judge ordered...

Egypt: the Influence of Facebook Events and Groups

  19 August 2009

Within the dynamic and expansive electronic media landscape in Egypt, Facebook became widely used by Egyptian citizens for different reasons and in several occasions, especially when it comes to shape the public opinion in opposition to the Egyptian government. For example, the Egyptian government recently announced, through the ministry of communication, a “Fair Usage Policy (FUB)” to be implemented in Egypt, aiming to limit the bandwidth consumed by internet users and determine specific downloadable amount.

Brazil: Lawsuits force popular political blog to close down

  17 August 2009

The A Nova Corja blog [The New Scum, pt], a symbol of independent and investigative journalism on the Brazilian blogosphere, has published a farewell post [pt]. On August 6th, the last remaing blogger of the group, Rodrigo Alvares, announced that he has decided to close the blog down due to...

The Egyptian Government and the detention of Internet activists

  4 August 2009

Many reasons and factors helped the emergence of electronic media in Egypt. For example, suppressing different media outlets, such as newspapers, TV channels and radio-stations, difficult procedures for founding new media bodies, censoring media content prior to publishing, different forms of repression targeting journalists, very narrow margin for freedoms and...

United States: Online free speech debate

  3 August 2009

Should a school be able to curb a student's speech online because the content is available on campus? A case in the 3rd U.S Circuit Court of Appeals sets a precedent in protecting off-campus online speech of a student. According to ThinkFree “In 2005, while a high school senior in...

Iran: Leading reformist Abtahi on trial

  1 August 2009

Mohmmad Ali Abtahi, a leading blogger and former reformist vice president, was among dozens to protest the 12th June presidential election's result. A trial of the protestors is now underway in a Tehran court. In the court Abtahi, who appeared wearing prisoner's pyjamas, looked weak and seemed to have lost...

Egypt: 2 Bloggers Released and Another Still Disappeared (podcast)

  1 August 2009

Two out of the three bloggers who were arrested on July 22, 2009 are now free. Abdel Rahman Ayyash and Magdy Saad were released after six days of arrest at Cairo airport, then sent to State Security Intelligence (SSI) headquarters at Lazoghly Square, (Cairo). In this podcast, blogger Abdel Rahman...