· March, 2013

Stories about Legal Threats from March, 2013

Togo: Victory for Media Freedom, but Clashes Continue

  29 March 2013

This week, journalists in the West African nation of Togo celebrated the Constitutional Court's decision to throw out a recent law restricting media freedom. But with elections approaching, crackdowns on the press have continued, with some turning violent. This post features a series of citizen videos collected from YouTube and Twitter and curated on WITNESS' Human Rights Channel on YouTube.

Oman: Online Activists Freed

  27 March 2013

On 21 March, the Sultan of Oman issued a pardon for online activists and writers convicted on charges of insulting the ruler, "information technology crimes" and taking part in unauthorized protests. The move, which came as a surprise to most observers, runs counter to increasing attacks against online freedom of expression in the region.

New Study: Manipulating China's Most Influential Microbloggers

  20 March 2013

As China's largest online social forum and most popular micro-blogging platform, Sina Weibo is subject to heavy censorship and manipulation by government actors. Earlier this week, Global Voices Advocacy explored the implications of recent findings by a group of US-based computer scientists on Sina Weibo's filtering techniques. Today, we look a new study from a group of researchers at Hong Kong University, who worked to measure the influence of certain groups of micro-bloggers on the site.

#FreeBassel: One Year Later, Syrian Netizen Remains in Prison

  15 March 2013

One year ago today, Syrian web developer and open technology advocate Bassel Khartabil was arrested and incarcerated in Damascus, where he has remained ever since. Known among open technology advocates as Bassel Safadi, the 31-year-old served as the Creative Commons lead for Syria. Global Voices Advocacy urges readers to support the campaign for his release by visiting the #freebassel website, tweeting about Bassel's case, or attending an event in his honor.

Venezuela: Twitter user detained for spreading “destabilizing” information

  14 March 2013

On March 14, Lourdes Alicia Ortega Pérez was detained by Venezuelan authorities for allegedly having "usurped the identity of an official of the Autonomous Service of Registries and Notaries" and having sent messages on Twitter that were "destabilizing [to] the country." An official press release stated that police also seized Ortega's personal computer as part of their investigation.