PRESS RELEASE
UK: Concern about Parliamentary review into Guardian reporting of mass surveillance
Yesterday (16 October 2013) the UK Prime Minister David Cameron encouraged a House of Commons select committee to review whether The Guardian newspaper has damaged national security by publishing material leaked by the former NSA contractor and whistle-blower, Edward Snowden.We're concerned that this sort of review could have dangerous consequences for media freedom. Find out why>PRESS RELEASE
European Parliament should vote for strong data protection rules
On Monday of next week (21 October 2013) the European Parliament will decide on the future of privacy and data protection in Europe. The recent revelations surrounding government surveillance have highlighted the urgent need to update Europe's privacy rules. ARTICLE 19 has joined with civil society groups to in calling for limits on the collection of data to ensure privacy and to safeguard the rights of individuals, including the right to freedom of expression.
Read more about the joint call here >UPDATE
Mexico: ARTICLE 19 attacked a second time in six months
Last week, a security incident took place at our Mexican office. This follows previous security incidents involving our Mexican operations. ARTICLE 19 calls on the state to comply with their legal responsibilities to protect the safety of our staff as human rights defenders.
Read more about the incident here > STATEMENTEuropean Court strikes serious blow to free speech online ARTICLE 19 finds the judgment in Delfi AS v. Estonia (no.64569/09) to be a serious blow to freedom of expression online. The judgment displays a profound failure to understand the EU legal framework regulating intermediary liability. In addition, it conveniently ignores relevant international standards in the area of freedom of expression on the Internet. The case concerned the news portal’s liability for third-party comments made on its website.
Read our view on the judgment here >PRESS RELEASE
Moldova: Homosexual propaganda ban overturned
ARTICLE 19 and our Moldovan partners GENDERDOC-M have welcomed the decision to overturn a law banning the promotion of non-traditional relationships in the country. The move comes a month ahead of a European Union summit in Lithuania, at which Moldova hopes to sign an Association Agreement, as it attempts to progress towards EU membership.
For more on our joint statement, click here >UPDATE
UK: ARTICLE 19 to review final draft of Royal Charter on press regulation
Last week, the UK government published the
Final Draft Royal Charter on Self-regulation of the press regulation. ARTICLE 19 is currently reviewing the draft Royal Charter in order to see whether it addresses the concerns we raised about the original draft, on which we made 28 recommendations.
Read more about what we said inside >UPDATE
Brazil: Learning about the rights to information and water through music
We have been working with people in Brazil to help them fight for better access to and a better quality of water. ARTICLE 19 Brazil has produced a video that explains how the right to information law in the country works and how people can use the law to secure their right to water. The illustrated film takes the form of a
Cordel, a song in the traditional musical style of the region.
Read more about the project, watch the video and hear the song here >BLOG
Blog Action Day
Yesterday was Blog Action Day (#BAD2013), an annual event that brings together bloggers all over the world to blog about a specific theme. This year's theme was human rights so it made perfect sense for ARTICLE 19 to be involved. Earlier this year we released a policy paper promote called
The Right To Blog, which outlines how government and policy makers can protect the rights of bloggers. It also gives practical advice to bloggers about their rights and explains how - and in what situations - they can invoke some of the privileges granted to traditional journalists.
Read the Q and A about The Right To Blog here >
#BAD2013
ARTICLE 19 offices all over the world blogged about a wide range of issues connected to freedom of expression and the right to information for Blog Action Day. We blogged in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Farsi! Have a look over our blogs:
