Thailand’s Lese Majeste Law: ‘A Strange Legislation that Needs Reform’

Thailand’s Lese Majeste Law: ‘A Strange Legislation that Needs Reform’ · Global Voices: "Article 112 of Thailand’s criminal code is often described as the world’s harshest Lese Majeste (anti-royal insult) law. The controversial law is often invoked to censor web content and shut down websites. Aside from webmasters, even ordinary citizens have been jailed for allegedly sending mobile phone text messages that insult the royal family.
Scholars and activists have been demanding a reform of the law but the government has dismissed the petition." 'via Blog this'

Italian libel sentencing 'should be referred to human rights court'

Italian libel sentencing 'should be referred to human rights court' - Telegraph: "Italy's Supreme Court in Rome upheld a conviction and 14 month sentence handed down by a lower court in Milan against Alessandro Sallusti, the editor of Il Giornale, a newspaper owned by Silvio Berlusconi's brother. The decision has prompted calls for Italy's archaic libel laws to be reformed.
The court ruled that Mr Sallusti was responsible for an article by an anonymous columnist, printed in 2007 by another right-wing newspaper he edited, which called for the death penalty for a judge who had granted a 13-year-old girl the right to have an abortion.
Mr Sallusti was judged to have defamed the judge by printing the story." 'via Blog this'

Wall Street Journal accused of concealing writers' Mitt Romney links

Wall Street Journal accused of concealing writers' Mitt Romney links | Media | guardian.co.uk: "The Wall Street Journal has been criticised by senior US journalists for failing to disclose that 10 of its op-ed writers are Mitt Romney advisers. According to an inquiry by Media Matters, 23 pieces in the WSJ's op-ed pages attacked President Obama or praised Romney without the writers acknowledging their political connections to Romney." 'via Blog this'

Different models on free speech as U.N. debates resolution on curbing ethnic, religious hatred

Different models on free speech as U.N. debates resolution on curbing ethnic, religious hatred - The Washington Post: "Amid the firestorm over an American film that mocks the Prophet Muhammad, the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva votes Friday on a resolution by a group of African and Latin American governments urging countries to “to counter the dissemination of ideas based on racial superiority or hatred.”
The developing world nations are essentially telling the West: Curb free speech that inflicts wounds based on race or religion. But the West is far from uniform on how to balance free speech rights it considers sacrosanct with efforts to tackle the spread of racial, ethnic or religious hatred." 'via Blog this'

"Freedom of Expression and the Internet" 14 Nov 2012 18:00-19:30

IALS Events / Institute of Advanced Legal Studies:
Speakers: Professor Lorna Woods, Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Law, City University Law School
Venue Details: Institute of Advanced Legal Studies
Charles Clore House
17 Russell Square
London WC1B 5DR " 'via Blog this'

1st meeting of the Committee of Experts on Rights of Internet Users (MSI-DUI)

13–14 September 2012 Council of Europe Strasbourg Agora G02 - agenda at http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/standardsetting/media/MSI-DUI/MSI-DUI(2012)01E_Agenda_13-14%2009%2012.asp#TopOfPage
 'via Blog this'

STatewatch News Online: ECHR pre-paid mobile phones

STatewatch News Online: ECHR pre-paid mobile phones: "The European Commission criticised anonymity bans in 2011 as follows: "No evidence has been provided as to the effectiveness of those national measures. Potential limitations have been highlighted, for example, in cases of identity theft or where a SIM card is purchased by a third party or a user roams with a card purchased in a third country."[1] The Council of Europe warned that such measures "may not only threaten the privacy of subscribers and users in general, they may also inhibit their freedom of communication since they diminish the degree of anonymity which subscribers and users may wish to avail of when using the telephone by obliging them to reveal their identities".[2]
"Two thirds of all EU Member States prosecute crime successfully without a blanket ban on anonymity", comments complainant Jonas Breyer. "As prepaid cards can be passed on or bought anonymously abroad, criminal investigators generally find identification data to be useless. The Court should scrap those ineffective anonymity bans and re-establish our right to anonymous communications and anonymous speech."" 'via Blog this'