Latest Censorship News
Algeria facing growing calls to release French-Algerian author Boualem Sansal
Politicians, writers and activists have called for the release of French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, whose arrest in Algeria is seen as the latest instance of the stifling of creative expression in the military-dominated North African country. The 75-year-old author, who is an...
Australia withdraws a misinformation bill after critics compare it to censorship
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia's government has withdrawn a bill that would give a media watchdog power to monitor digital platforms and require them to keep records about misinformation and disinformation on their networks. Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said...
Israel cracks down on Palestinian citizens who speak out against the war in Gaza
UMM AL-FAHM, Israel (AP) — Israel’s yearlong crackdown against Palestinian citizens who speak out against the war in Gaza is prompting many to self-censor out of fear of being jailed and further marginalized in society, while some still find ways to dissent — carefully. Ahmed...
American photographer Nan Goldin opens exhibition in Berlin with fiery speech against Israel
BERLIN (AP) — American photographer and activist Nan Goldin has used a speech at the opening of her exhibition in Germany to condemn Israel's war in Gaza. Goldin, 71, said Friday she wanted to use her retrospective show at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin “as a platform to...
Foreign governments criticize Hong Kong's sentencing of 45 activists. Beijing defends it
HONG KONG (AP) — Forty-five prominent activists in Hong Kong were sentenced to jail for up to 10 years on Tuesday, sparking criticism from foreign governments and rights groups. Beijing defended the decisions. The democracy advocates were among 47 people charged under a...
As China cracks down on bookstores at home, Chinese-language booksellers are flourishing overseas
WASHINGTON (AP) — Yu Miao smiles as he stands among the 10,000 books crowded on rows of bamboo shelves in his newly reopened bookstore. It’s in Washington’s vibrant Dupont Circle neighborhood, far from its last location in Shanghai, where the Chinese government forced him out of business six...
Pakistan's top cleric says use of VPNs is against Islamic laws as the government seeks to ban them
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan's top body of clerics has declared the use of virtual private networks, or VPNs, against Islamic laws, officials said Monday, as the Ministry of Interior sought a ban on the service that helps people evade censorship in countries with tight internet controls. ...
Ben & Jerry's lawsuit accuses parent company of censorship over Gaza
Ben & Jerry’s has sued its parent company Unilever accusing it of silencing the ice cream maker from making statements in support of Palestinians in the Gaza war. The complaint, filed Wednesday in federal court in New York, says the multinational conglomerate has failed to...
Guatemalan court overturns order that freed journalist José Rubén Zamora, orders his return to jail
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — A Guatemalan appeals court on Friday overturned the order freeing journalist José Rubén Zamora and ordered his return to jail. Zamora, founder of El Periódico newspaper, had spent more than two years in jail awaiting trial before a judge granted him house...
Brazil authorities link bombing in the capital to extremist discourse
SAO PAULO (AP) — A Brazilian Supreme Court justice said Thursday that he believes the explosion outside the court in capital Brasilia was the consequence of frequent far-right attacks and hate speech targeting the country’s institutions. “It grew under the guise of a criminal...
