Freedom of the press

FILE - In this Dec. 18, 2019, file photo, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks at the Capitol in Lansing, Mich. Whitmer says Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg should do more to curb hate speech on the platform, days after a political page was shut down over racist, misogynistic posts advocating violence against Muslims and female Democrats. Whitmer went on social media Friday, Jan. 17, 2020, to post a letter to Zuckerberg in which she referenced the posts on Facebook. The creator of the anti-Whiter group deactivated it after the Metro Times in Detroit began asking questions. The publication identified dozens of posts promoting or threatening violence against Whitmer and others. A message seeking comment was left with Facebook. (AP Photo/David Eggert, File)

Michigan governor urges Facebook to curb hate speech

Jan. 17, 2020 4:36 PM EST

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg should do more to curb hate speech on the platform, days after a political page was shut down amid questions over racist, misogynistic posts advocating violence against female Democrats and Muslims. Whitmer went on...

A DirectTV dish stands on home in the Catia neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020. Venezuelan President Maduro’s opponents want AT&T’s DirecTV unit to restore a number of channels it was required to take down from its lineup. But forcing AT&T to do the political bidding of Maduro’s foes could lead to retaliation and likely exit from a market where it has a whopping 44% market share. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

AP Exclusive: AT&T under pressure to defy Maduro's censors

Jan. 17, 2020 12:38 PM EST

MIAMI (AP) — Last April, as a military uprising roiled Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro’s socialist government ordered pay TV providers to immediately cease transmission of CNN and the BBC. DirecTV, which is wholly owned by AT&T, quickly obliged, yanking the two networks off the air as live images...

Turkish news agency says staff members detained in Cairo

Jan. 15, 2020 7:46 PM EST

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's state-run news agency said Wednesday that Egyptian police raided its office in Cairo and detained four of its staff members. Anadolu Agency said it had no information on where its employees, including one Turkish citizen, were taken following the raid late Tuesday. The...

The entrance to the Senate cloakroom at the Capitol is seen in Washington, early Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020, as the House is set to vote to send the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate for a landmark trial on whether the charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress are grounds for his removal. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Reporters claim new rules will hinder impeachment coverage

Jan. 15, 2020 5:51 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial in the Senate promises to be one of the most heavily scrutinized events in American political history. But the journalists covering the trial are warning that restrictions on media access will cripple their ability to do their job. ...

Judge: South Dakota to pay lawyer fees after fundraising ban

Jan. 14, 2020 6:06 PM EST

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota taxpayers will pay nearly $115,000 in lawyer fees to plaintiffs who challenged an initiated measure that prohibited ballot question committees from accepting out-of-state money. The measure, passed by voters in 2018, was pushed by legislators unhappy with what they...

FILE - This 2015 file photo provided by Rudicil Photography shows Laura Belin in Windsor Heights, Iowa. The Republican-controlled Iowa Legislature has again denied press access to Belin, a liberal journalist whose blog is often critical of its policies, despite warnings from state and national groups that the restriction appears to be unconstitutional. The Iowa House and the Iowa Senate informed Belin, who operates the Bleeding Heartland blog, that her applications for access during the session that began Monday, Jan. 13, 2020. have been rejected. (Betsy Rudicil/Rudicil Photography via AP, File)

Iowa Legislature denying access to blogger despite protests

Jan. 14, 2020 12:16 PM EST

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The Republican-controlled Iowa Legislature has again denied press access to a liberal journalist whose blog is often critical of its policies, despite warnings from state and national groups that the restriction appears to be unconstitutional. The Iowa House and the Iowa Senate...

Protesters hold banners outside Westminster Magistrates Court in London, where Julian Assange is due to appear, Monday, Jan. 13, 2020. Protesters will be insisting that Assange should not be extradited to the US for his reporting of the Iraq and Afghanistan war. They insist he will not face a fair trial in the United States where the charges against him could result in imprisonment for 175 years. Assange will be transported from Belmarsh high-security prison. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

WikiLeaks' Assange in UK court fighting extradition to USA

Jan. 13, 2020 8:38 AM EST

LONDON (AP) — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange made a brief court appearance Monday in his bid to prevent extradition to the United States to face serious espionage charges. He and his lawyers complained they weren't being given enough time to meet to plan their battle against U.S. prosecutors seeking to...

An Indian paramilitary soldier guards as a convoy of New Delhi-based diplomats passes through Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020. Envoys from 15 countries including the United States are visiting Indian-controlled Kashmir starting Thursday for two days, the first by New Delhi-based diplomats since India stripped the region of its semi-autonomous status and imposed a harsh crackdown in early August. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

India's top court orders review of all curbs in Kashmir

Jan. 10, 2020 5:42 AM EST

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s top court on Friday ordered the government to review all restrictions, including the suspension of internet service, in Indian-controlled Kashmir within a week, saying the measures amounted to abuse of power. Defense attorney Vrinda Grover said the Supreme Court also...

FILE - In this Dec. 31, 2019, file photo, legislators of KMT or Nationalist Party protest the Anti-infiltration Bill which is meant to criminalize political activities back or funded by mainland China, with slogans reading ''Protest against a bad law, Sanction by Votes. Neck Bomb, Be hated by both man and God'' on the legislature floor in Taipei, Taiwan. Taiwan’s ruling party is crying foul over alleged Chinese attempts to sway the self-governing island’s presidential election on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020. The Democratic Progressive Party, known as the DPP, rushed through a law banning

Suspected Chinese meddling focus in Taiwan presidential vote

Jan. 10, 2020 12:06 AM EST

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s ruling party is crying foul over alleged Chinese attempts to sway the self-governing island’s presidential election on Saturday. The Democratic Progressive Party, known as the DPP, rushed through a law banning “infiltration” by outsiders just days...

Dozens of people gathered in front of Rabat Parliament to denounce the situation of freedom of speechin Rabat, Thursday Jan 9 2020. Authorities across Morocco escalated a nationwide persecution of dissenting voices during 2019 that has activists and rights associations worried over a growing state-control of free speech on social media, considered the last remaining venue for Moroccans to speak freely. (AP Photo/Nadine Achoui-Lesage)

Moroccan rights group warns over free speech after arrests

Jan. 9, 2020 1:09 PM EST

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Leading Moroccan human rights activists warned Thursday of an assault on freedom of expression in the country following the arrest over recent months of 15 journalists, bloggers, rappers and social media users. Supporters of the detainees organised a protest in front of the...

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