“An improvement of four places from 14th to 10th in Transparency International’s (TI) Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is an opportunity for the UK to lead on global corruption at the Prime Minister’s forthcoming Anti-Corruption Summit in May – but carries the risk that if he fails to deliver, the UK will once again sink down… Continue Reading
Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002
Category Archives: Free Speech
World Press Freedom Index 2015: decline on all fronts
“Top of the list, as so often, are three Scandinavian countries: Finland, which has been in first place for five years in succession, followed by Norway and Denmark. At the other end of the scale, Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea, in last place, were the worst performers. France is ranked 38th (up one place), the… Continue Reading
ODNI Announces Transition to New Telephone Metadata Program
News release: “Beginning Sunday, November 29, the government is prohibited from collecting telephone metadata records in bulk under Section 215, including of both U.S. and non-U.S. persons. And, while under the prior program NSA collected metadata in bulk and sought court approval for individual queries, the USA FREEDOM Act requires that the government must now… Continue Reading
Global Support for Principle of Free Expression, but Opposition to Some Forms of Speech
Pew – “Although many observers have documented a global decline in democratic rights in recent years, people around the world nonetheless embrace fundamental democratic values, including free expression. A new Pew Research Center survey finds that majorities in nearly all 38 nations polled say it is at least somewhat important to live in a country… Continue Reading
Onlinecensorship.org Tracks Content Takedowns by Social Media Sites
“The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Visualizing Impact launched Onlinecensorship.org today, a new platform to document the who, what, and why of content takedowns on social media sites. The project, made possible by a 2014 Knight News Challenge award, will address how social media sites moderate user-generated content and how free expression is affected across… Continue Reading
Cell Phone Location Tracking Laws By State
ACLU: “Location records can reveal an enormous of information about a person, especially with the proliferation of smartphones that constantly track our whereabouts. Because privacy laws haven’t kept up with advances in technology, police have long claimed the authority to access this information from cell phone companies without warrants. That’s changing. While Congress and the… Continue Reading
Ranking Digital Rights Spotlights Corporate Practices Around Privacy, Freedom of Expression
“Many of the world’s most powerful Internet and telecommunications companies are not doing enough to respect basic user rights, according to new research released today. Even the companies that ranked highest are missing the mark in some ways, and improvements are needed across the board to demonstrate a greater commitment to users’ freedom of expression… Continue Reading
New Internet Monitor report: “Beyond the Wall: Mapping Twitter in China”
“Internet Monitor is delighted to announce the publication of “Beyond the Wall: Mapping Twitter in China,” the seventh in a series of special reports that focus on key events and new developments in Internet freedom. The report, authored by Sonya Yan Song, Robert Faris, and John Kelly, maps and analyzes the structure and content found… Continue Reading
ODNI – The Principles of Intelligence Transparency
The Principles of Intelligence Transparency Implementation Plan, October 27, 2015. “The Principles of Intelligence Transparency – In February 2015, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) published the Principles of Intelligence Transparency for the Intelligence Community (Principles). These Principles are intended to facilitate Intelligence Community (IC) decisions on making information publicly available in a manner that… Continue Reading
CRS Policy on Confidentiality
Follow up to 22 Former CRS Employees Support Free Public Access to CRS reports this new memorandum via FAS – CRS Policy on Confidentiality: “The purpose of this policy is to ensure that all Congressional Research Service (CRS or Service) employees recognize the long-standing requirement for preserving the confidentiality of our work for Congress and… Continue Reading
Paper – Dawn of the Selfie Era
Dawn of the Selfie Era: The Whos, Wheres, and Hows of Selfies on Instagram. Flávio Souza, Diego de Las Casas, Vinícius Flores, SunBum Youn, Meeyoung Cha, Daniele Quercia, Virgílio Almeida, October 19, 2015. “Online interactions are increasingly involving images, especially those containing human faces, which are naturally attention grabbing and more effective at conveying feelings… Continue Reading
Federal Court Invalidates 11-Year-old FBI gag order on National Security Letter recipient Nicholas Merrill
Calyx Institute: “A federal district court has ordered the FBI to lift an eleven-year- old gag order imposed on Nicholas Merrill [document is redacted] forbidding him from speaking about a National Security Letter (“NSL”) that the FBI served on him in 2004. The ruling marks the first time that an NSL gag order has been… Continue Reading
