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Category Archives: Free Speech

TikTok, Russia & the emerging Splinternet

Tracking Exposed: “On March 15, 2022, Tracking Exposed released a special report documenting our investigation into TikTok’s content restrictions in Russia, which was picked up by news outlets, such as The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, Vice News, Le Monde, and WIRED Italia. It also gained substantial traction on Twitter. Today we release a… Continue Reading

Urban League’s dire democracy warning

Axios: “The National Urban League’s 2022 “State of Black America” report warns of a systematic effort to “disenfranchise, delude, manipulate and intimidate American voters,” Axios’ Russell Contreras writes. “[T]here’s a plot to destroy American democracy,” National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial told reporters on a call ahead of today’s release of the annual… Continue Reading

The Russian invasion shows how digital technologies have become involved in all aspects of war

New on LLRX – The Russian invasion shows how digital technologies have become involved in all aspects of war – Since Russia invaded Ukraine, we keep hearing that this war is like no other; because Ukrainians have cellphones and access to social media platforms, the traditional control of information and propaganda cannot work and people are… Continue Reading

LLRX March 2022 Issue

Articles and Columns for March 2022 Libraries and the Contested Terrain of “Neutrality” – Rick Anderson is University Librarian at Brigham Young University. His commentary addresses timely, thoughtful and critical conversations and knowledge sharing around the issues of censorship, book banning, library ethics and professional responsibility across communities. Truth to Power – Robert McKay discusses his… Continue Reading

What makes writing more readable?

Pudding – Story by Rebecca Monteleone and Jamie Brew; Design + code by Michelle McGhee “Writing text that can be understood by as many people as possible seems like an obvious best practice. But from news media to legal guidance to academic research, the way we write often creates barriers to who can read it.… Continue Reading

Elections Guide for Investigative Reporters: Introduction

Global Investigative Journalism Network: Editor’s Note: This is the introductory chapter of a new, five-part GIJN guide to investigating elections that will be serialized over the coming month. Look for the second installment, “Chapter 1: New Election-Digging Tools,” next week. Elections around the world face increasingly common threats, including disinformation campaigns, foreign interference, voter suppression, rising… Continue Reading

The internet is #MoreThanFour – our laws should reflect that

“The Open Internet Alliance aims to strengthen the advocacy voice of medium-sized companies and organisations that promote and defend Open Internet principles. We welcome participation from other like-minded companies. The Open Internet is at a crossroads in Europe. With the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act, the EU has an opportunity to create… Continue Reading

U.S. Senators Introduce SMART Copyright Act to Combat Piracy

TorrentFreak: “U.S. Senators Thom Tillis and Patrick Leahy have introduced the SMART Copyright Act of 2022. The bill requires online hosting services to implement standard technical protection measures, designated by the Copyright Office. Rightsholders see the proposal as a great step forward to protect creators, while opponents classify it as a filtering tool that will… Continue Reading

Nationwide effort to ban books challenges freedom of speech

PBS NewsHour via YouTube: “Advocates are sounding the alarm about a set of measures that they say target teaching and writing related to LGBTQ issues, race and freedom of speech. Around the country, efforts to ban specific books or even whole categories of books are on the rise. Jeffrey Brown has a conversation for our… Continue Reading

Pete Recommends Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, March 12, 2022

Via LLRX – Pete Recommends Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, March 12, 2022 – Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly… Continue Reading