Archive for the ‘Censorship’ Category

Elon Musk’s Twitter Lawsuit: A Battle Over Censorship – Clayton County Register

Elon Musks $44 billion acquisition of Twitter last year was fueled by his stance against censorship. However, critics argue that Musk himself is now engaging in censorship through his companys lawsuit against the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH). Musks business accuses CCDH of advocating for internet censorship and seeking to stifle free expression.

CCDH, on the other hand, claims that it highlights instances of misinformation, hate speech, and harmful content on social media platforms. Internet safety campaigners, including the father of Molly Russell, have criticized Musks lawsuit as an attack on civil society.

The lawsuit, brought against CCDH by X Corp, alleges breaches of terms of service, improper use of login credentials, interference with contracts, and intentional harm caused to X. It also claims that CCDHs actions have resulted in significant financial losses for X through paused or halted advertising campaigns.

Experts are skeptical of Xs claims, stating that advertisers have long been put off by Twitter due to Musks controversial behavior. They believe that CCDHs research is just one of many factors influencing advertisers decisions.

CCDHs CEO, Imran Ahmed, has stated that they will continue to fight the lawsuit, despite the significant costs involved. X is seeking unspecified damages and aims to prevent CCDH from conducting research on its platform.

The lawsuit also ventures into conspiracy theories, suggesting without evidence that CCDH is being supported by Xs competitors and government entities.

While CCDHs research has been criticized for not being peer-reviewed, supporters argue that they should not be sued for their work.

In the midst of this legal battle, Musk aims to transform X into an everything app similar to Chinas WeChat, but the platform currently relies heavily on advertising revenue. Musk acknowledges that advertising revenue has dropped by 50% at X, which amounts to a significant financial burden for the company.

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Elon Musk's Twitter Lawsuit: A Battle Over Censorship - Clayton County Register

Jason Aldean controversy: Free speech and censorship collide – Southwest Virginia Today

The music video for Jason Aldeans song Try That in a Small Town stirred controversy in July with the First Amendment at the center of a debate about censorship and free speech.

As the controversy grew, the country music channel CMT announced it would no longer show the music video.

Supporters claimed Aldean was being canceled, and his First Amendment rights were violated. Detractors insinuated that the songs lyrics dont merit First Amendment protection, and some have even petitioned the government to step in to censor Aldean.

A First Amendment analysis of the Jason Aldean controversy

Lets look at the song and some of these claims through a First Amendment lens using a traffic signal framework:

Green light: These words or actions are protected by the First Amendment.

Yellow light: Caution! The First Amendment might not apply.

Red light: No First Amendment protection.

Are Aldeans song and music video free speech?

The songs lyrics compare responses to crime in big cities and small towns. The music video uses footage of carjackings, armed robbery and protests. The footage is interspersed with clips of Aldean singing in front of a Tennessee courthouse where an 18-year-old Black man named Henry Choate was lynched in 1927 and a race riot occurred in 1946.

The songs lyrics, which some say imply violence, plus the image of Aldean singing at a setting of racial violence have some arguing that the song is not protected by the First Amendment.

Green light: Music is protected as free speech. Only 54% of Americans in Freedom Forums 2023 The First Amendment: Where America Stands survey knew this, but 88% agreed music should be protected from government censorship.

Many have claimed that the song is hateful. But, as 6 in 10 survey respondents knew and agreed, hate speech is protected by the First Amendment, unless some other exception applies. None apply here. The lyrics and video lack the necessary immediacy to be incitement to imminent lawless violence, which is not protected by the First Amendment. They are not face-to-face and so cannot be fighting words. And they do not single out any individual as required for a true threat to exist.

Are the actions in the song free speech protected by the First Amendment?

In the song, Aldean refers to actions that would generate a response in a small town, including cuss out a cop, spit in his face, stomp on the flag and light it up.

Yellow light: The First Amendment means we can stand up to authority and arent required to choose our words carefully when we do so. But some of the clips in the music video show protesters shouting right in the faces of police officers, which could be fighting words, a category of speech not protected by the First Amendment. These words are intended not to convey a message but rather to provoke a violent response. And this could also lead to obstruction of justice charges if you impeded an officers job.

Red light: Any physical contact with a police officer is no longer expression. This is likely criminal assault.

STOMP ON THE FLAG AND LIGHT IT UP

Green light: Flag desecration, including stepping on the flag and burning it, is protected by the First Amendment. The Supreme Court has said flag burning is symbolic speech and in many cases is protected as free speech.

Can TV and radio censor the song or venues cancel Aldean shows?

CMT stopped airing the Try That in a Small Town video. Some radio stations arent playing the song. People are calling for boycotts of Aldeans concerts and asking venues to cancel his shows.

Green light: CMT, radio stations and concert venues are all private businesses. The First Amendment doesnt apply here something that three-quarters of Americans dont know. Private businesses can set their own rules about what messages they support and promote. The First Amendment only protects us against government actions that infringe on our rights to religion, speech, press, assembly and petition.

Can people challenge Aldeans controversial statements?

The Jason Aldean controversy largely began after the music video was released, and people added context to Aldeans claims that there isnt a single video clip that isnt real news footage.

Major media outlets and citizen journalists added historical context regarding the courthouse and the video footage, some from protests outside the U.S., which provide context to Aldeans claims.

Green light: The work of professional and citizen journalists is freedom of the press protected by the First Amendment. Statements about a celebrity like Aldean get very strong protection under the First Amendment. Americans have the right to hold public officials and public figures accountable.

Is criticizing Aldean or canceling him free speech?

Aldeans defense of the song has thousands of reactions. Gun control activists and other musicians have called him out. Conservative commentators and a former president of the United States have defended him.

Aldean responded to criticism and accusations of being anti-Black Lives Matter, pro-lynching and insensitive to the impact of gun violence. He described the song as one that refers to the feeling of a community that I had growing up, where we took care of our neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief.

Green light: Aldean says that he is a victim of cancel culture. Thats a hard term to define. Sometimes what is deemed cancel culture is just people using their own free speech. Often, exercising your freedom of speech has consequences. People contacting government officials are exercising their freedom of petition. And, of course, sometimes their criticism backfires, like when the song in question rises to no. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts despite or more likely because of the controversy.

Can government officials use their power to punish Aldean?

Politicians have also weighed in. For instance, Justin Jones, who was expelled from and then reinstated to the Tennessee House of Representatives for leading a protest on the House floor, described the song as a lynching anthem and said we have an obligation to condemn Jason Aldeans heinous song calling for racist violence.

Yellow/red light: Government officials like Jones have First Amendment rights, too, especially when speaking outside their official duties. They have every right to express their opinions.

But they cross a line when they use their position and power to punish. It would violate the First Amendment to condemn Aldean in an official resolution that carried some penalty. And if any lawmakers tried to pressure stations or venues to stop playing or hosting Aldean, this would infringe his First Amendment rights by punishing him based on the content of his song.

The Jason Aldean controversy unpacked

The Jason Aldean controversy isnt the first debate about music, censorship and free speech. Such controversies cut across political divides and span musical genres. History is full of examples of controversial rock, punk, heavy metal and, particularly in recent years, rap and hip hop songs.

This is why it is so important that we all protect the free expression rights not only of those who write and perform songs but also of those who criticize and defend those artists.

Kevin Goldberg is First Amendment specialist for the Freedom Forum. He can be reached at kgoldberg@freedomforum.org.

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Jason Aldean controversy: Free speech and censorship collide - Southwest Virginia Today

VPN usage soars in Senegal amid a second wave of censorship – TechRadar

People in Senegal have been turning en masse to VPN services as they battle against a second wave of internet restrictions.

Proton VPN recorded an increase in sign-ups at 2,800% above the normal level, in fact, via its VPN Observatory since July 31, 2023. Internet access was restricted on that day, with TikTok being also blocked on August 2.

The move was intended as a means to limit the spread of "hateful messages" on social mediathe countrys communications minister said in a statement, Al Jazeera reported. This comes as opposition leader Ousmane Sonko was formally charged with fomenting an insurrection and criminal conspiracy, among other charges.

This was the second time the internet has gone dark in Senegal in the last three months amid political turmoilonce thought the best democracy in all of West Africa.

Authorities already cut mobile internet and access to the most popular social media in June amid protests over the sentencing of Sonko to two-year jail time on charges of "corrupting youth." A sentence that many citizens see as just the latest ploy to prevent him from running for the next election in February 2024. At that time, at least 24 people got killed, 390 were injured and more than 500 were detained during the clashes.

After six days of curfew-style shutdowns, mobile connections have been reported to be restored on Saturday, August 5. Yet, the use of virtual private network (VPN) and similar location spoofing software remains high in the region as such tools become "a vital piece of infrastructure" for Senegalese to keep accessing the open web.

"Proton VPN has seen a significant increase in use in Senegal over recent months," Antonio Cesarano, Head of Product at Proton VPN, told TechRadar.

"We saw two spikes last week, one following the Senegalese authorities' restriction of internet access in response to violent protests following the arrest of the opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, followed swiftly by a second spike after TikTok was blocked."

At the time of writing, the 2,800% spike in VPN downloads is still rising, explained Cesarano, as people look for alternative ways to work around internet censorship.

Despite not being useful in the event of a total internet shutdown, VPNs are the best way to bypass geo-restrictions and keep access to blocked apps and censored content. That's because the software works by spoofing your IP addresses to make it appear as though you're browsing from a completely different country within seconds. Even better, the software also encrypts all the data leaving your device for better security and privacy online, helping you protect yourself from oppressive governments as you unblock global news and media.

The latest surge in Senegal VPN usage followed a significant spike in VPN sign-ups across the country in June when authorities blocked people from accessing popular social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and YouTube. The cyber-revolution kept going on, though, as VPNs helped citizens to cut through the thick blanket of censorship wracking Senegal's social media.

Such spikes in VPN usage are, sadly, common nowadays as authorities increasingly clamp down on the open internet. Proton also saw similar trends appearing in Ethiopia, Turkey, and Pakistan this year alone.

"What's interesting is that in countries that have a track record of online censorship, people are starting to anticipate that, and are signing up to VPNs in advance of potential online blocks," said Cesarano. That's what occurred in Turkey during the last presidential elections, for example, as people feared an information blackout. A trend now echoed across Senegal.

"[In June] we saw a 100,000% increase in sign-ups, and we have seen increased use since then. That means that when the most recent internet blocks took effect, there was an already high existing user base due to previous censorship," explained Cesarano.

"For people in Senegal, VPNs are now looking to be a vital piece of infrastructure allowing them to access the free internet in the face of government censorship."

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VPN usage soars in Senegal amid a second wave of censorship - TechRadar

In ‘Miles Morales Suspended,’ Spider-Man grapples with racism and … – NPR

In 'Miles Morales Suspended,' Spider-Man grapples with racism and censorship : NPR's Book of the Day Miles Morales, the beloved protagonist of Jason Reynolds' Spider-Man novel, is back. And this time, he's dealing with in-school suspension for challenging his history teacher at an elite Brooklyn private school. But between writing poetry about his new crush and saving the world, the young, Black and Puerto Rican superhero also stumbles into some major themes about racism and censorship. Reynolds tells NPR's A Martinez how his newest novel is a response to the book bans taking place across the country and how he wishes it didn't have to be.

Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books

Miles Morales, the beloved protagonist of Jason Reynolds' Spider-Man novel, is back. And this time, he's dealing with in-school suspension for challenging his history teacher at an elite Brooklyn private school. But between writing poetry about his new crush and saving the world, the young, Black and Puerto Rican superhero also stumbles into some major themes about racism and censorship. Reynolds tells NPR's A Martinez how his newest novel is a response to the book bans taking place across the country and how he wishes it didn't have to be.

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In 'Miles Morales Suspended,' Spider-Man grapples with racism and ... - NPR

Sri Lankan union agrees to government censorship of health … – WSWS

The Health Professionals Association (HPA) of Sri Lanka cancelled strike action that was to occur on August 4. The stoppage had been called to demand that the health ministry withdraw a circular banning its employees from speaking to the media on issues related to the public health service.

The circular, issued on July 20, included a blanket ban on public health staff making any statements or expressing their views on the sector. It cited a Supreme Court ruling that state employees have no right to make comments to the press without prior approval from their departmental head.

The circular warned that violation of this regulation is punishable under the Establishment Code governing state sector employees. Disciplinary actions include warnings, suspensions or termination.

Justifying the cancellation of industrial action, HPA leader Ravi Kumudesh said that the ministry secretary, Janaka Sri Chandraguptha, had given a written assurance that the ban would not apply to the union and similar associations. It would, however, continue to apply to rank-and-file health employees, Kumudesh added.

In effect, the union has agreed to the ministry using the anti-democratic regulations to penalise health workers speaking about or exposing the collapse of the health sector, something that affects the lives of patients, employees and the population as a whole.

This censorship is an outright betrayal of the democratic right to freedom of expression. It underscores the role of the union as an industrial police force of the government and the corporations.

Last Monday, Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella defended the circular, saying: Some people are trying to use health as a very sensitive area to bring another agitation in the country. Without a shred of evidence, he cynically branded all comments circulating in the media about the worsening health crisis as false.

The attempt to silence health professionals, including doctors and nurses, is tantamount to insisting they breach their medical oath to serve their patients. They are forbidden from speaking about the consequences of the governments cuts, which have brought the public health system to the brink of collapse.

The Health Ministry circular was first issued in May 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, provoking anger among employees and the public more broadly. Former President Gotabhaya Rajapakse declared that responsible officials should not unnecessarily hold media briefings and panic the public about the pandemic.

In the same month, Rajapakse imposed the Essential Public Services Act on key government services, including health. This act bans all industrial action, with penalties including jail, fines and dismissal.

Last November, the health ministry suspended Dr Chamal Sanjeeva, president of the Medical Professional Association for Civil and Medical Rights, accusing him of causing inconvenience to the government by presenting false information to the media.

Sanjeeva had revealed to the press that in one region of the southern Hambantota district of Suriyawewa, 30 percent of children were suffering from severe malnutrition and 50 percent from mild malnutrition.

He told the World Socialist Web Site that the figures were based on a scientific survey, adding: It is my democratic right to reveal its results to people.

The circular was reissued last month amid mounting anger among health workers and the broader population. A number of deaths and serious illnesses have been reported in state hospitals that are thought to have resulted from low-quality drugs and injections.

On July 11, a 24-year-old woman died at the Peradeniya Teaching Hospital after being administered a Ceftriaxone antibiotic injection. Similar deaths and more than 15 allergic reactions have been reported in Colombo, Kandy, Ragama, Nuwara Eliya, Kilinochchi and Panadura hospitals.

The State Medical Supplies division has been forced to remove 64 drugs and items of surgical equipment from use because of complaints from hospitals over their low quality. The lack of drugs and frequent malfunctioning of medical equipment is forcing the postponement of scans, dialysis and urgent surgery, including heart operations and kidney transplants.

Public anger has also been fueled by reports that pharmaceutical companies and ministry officials involved in importing low-quality drugs have engaged in corrupt practices and underhanded deals.

In a television discussion on July 11, Dr. Ananda Wijewickrema, a medical specialist at the National Institute of Epidemiology, said the health ministry was importing drugs not approved by the National Medical Regulatory Authority.

Health employees, patients and their relatives have spoken to the media, including the World Socialist Web Site, about the situation they confront.

A nurse working at the Peradeniya Teaching Hospital said she and her colleagues are working in terrible conditions due to the lack of adequate staffing. Though it is necessary to do dialysis for kidney patients three times a week, it is happening only two times. In the Kandy National Hospital, it occurs only once a week.

She spoke about a death of a young girl at her hospital who had been administered a cefuroxime injection: Our colleague who administered this injection has been condemned on Facebook and is facing mental stress. It was not her fault. This is the only medicine available. Employees have to pay for the health crisis. Not a single trade union has come to her defence.

Instead, the unions have now agreed to the authorities using this anti-democratic circular against employees. Unions could use this circular to silence criticism of themselves.

A doctor at the Kandy National Hospital told the WSWS that there was a serious shortage of medical drugs earlier. The situation had improved slightly. However, because of the poor quality of these drugs, staff had to explain the situation to patients and ask whether they wanted to use them.

Those who have money can buy the relevant drugs from outside. What about the others? the doctor asked. We have been compelled to use these drugs as we are government employees. Because of the ministry secretarys circular we cannot explain this true situation to people.

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While the HPA leaders met with health authorities, other union leaders issued perfunctory statements or called limited protests to let off steam among angry workers.

On July 18, thousands of state health employees held demonstrations to oppose the regulations at key hospitals including the Colombo National Hospital and at regional facilities. Protesters displayed placards with slogans such as: Prevent the importation of inferior medicines, Patients lives are in danger, Stop the privatisation of health services, and Lets get rid of the dysfunctional government that takes the lives of patients.

This limited action was called by the All Ceylon Health Employees Union, which is controlled by the opposition Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). The JVPs overriding interest is not the democratic rights of workers but to boost its bid to form the next government.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the deep crisis of the countrys health system, which was unable to cope with the deadly disease. Successive governments have provided a small allocation for public health in their annual budgetson average about 1.5 percent of gross domestic product.

Now, the government of President Ranil Wickremesinghe is implementing the austerity demands of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), one of which is to slash state expenditure, including on public health. At the same time, the government is taking steps to privatise health care and liquidate what remains of the free public health service.

The trade unions bear responsibility for the present crisis in the health sector. Since 2021, the unions have been forced to call more protests and strikes in the sector than in any other state institution. But those actions have been aimed at sowing illusions that the government can be pressured to make concessions.

Health employees must take matters into their own hands and form action committees independent of the trade unions and capitalist parties to defend their democratic and social rights. The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) is campaigning to build such action committees, democratically elected by workers in every workplace. We say:

This means billions of rupees must be allocated for public health. However, the Wickremesinghe government is intent on repaying foreign debts and boosting the profits of big business and investors at the expense of the working class.

The proper provision of resources for health, education and vital welfare programs is bound up with the broader struggle to reorganize the economy for the benefit of the vast majority of society. This requires the repudiation of all foreign debt and the nationalisation of the banks, large estates and big companies under the democratic control of the working class.

The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) is fighting for these socialist policies and a workers and peasants government to implement them as part of the broader struggle for socialism in South Asia and internationally.

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