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Published 2 November at Thomson Reuters Foundation, here. Every November 2 is the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, a day to condemn the killing, intimidation, harassment, and arbitrary detention of journalists and media workers around the world. Because these crimes often have a digital component, ending impunity for attacks on journalists … More Hong Kong: Protecting journalists means safeguarding internet freedom

Published 16 September at Thomson Reuters Foundation, here. This summer the UK government published a draft Online Safety Bill, which now sits with a Joint Committee that has been given until 10 December to assess the legislation. At the draft’s release, British Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden said that the UK was showing “global leadership with our groundbreaking laws to … More UK Online Safety Bill risks emboldening digital authoritarians around the world

Published 24 August 2021 at Thomson Reuters Foundation, here. Last week China’s National People’s Congress passed its long-awaited data protection law, which applies broadly to “all kinds of information, recorded by electronic or other means, related to identified or identifiable natural persons.” The Personal Information Protection Law (henceforth the Law), ostensibly promoting transparency and consent, introduces a number of … More Data protection law will not rein in China’s ‘techno-authoritarianism’

Published 13 July 2021 at ARTICLE 19, here.  Apple says it cares about privacy. The company’s human rights policy professes a ‘deep sense of responsibility to make technology for people that respects their human rights [and] empowers them with useful tools and information.’ At its June 2021 Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple unveiled a tool for Safari that will help users mask their … More Apple says it cares about digital rights. Unless you’re in China

Published 7 June 2021 at Thomson Reuters Foundation, here. On Friday, users of Microsoft’s search engine, Bing, reported that results for “tank man,” the iconic image from the June 4th 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre in Beijing, were being blocked. Censorship in China is rampant but this was global censorship, with users in the US, Germany, France, and elsewhere experiencing … More Big tech needs a reset on Chinese censorship