Blogs

Global Voices Summit 2008

Tuna Chatterjee — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:44:41 -0400

Last week, Global Voices held a summit in Budapest, Hungary for its members and the wider community of bloggers, activists, technologists, journalists and others from around the world. Called the Global Voices Citizen Media Summit 2008, the two day event focused on the topic of "Citizen Media & Citizenhood."

As David Sasaki notes, the summit was held to address questions such as:

Is social media actually changing the electoral landscape in emerging democracies like Armenia, Kenya, and Venezuela? Has the promise of an international, barrier-free, multilingual conversation finally become reality? Most importantly, where do we go from here? How do we encourage dialog in times of heated international debate? How do we bring new voices from new communities into the universe of web 2.0? And how do we protect their rights to free speech once they begin participating?

Attendees came from all over the world: Mauritania, Colombia, Bangladesh and Tajikistan, to name a few. Initial reports have been glowing. Check out Evgeny Morozov's insightful article on how the summit showcased "the radical democratisation of the global flow of ideas," as well as Joi Ito's blog about the importance of the summit as a response the "systemic bias against reporting international news in most developed nations."

Not surprisingly, the rise in popularity of blogs and citizen media more generally has also resulted in the legal actions and other threats, including physical harm, levied against bloggers. We have some examples of such threats and actions in our legal threats database (such as Singapore v. Nair, Mitchell v. Noel, and Egypt v. Abdul Kareem Nabeel Suliman), and our blog (see Saudi Blogger Fouad Ahmad Al-Farhan Released and Opposition News Sites Blocked in Kazakhstan).

By all accounts, the Global Voices Summit was a rousing success. To me, the summit also highlights the need to remain vigilant in protecting the legal rights of those engaged in online speech so that citizen media throughout the world can continue to succeed and flourish.

(Note: Global Voices is a nonprofit founded at Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet and Society, which also hosts the Citizen Media Law Project. Ethan Zuckerman, the founder of Global Voices, is on the CMLP's Board Of Advisors.)

WIA Releases Report on Arrests of Bloggers, Does It Overcount?

Arthur Bright — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:25:41 -0400

According to a new report by the World Information Access (“WIA”) Project, 64 independent bloggers have been arrested since 2003, suggesting governments around the world are growing more aware of blogs and more likely to act to silence bloggers.

In the report, WIA researchers write that they used Google and LexisNexis to find arrests of bloggers who were unaffiliated with news organizations. The researchers found that the number of reported arrests appeared to increase over the years, with just five arrests during 2003, but totaling 36 in 2007. Arrests were most frequent in China (11), Egypt (13), and Iran (8), and overall Asia and the Middle East accounted for the lion’s share of WIA’s data. But western nations were not blameless – researchers recorded a blogger arrest in each of Britain, Canada, and France, and three arrests in the U.S. as well (Josh Wolf, Jack McClellan, and Daniel Aljughaifi). On the whole, WIA reports that the arrested bloggers tended to be males between the ages of 21 and 45, and the durations of their arrests ranged from a few hours to eight years.

The researchers observe that blogger arrests seem to increase during “times of political uncertainty,” noting for example that most of Egypt’s arrests took place during its 2007 elections. The researchers predict that 2008 will likely see a further increase in the arrests of bloggers, as China, Iran, and Pakistan all have elections this year.

The researchers also acknowledge that there are likely more arrests than they’ve managed to include in the report, noting for example that according to a list kept by the Committee to Protect Bloggers (“CPB”), 344 Burmese have been arrested, and some of those may be bloggers. (The CPB wrote after the WIA report’s release that it is indeed likely that some of the 344 are bloggers, though certainly not all of them.)

Unfortunately, while acknowledging the survey’s undercounting of arrested bloggers, the researchers appear to have inadvertently overcounted the arrests instead. Despite the report’s stated intent to “record[] only bloggers who were arrested for using electronic media . . . to discuss or record political issues and events,” it often seems to fudge the distinction between arrests for blogging, the survey’s purported goal, and arrests of bloggers, where blogging was not itself the grounds for arrest. I counted at least 13 instances where, from the articles cited in their data, it was either unclear or unlikely that the blogger’s online activities directly related to his or her arrest.

Take blogger Alaa Abd El-Fatah, one of the report’s data points. Fatah was one of some ten people arrested for taking part in a peaceful demonstration. Judging by the article cited by the report, Fatah is a prominent Egyptian blogger. It is likely that his arrest will chill the speech of other Egyptian bloggers. But is his blogging relevant to his arrest? From the article’s description, it doesn’t appear to be. Rather, his arrest seems to stem directly from participating in the protest.

Similarly, two of the three U.S. blogger arrests that the report cites seem loosely tied to the bloggers' online activities. Jack McClellan, a self-proclaimed pedophile who posted photos of children he had taken in public places on his blog, was arrested for violating a restraining order against coming within 30 feet of any child in California. Daniel Aljughaifi was arrested for undergoing terrorist training in Africa and for conspiring to use a destructive device. Of the three U.S. bloggers' arrests, only that of Josh Wolf, arrested for refusing to turn over to a federal grand jury footage he filmed and posted of a burning police car, seems directly tied to blogging. The fact that McClellan and Aljughaifi have blogs appears coincidental, not causal, to their arrests.

Is it helpful to include arrests like those of Fatah, McClellan, and Aljughaifi in the WIA survey? I’d argue no. While it is commendable to analyze the efforts of governments around the world to muzzle bloggers, it is the repression of free speech that is the concern. By including the arrests of those who happen to be bloggers in their count, the WIA researchers diminish the impact of their report, because they blur the value of that which they mean to defend.

(Arthur Bright is a second-year law student at the Boston University School of Law and a CMLP Legal Intern.)

Saudi Blogger Fouad Ahmad Al-Farhan Released

Sam Bayard — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:33:40 -0400

After four months, the Saudi Arabian government has released popular Saudi blogger Fouad Ahmad Al-Farhan without charge. Authorities arrested Fouad in December after warning him about posts supporting an activist group on his blog at فؤاد أحمد الفرحان. From the time of his arrest, Interior Ministry officials were evasive about the reason for his detention, explaining only that it was not related to state security. Bloggers, journalists, and human rights groups around the world rallied around Fouad, denouncing his detention and calling for his release. Spearheading the effort, the Free Fouad site provided updates, collected press coverage, and offered "Free Fouad" badges for placement on supporters' blogs and websites. In February, protesters demonstrated against the arrest in front of the Saudi embassy in Washington, according to the Washington Post. It's great to hear that Fouad's been released, but chilling to consider the vulnerability of journalists and dissidents under the Saudi regime.

There's lots of coverage out there if you want further details:

Heading to L.A. for Media Re:public Forum

Sam Bayard — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:41:54 -0400

I'll be quiet for a few days because I'm off to Los Angeles for a forum organized by Media Re:public, a Berkman Center project that examines the current and potential impact of participatory news media. The forum, which kicks off Thursday night and goes all day on Friday, will feature talks, panel discussions, and small group breakout sessions on a wide variety of topics and issues relating to participatory media, including "Parsing the Political Blogosphere," "Supporting the Emerging Media Ecology," "Finding Viable Models," and (the catchiest) "It's 2013: Do You Know Where Your News Is?" It should be great -- see the agenda for a full list of topics, speakers, and panelists. In conjunction with the forum, the CMLP will be holding its first in-person Board of Advisors meeting on Thursday afternoon. All in all, a busy but fascinating end to the week.

Registration for the Media Re:public forum is still open, so drop by if you're interested in media (new or traditional, commercial or public) and happen to be in L.A. All are welcome -- journalists, academics, business-types, activists, anybody.

(Note: I am a fellow at the Berkman Center, and the CMLP is housed there, along with Media Re:public.)

International Olympic Committee Thinks Blogging Is Not About Journalism

Sam Bayard — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 10:31:38 -0500

Ars Technica reports that the International Olympic Committee has lifted its ban on blogging. Athletes competing in Beijing 2008 will be allowed to blog about the Olympics, so long as they follow some, well, restrictive guidelines. Most notably, athletes will not be permitted to report on the overall competition or relay information from third parties; instead, the guidelines require that they focus on their own personal experiences. This is because, in the IOC's view, blogging is "a legitimate form of personal expression and not a form of journalism." Whew, I'm glad they resolved that tricky ontological question.

Additionally, athlete bloggers may not post any photographs of the sporting events (although they may post their own photos from inside and outside official Olympic areas), and their posts must be "dignified and in good taste." They also may not host any advertisements or create an affiliation with a specific company (fair enough). It's easy to make fun of all these restrictions, but it is a step forward, and it may make for some fascinating material, even within the guidelines.

Or will it? As if all these rules weren't enough, recall that the Chinese government also filters the Internet in a serious way. According to Ars,

Blogs from common hosts, such as Blogspot and WordPress, have been blocked off and on within China for some time now, so Olympic athletes looking to post about their experiences may not even be able to access their sites without some sort of contingency plan. That's not the only place they'll have to compromise, either—other taboo topics include the local police, government, as well as the likes of Falun Gong, Nazi Germany, and Tiananmen Square.

The CMLP wishes all the sporty bloggers luck in the face of adversity.

British Blogger Threatened with Arrest for Inciting Racial Hatred

David Ardia — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 09:43:01 -0500

Glenn Reynolds over at Instapundit.com reports that a British blogger was recently threatened with arrest for inciting racial hatred. The blogger, who runs a controversial Christian blog and goes by the pseudonym Lionheart, stated on his blog that British police are threatening to arrest him for "stirring up racial hatred by displaying written material" contrary to sections 18(1) and 27(3) of the Public Order Act 1986.

Reynolds recommends that if you're interested in supporting free speech rights -- and you should be if you are reading this blog -- you can contact the British Embassy to let them know that people shouldn't be arrested merely for writing things that the powers-that-be find distasteful.

(Note: Glenn Reynolds is on the CMLP's Board of Advisors.)

Saudi Blogger Detained

Sam Bayard — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 10:04:07 -0500

The mainstream press (here, here) reports that the Saudi Arabian authorities have detained Fouad Ahmad Al-Farhan, a popular Saudi blogger whose blog has been a platform for criticism of government corruption and advocacy for political reform. Al-Farhan was arrested on December 10, but apparently it took a while for the story to break -- it was picked up last week by bloggers in Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, and Bahrain. A statement from the Saudi Ministry of the Interior posted on Al-Farhan's blog states that Al-Farhan was detained "to investigate (with him) the violation of regulations not related to state security." Since his arrest, friends have continued posting entries on the blog and put up "Free Fouad" banners in Arabic and English. Also posted on the site is a letter that Al-Farhan put up days before his arrest (typos in the original):

I was told that there is an official order from a high-ranking official in the Ministry of the Interior to investigate me. They will pick me up anytime in the next 2 weeks.
The issue that caused all of this is because I wrote about the political prisoners here in Saudi Arabia and they think I’m running a online campaign promoting their issue. All what I did is wrote some pieces and put side banners and asked other bloggers to do the same.
he asked me to comply with him and sign an apology. I’m not sure if I’m ready to do that. An apology for what? Apologizing because I said the government is liar when they accused those guys to be supporting terrorism?

To expect the worst which is to be jailed for 3 days till we write good feedback about you and let u go.

there may be no jial and only apologizing letter. But, if it’s more than three days, it should be out. I don’t want to be forgotten in jail.

One hopes that the international media attention will help Al-Farhan's cause.

In related news, on December 26 Egyptian authorities detained blogger Musa'ad Suleiman Hassan, aka Musa'ad Abu Fagr. Musa'ad's blog,"Widna Ne'eesh" (We Want to Live) deals with political and social issues in the Sinai Peninsula, which has seen several terrorist attacks (and the associated government crackdowns) in recent years. The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information issued a statement calling for Musa'ad's release. (Thanks to 3arabawy for the tip.)

Best Buy Apologizes for Cease-and-Desist Blooper

Wendy Seltzer — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 21:26:55 -0500

Yesterday, Best Buy sent a cease-and-desist letter to Scott Beale of Laughing Squid for reporting on an "Improv Everywhere" prank and their sales of T-shirts mocking the Best Buy logo. Best Buy claimed the post infringed its trademarks and copyrights by "promoting" sales of a T-shirt that mocked the Best Buy logo. Laughing Squid promptly posted the C&D, where it was picked up by BoingBoing and Slashdot. But Best Buy seems to have learned from the hubub, and sent its apologies a day later:

We appreciate your clarification of the nature of your posting. We do object to sales of T-shirts or other products bearing a logo which violates our trademarks or copyrights or other misuse of our logo in commercial ventures. However, we do not object to fair and accurate reporting of facts, and respect the First Amendment rights of Laughing Squid and other bloggers to provide articles or commentary on current events. Now that we have a better understanding of your website, we regret sending you the demand letter.

It's good to see a company recognize the distinction between reporting and trademark infringement and drop its threats. We have to say, though, the T-shirts give "trade dress" claims a whole new meaning.

Democrats Accepting Applications from Bloggers to Cover 2008 Convention

David Ardia — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 11:41:07 -0500

CyberJournalist.net is reporting that the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) is accepting applications from bloggers interested in being part of the credentialed blogger pool at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado:

While the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston was the first to credential bloggers, the DNCC aims to significantly expand access for the blogger community in 2008. In line with the DNCC’s goal to engage more people in the 2008 Convention experience than ever before as well as Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean’s 50-State Strategy, the DNCC will both expand the size of the credentialed blogger pool and also offer for the first time a state blogger credentialing program in 2008.

ONI Releases Bulletin on Internet Shutdown in Burma

Sam Bayard — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 08:52:00 -0400

Yesterday, the OpenNet Initiative released an excellent report on the recent Internet shutdown in Burma, entitled "Pulling the Plug: A Technical Review of the Internet Shutdown in Burma." Besides the eye-popping technical analysis ONI was able to carry out in a matter of weeks, the report contains a great overview of the dramatic events of late September and early October 2007, including the role that citizen journalists and bloggers played in getting information about the crackdown out to the international community. As for the government's response, the report explains that the government imposed a total Internet outage from September 29 to October 4, followed by a period of regulated outages all day except during the period between 22:00 and 4:00 (Burmese time) from October 4 through October 12. Wow.

The authors of the report put the Internet shutdown into historical/technological perspective and nicely capture the causal relationship between increased citizen journalist activity and this drastic move:

One of the mainstays of the Burmese government's strategy for restricting information flows in Burma had been Internet filtering, which prevented access to information offered up outside the country. Websites and blogs are easily blocked as they tend to occupy a distinct, persistent location on the Internet. In this case, however, the junta attempted to sever the bi-directional flow of information so that the picture of reality for people on both sides of the Burmese border would remain distorted. As a result, the targets for censorship expanded exponentially from Web sites that are critical of the junta to any individual with a camera or cell phone and direct or indirect access to the Internet. Moreover, the raw footage coming out of Burma provided a striking narrative of the unfolding events, including some 'unforgivable and unforgettable photos,' from views of cheering protesters and protective human chains to the fatal shooting of a Japanese journalist caught on film. This was citizen media in its simplest form, utilizing the cheap sensors and network that have helped to spawn the information revolution without the need for additional editorial input or elaborate post-production work. This distributed form of reporting is, in practical terms, impossible to block completely, prompting the extreme measures taken by the Burmese regime.

Great stuff - but chilling too, to the extent that it gives a glimpse of how other repressive regimes might respond to the viral quality of citizen journalism in the future.

Reading the entire report is well worth your time.

(Note: The Open Net Initiative and the CMLP are both affiliated with the Berkman Center for Internet & Society.)