social media
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Reckless social media law threatens freedom of expression in Germany
At the end of March 2017, with Federal elections on the horizon, the German Justice Minister Heiko Maas proposed a law on ill-defined “social networks”. Minister Maas has proposed the law which places a variety of obligations on the companies, in the apparent hope that this will lead profit-motivated companies to take over private censorship […]
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New legal framework for predictive policing in Denmark
After the terrorist attack in Copenhagen in February 2015, the Danish government presented an action plan to strengthen the data analysis capacity of the police and the Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET). The action plan, called “A Strong Guard against Terror”, specifically mentions monitoring of social media posts in order to discover possible terrorist […]
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Info warfare in Serbia: The hidden hand of internet interventionism
Over the past couple of years, the digital environment in Serbia has become a new area for battle over information control. We’ve witnessed technical attacks on online media websites, attempts at suppressing information online, organised social media campaigns for narrative control, as well as offline tactics such as detentions, threats and equipment seizure. SHARE Foundation […]
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Social media as censors of public sphere: YouTube vs. Ombudsman
In early September 2016, a popular Norwegian writer got suspended from Facebook, on account of “child nudity”. The matter escalated into an international incident, involving Norway’s largest printed newspaper and the country’s prime minister. Finally the writer’s Facebook status was restored, the suspension was ended, and Facebook promised to do better.
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UEFA: 1, Right to remix: 0 – Viral video gets blocked
The idea was so simple and yet so genius. After the dramatic Euro 2016 quarter finals between Italy and Germany, the web-artist Kurt Prödel had a wonderful idea: he created a 14-second video, which showed all penalties by the German team simultaneously. In the video, all players are running simultaneously towards the Italian goalkeeper who, […]
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Non-US Twitter accounts now subject to EU Data Protection rules
On 17 April 2015, Twitter revised its privacy policy, explaining that it will change the location of processing of the account information of users outside the United States. On its website Twitter announced that the services for non-US users are now provided by its subsidiary based in Dublin, Ireland. Therefore, these accounts will no more […]
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Social media platforms blocked again in Turkey
Turkish authorities ordered access to 166 websites, including Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, to be blocked after photos of a hostage crisis that ended with the death of a government prosecutor were circulated in the social media platforms. On 31 March 2015, in Istanbul’s courthouse, two militants took Mehmet Selim Kiraz hostage. He was the prosecutor […]
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Online freedoms in Serbia still under threat, analysis shows
SHARE Foundation, an organisation dedicated to protecting digital rights in Serbia, analysed the state of online media freedoms in the country. Examples of technical attacks on media websites, threats and insults to online journalists show a worrying trend of pressure in the digital environment. During the devastating floods that hit Serbia and the region in […]
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Turkish government to acquire a tool to censor social media?
Turkish media reports that the government intends to buy NetClean software to remove unwanted material from Twitter. The negotiations are said to be ongoing with an exorbitant price tag of 40 million euros. NetClean is a Swedish software company that specializes in providing “intelligence solutions to block, detect and analyse digital media”. The Turkish government […]
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Turkey: Highest court rules YouTube ban violates freedom of speech
Turkey’s highest court ruled on 29 May 2014 that access to video-sharing site YouTube has to be restored. A brief decision published on the court’s website stated that the block was unconstitutional and violated individual rights and freedom of expression. On 3 June the access to the site was finally restored. Until now Prime Minister Recep […]
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Social media in key role in the Balkans floods – incited censorship
In late May 2014, the Balkans were hit by disastrous floods. Internet users began commenting and sharing information on social networks and blogs about the floods, but also criticised the government’s response to the disaster and relief efforts in certain areas. Social networks served as a channel quick sharing of information. They were in a […]
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Spain: social media to be censored? “Not everything is appropriate”
Isabel Carrasco, president of the county council of León, was murdered on 12 May 2014. The tragic episode derived in a multitude of opinions throughout the internet. Some netizens extended their sympathy to her family, while others decided to convey a very different message, using Twitter, Facebook or YouTube to celebrate the news; to joke […]
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