A Tale of Two Prime Ministers? Internet Shutdowns Gagging Free speech in Ethiopia
In the month of June 2019, Ethiopia encountered two major internet shutdown measures following a potential fear of leakage of school exams over the internet, and high profile assassinations. This...
Stocker v Stocker: dictionaries, domestic violence, and defamation
The UK Supreme Court has ruled that a woman was not liable in defamation to her ex-husband for writing public messages on Facebook stating that “he tried to strangle me”....
The Broad Regulation of Fake News Could Limit the Right to Freedom of Expression
Multiple actors from totalitarian states to extremist groups have been spreading ‘fake news’ for a very long time. However, social media has accelerated the speed and the reach of fake...
Namibian Supreme Court finds that National Security Concerns do not Automatically Trump Free Speech
The Namibian Supreme Court’s decision in Director-General of the Namibian Central Intelligence Service Another v Haufiku & Others, (Haufiku) sheds some light on the tensions between national security and fundamental...
Brazilian Supreme Court Inquiry into ‘Fake News’ Violates Freedom of Speech
The Brazilian Supreme Court has begun a confidential inquiry, ex officio, to investigate alleged crimes against the honour of the Justices and ‘fake news’ about the Court. This inquiry is...
Under India’s New Intermediary Rules, Fundamental Rights Take Backstage
The Indian Government’s Information Technology Ministry had recently invited comments on proposed amendments to the existing guidelines for intermediaries mainly governing how social networks (and other intermediaries) facilitate the flow...
An Analysis of the Banning of the Hong Kong National Party and the Legitimate Restrictions on Freedom of Expression
On 24th September 2018, Secretary of Security John Lee issued a ban on the Hong Kong National Party (“the National Party”) under the Societies Ordinance on the basis that...
Ireland Votes to Remove Blasphemy Offence from Constitution
The 37th Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland was passed by referendum on Friday, removing the word ‘blasphemous’ from Article 40.6.1i. In Article 40.6.1, the State guarantees “subject to public...
Persecution of rights activists and voices of dissent in India
Recently, in a series of synchronized raids carried throughout India, various human rights activists and vocal critics of the ruling government were arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA),...
Blocking ride-sharing applications goes against free speech and human progress
Last year, a local court of Buenos Aires ordered the blockage of Uber’s app and website nationwide in Argentina. The decision stated that Uber had to be blocked (and banned)...
Landmark judgment on PSPO Regime has Significant Repercussions for Freedom of Expression
On 2 July 2018, the High Court handed down judgment in Dulgheriu v London Boroughof Ealing [2018] EWHC 1667 (Admin). The case provides crucial insight into the ever lowering threshold...
A Masterpiece of Judicial Avoidance?
Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, 584 U.S. (2018), the U.S. Supreme Court’s blockbuster case, has been decided. The questions in dispute: 1. Can a person, exercising religious...
