6 Jul, 2008: Public’ online spaces don’t carry speech, rights (Associated Press)
First Amendment protections generally do not extend to private property in the physical world, allowing a shopping mall to legally kick out a customer wearing a T-shirt with a picture of a smoking child. With online services becoming greater conduits than shopping malls for public communications, however, some advocacy groups believe the federal government needs to guarantee open access ...

6 Jul, 2008: ICAAN – Preventing Hatred v. Censorship of TLD Applications (Digital Journal)
With all the excitement over expansion of IP addresses to be expanded from 4-string to 6-string format, little has been reported on the current and proposed regulations to restrict new domain registration. Watchdogs are deeply concerned over censorship. ....

1 Jul, 2008: Work Remains For ICANN’s New Top Level Internet Domains (IP-Watch)
Internet Technical Body an Authority on Morality? ICANN announced the "biggest extension of the DNS [domain name system] in 40 years" after its decision last week to finish implementation of a new policy for introducing new top-level domains (TLDs). According to the timeline presented at the ICANN meeting in Paris, new TLDs to compete against the existing .com, .biz ...

26 Jun, 2008: ICANN Board Approves Censorship Policy for Domain Names Based on Morality: 2 Board Members Speak Against It
Today in Paris the ICANN Board passed the GNSO's controversial recommendations to censor top level domains based on notions of "morality and public order", and broadly defined "community" wishes. However, 2 ICANN board members, law professors Wendy Seltzer (on behalf of the At-Large Internet Users) and Susan Crawford, made very powerful and compelling statements to protect free expression on ...

16 Jun, 2008: Civil Society & Organized Labour Seoul Declaration (OECD Ministerial in Korea)
Framework for the Future of the Internet Economy. Freedom of Expression. Protection of Privacy and Transparency. Consumer Protection. Promotion of Access to Knowledge. Internet Governance. Promotion of Open Standards. Balanced Intellectual Property Policies. Internet Governance. ...

2 Jun, 2008: US Supreme Court Hands Big Win to Free Speech Advocates in the IP World
[Major League Baseball v. CBC Distribution] By Allonn E. Levy, Esq. "An obvious “win” for Free Speech advocates and “netizens” concerned with ensuring open access to information on the Internet, the case also helps the burgeoning field of Internet information consolidators who help consumers collect information and process it. Expect to see the case cited frequently in the ...

15 May, 2008: US Congress Cites Free Expression as Reason ICANN Must Remain Controlled by US Govt.
US Congressmen are up to their old tricks of pretending to care about free expression publicly, while undermining it's practice with their policy decisions -- especially when it comes to free speech on the Internet. Congressman Edward Markey, the Chairman of the Congressional Sub-committee on Telecommunications and the Internet sent a letter urging the US Government to refuse ...

18 Mar, 2008: Public-Interest Principles for the Networked Communications Environment
Why is Free Expression Important in an Information Society? The UK-based "Freedom of Expression Project" posted "Public Interest Principles for the Networked Communications Environment". The draft document provides useful analysis on the importance of freedom of expression, open standards, interoperability, respect for privacy, and balanced copyright law as key policy goals for a healthy and robust information society. ...

11 Mar, 2008: US Govt Seizes Blacklisted Domain Names of European Company for Selling Cuba Trips
"An interesting story broke recently in the NY Times about a Spanish travel company that had its domain names taken away by the US Government for selling Europeans vacations to Cuba. Even though the company's business was not targeted at the US and was lawful in its national jurisdiction, the company's websites were put on a domain name ...

26 Nov, 2007: Syria blocks Facebook in Internet crackdown (WashPost)
Syrian users of Facebook said on Friday the authorities had blocked access to the social network Web site as part of a crackdown on political activism on the Internet. "Facebook helped further civil society in Syria and form civic groups outside government control. This is why it has been banned," women's rights advocate Dania al-Sharif told Reuters. "They ...

13 Nov, 2007: Robin Gross’ Remarks at IGF 2007 on Internet Bill of Rights
Today I’d like to address a few issues that are specifically relevant to the positive development of the Internet and a healthy information society. 1. Freedom of Expression Rights. 2. Access to Knowledge Rights. 3. Communication Rights. 4. Privacy Rights and Data Protection. 5. Anonymity. 6. Excessive and ...

12 Nov, 2007: Amnesty International renews its call on governments and companies to make human rights central to internet governance at IGF-Rio
Amnesty International said today that restrictions on freedom of expression online are increasing globally. Amnesty International believes that numerous allegations of corporate involvement in suppression of human rights necessitates both companies and governments taking their responsibilities more seriously. The organisation is calling on governments to halt prosecution and legislation aimed at limiting freedom of expression online and to release prisoners held ...

8 Nov, 2007: IP Justice at Internet Governance Forum 2007 in Rio de Janeiro
IP Justice is proud to be involved with a number of different substantive discussions scheduled for the 2007 Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. The IGF is a United Nations conference bringing together various stakeholders such as government, civil society, and business to discuss issues related to Internet governance. IP Justice is either an organizer, speaker, ...

30 Jul, 2007: 2007 OSCE Report on Freedom of Expression on the Internet
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe report on online censorship. Kazakhstan and Georgia are among the worst, according to the report ....

14 May, 2007: ‘Freedom of Expression Online’ Contribution to IGF 2007 Meeting Plans
"A broadly recognized right to freedom of expression and communication is guaranteed in many of the major international treaties dealing with civil liberties. Many of these treaties are legally binding on countries and many recognize the need for freedom of expression “in any medium”, foreshadowing the battles of the digital environment. Freedom of expression rights should not be ...