Twitter takes legal action against Center for Countering Digital Hate
Twitter, now branded X, has pressed charges against an organisation that claims to fight online hate but is, according to the platform’s US billionaire owner Elon…
Free speech
Latest reporting and analysis on free speech.
Islamic states to lobby Brussels in bid to ban Quran burnings
The IOC is calling on the EU "to take the necessary measures to prevent the recurrence of such criminal acts under the pretext of freedom of expression".
Denmark considers banning Quran-burning protests
In response to security and diplomatic concerns, Denmark is contemplating banning protests involving the burning of the Quran and other religious texts.
German teacher ‘fired for views on mass migration’
A German special-needs school teacher in the university town of Landau has been stripped of her job by local courts over her opinions regarding migration, local…
Commissioner insists EU online censorship law ‘is compatible with free speech’
Under the incoming law, certain social media firms that fail to censor speech the EU disapproves of will face being banned from the bloc within a matter of hours,…
Swedish Prime Minister ‘extremely worried’ about rise of Quran burnings
A growing number of Swedes are requesting permission to burn Qurans, causing consternation among the Swedish police and increasing outrage in the domestic Muslim…
Twitter encryption rules ‘dangerous and concerning’, MEP tells EC
Twitter's new rules surrounding the encryption of private messages have been called "dangerous and concerning" in a letter penned by an MEP to the European Commission.
Burning the Koran shouldn’t be illegal — but it is moronic
You are perfectly free and entitled to run full speed and headfirst into a brick wall. It is not illegal.
Slovakia’s Covid-19 worship ban taken to Europe’s top human rights court
A challenge against the 2021 Covid-19 restrictions on public worship in Slovakia has been filed at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
France demands hate-speech clampdown ahead of EU Digital Services Act
Authorities in France have demanded big tech corporations increase efforts to clamp down on hate speech ahead of the implementation of the European Union's Digital…
Nobel prize-winning physicist’s IMF speech cancelled due to his questioning of the climate crisis
US Nobel Prize winner Dr John Clauser has had his speech cancelled at a conference organised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
‘Barbie films feature anti-Semitism’, German broadcaster claims
A number of Barbie films are laced with anti-Semitism, a German public broadcasters has claimed.
Swedish Embassy in Baghdad stormed and set on fire
Hundreds of Iraqis stormed the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad on July 20, enraged by the Quran burnings that have taken place in the Scandinavian country.
Female archaeologists ‘sexually harassed’ while digging in Paris
In the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis, female archaeologists say they are constantly being harassed at work by passers-by.
UK bank ‘shut Farage’s account over values’
Former Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage said a British bank that abruptly closed his account did so because his views “do not align with our values”.
EU will fund ‘psychological support’ for exiled Russian journalists
Russian journalists in exile will receive "psychological support" funded by the EU taxpayer, the European Commission said on July 17.
MEPs call for EU ban on ‘positive discrimination’ after US ruling
MEPs have called for bans on "positive discrimination" within the European Union after the US Supreme Court ruled the practice illegal last month.
European journalists fear EU Council may ‘undermine media protection’
Europe’s largest organisation representing journalists fears a European Union directive on media protection could be undermined by the Council of Ministers.
EU proclaims ‘values’ but neglects ‘freedom of religion, speech and assembly’: ADF International’s Paul Coleman
Paul Coleman serves as executive director of ADF International (Alliance Defending Freedom) from its headquarters in Vienna, Austria.
UN targets Sweden over Quran burnings
The United Nations Human Rights Council has approved a Pakistan-led resolution “against religious hatred” targeting Sweden.
EU will have power to cut off social media during public unrest: Breton
European officials will have the ability to completely cut off European Union citizens from certain social media platforms during times of unrest, Internal Markets…
Ireland mulls pushing EU nations to recognise Palestine
Ireland's Government is considering a push to get European Union Member States to recognise Palestine and may even “go solo” over the issue.
Sweden: rise in requests to burn holy texts
After contentious protests in Sweden, where copies of the Islamic religious text the Quran were set on fire, three new applications have apparently been lodged with…
Ireland to delay talks on proposed hate-speech law
The Irish Government will postpone discussions over the country’s proposed legislation on hate speech.
French Senate discusses tightening censorship laws after riots
France's Senate considered giving police new powers to make social media firms remove content within two hours, after widespread rioting gripped the country.
Violence spreads across France after teenager shot by police in Paris
Violent riots erupted in Paris and other cities across France on the night of June 27 following the shooting of a North African teenager by a policeman in the French…
Peaceful prayer cannot be banned outside abortion centres, rules top German court
Germany’s Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig has ruled that blanket bans on peaceful prayer groups outside abortion centres are not permissible.
Elon Musk, George Orwell, and the abuse of language: what the tech billionaire can learn about the cisgender wars from the novelist’s essay
On June 21 Elon Musk tweeted that the words cis and cisgender “are considered slurs on this platform”.
EU leaders accused of putting media freedom at risk
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) claims European leaders are putting journalists ‘at risk’ through their apparent willingness to allow the deployment…
No more news on Facebook and Instagram for Canadians
US billionaire Mark Zuckerberg's Meta Platforms, the mother company of social media giants Facebook and Instagram, is set to cut off access to news for all users…