ARTICLE 19 Law and Policy

Belarus: Free Andrei and all political prisoners - ARTICLE 19 On the fifth anniversary of journalist and activist Andrei Aliaksandrau's imprisonment we call for the release of all political prisoners.

It's been 5 years since our colleague and friend Andrei Aliaksandrau was imprissoned in #Belarus for his defence of freedom of expression and #HumanRights.

Andrei never gave up and neither should we. We continue to demand his release & of all political prisoners in Belarus.

Pls join this campaign!

The Trump Lie About Europe and Why it Matters | TechPolicy.Press The Trump administration is promoting disinformation about European law and policy for reasons that go well beyond social media regulation, writes David Kaye.

Great article by @davidakaye.bsky.social in @techpolicypress.bsky.social exposing lies that #EU is censoring Americans.
In reality, regulators are going after #BigTech for breaking competition and privacy laws. Calling that “censorship” is a way to dodge the real issue. Unchecked corporate power.

Brussels wants X to keep all documents about Grok until the end of 2026 The European Commission has ordered social media platform X to retain all internal documents and data about chatbot Grok at least until the end of 2026. A spokesperson for the Commission announced thi...

Important development

The EU is asking Grok to retain the records.

It may have already produced illegal sexual content and cannot be trusted to keep the evidence intact.

We do not need to talk about future risks of AI, in many instances, harm is already done.

#AI #EU #HumanRights #DataRetention

If you think that propaganda, bogus pretext of “law enforcement”, false narratives and false justifications do not engage state obligations in the area of freedom of expression... than, yes we will agree to disagree.

International Law and the U.S. Military and Law Enforcement Operations in Venezuela Experts survey the international law issues of Operation Absolute Resolve.

sure, check here, re self-defence, extraterritorial law enforcement, drug trafficking and etc
www.justsecurity.org/127981/inter...

USA: Venezuela and its democratic future belong to its people - ARTICLE 19 The US military attack on Venezuela and capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife violates international law and impedes a democratic transition.

Our statement on the USA military action in #Venezuela.

We warn it'll lead to further escalation of repression, esp for human rights defenders, independent & political activists.

Plus, US disinfo spin distorts facts, threatens #FreeSpeech, #journalism & #democracy & silences debate region-wide.

Draft text of a JOINT RESOLUTION Providing for congressional disapproval of the use of United States Armed Forces against Venezuela concluding: Be it therefore resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the use of force by the United States Armed Forces and any other Departments of the U.S. Government is hereby disapproved and, consistent with Section 5(b) of the War Powers Resolution, directs the President immediately to remove U.S. forces from the territory of Venezuela.

democrats need to introduce a resolution disapproving trump's aggression and directing him to withdraw US forces.

here's a draft. it's not rocket science.

Ireland: Adopt new, transparent process to appoint Data Protection Commissioner - ARTICLE 19 Data Protection Commissioner has responsibility as lead supervisory authority for many of the world’s largest technology companies.

Seems #Ireland has discovered the best way to regulate Big Tech is to… let #BigTech do it.
It appointed a former Meta lobbyist as Data Protection Commissioner.
With 43 organisations, we wrote to the Gov to reconsider and pick someone with #dataprotection expertise, through a transparent process

Civil Society is the Democracy Shield Europe Can’t Ignore | TechPolicy.Press Barbora Bukovská and Mark Dempsey ask how can Europe build a democratic future when civil society in Europe and beyond is facing an existential moment?

They say #democracy needs a shield and the #EU needs to do more to reclaim its #sovereignty.

But the EU can’t build digital sovereignty without giving real support to the people actually defending democracy!

Check our article for @techpolicypress.bsky.social on this very issue 👇

#FreeSpeech

Digital Markets Act: Apple impedes interoperability and user choice - ARTICLE 19 Apple must fulfil its obligations on interoperability and give users real choice over the apps and app stores they want on their devices.

In case you missed this, we're taking on Apple & challenging its stranglehold on iPhones and iPads.

We'sre asking @ec.europa.eu to stop Apple from ignoring #DMA rules so smaller companies can compete fairly.

And that people can choose which apps and services they want
For more info check 👇

Folks at Tech Policy Press have launched an 'Ideas for Europe’s Future' series! As part of it, they will be publishing perspectives from leading experts who joined out Future of Democracy event
@openmarkets.bsky.social

Read @ramshajahangir.bsky.social's great write up & stay tuned for more

In her talk in the @europarl.europa.eu about future of #dmocracy & #FreeSpeech, @mariaressa.bsky.social reminded us that she found Mark Zuckerberg to be a bigger dictator than Rodrigo Duterte, the former president of the Philippines.

And rightly so!

#BigTech #Dictatorship #Meta

When talking about #AI, let's stop talking about AI "hallucination".

We are talking about predictive algorithms.

So we should call it what it is. The term to use is ERROR.

#IndustryManipulation #BigTech

Day 2 of our Future of Democracy with
@openmarkets.bsky.social!

Follow along to hear from Nobel Peace Prize winner @mariaressa.bsky.social, @alexandrageese.bsky.social, Mira Milosevic, @dimi.wikimedia.brussels, @courtneyr.bsky.social + ARTICLE 19's Quinn McKew

www.youtube.com/live/vZTwYPS...

Thanks to everyone who followed our event yesterday and huge thanks to Commissioner @michaelmcgratheu.bsky.social for coming and his support.

100% agree with this!

Powerful words from Margrethe Vestager, on the role that competition plays in defending and reinforcing democracies and rights.

"We want to stand up to the bully and hold power to account. That is what people understand and that is the story of competition enforcement."

@openmarkets.bsky.social

Barbora speaking in front of a jam jar with a label requiring payment for all mentions of authoritarianism, etc.

The folks at @article19.bsky.social have a kitty for mentions of authoritarianism, and Barbora expects to be bankrupt by the end of her speech.

A piece of warning at this event about future of #democrcacy & #freespeech in age of AI:

We have to stop talking about #AI as if it were destiny.

In hands of unaccountable billionaires, it will be perfect dictatorship. Invisible, frictionless, personalised.

And you may never know you are in it!

Interview with Max Popovych, Senior Legal Officer for Europe at the Article 19 NGO A talk on the state of freedom of speech in the world and what professional journalists can do to defend the freedom of speech in authoritarian regimes

Our colleague Max gave this interview about the state of #freespeech around the world and what professional journalists can do to defend the freedom of speech in authoritarian regimes

Check it up!

soundcloud.com/radioromania...

Real relief in a time when voices like Alaa's are needed outside a cell, not inside one

#FreeSpeech #HumanRIghts #Egypt

Boundaries of Expression podcast: Gender apartheid - ARTICLE 19 Professor Karima Bennoune outlines the campaign to recognise gender apartheid as a crime against humanity and be included in a UN treaty.

Check the latest ARTICLE 19 Boundaries of Expression podcast about the fight to recognise #gender apartheid in #Iran & #Afghanistan as an international crime.

Crucial #FreeSpeech issue where silencing women through systemic oppression denies their voices and rights
www.article19.org/resources/bo...

Google hit with Digital Markets Act complaint over user choice The DMA, which became applicable in 2023, aims to regulate the gatekeeper power of the largest digital companies.

Together with partners, we are urging @ec.europa.eu to investigate Google's Android for restricting user choice by hiding or blocking disabling of pre-installed apps.

Such practices violate the #DMA’s promise of fair competition & user control

#DigitalRights
www.euronews.com/next/2025/07...

UK: House of Lords must block Chinese influence and halt foreign media ownership - ARTICLE 19 Plans for a US-based company with links to China to partially own the Telegraph newspaper poses a risk to information integrity in the UK.

🚨 TODAY: The #UK @houseoflords.parliament.uk votes on allowing up to 15% foreign ownership of UK newspapers, including those with links to #China.

We warn this creates risks of foreign influence. It also threatens media pluralism & #freespeech without strong safeguards.

HoL must vote against it

International Impact Report 2024 Our 2024 International Impact Report is out! Learn how ARTICLE 19 worked with partners and communities to demand better and achieve real change, both locally and globally. https://stories.article1...

Last year was one for the books! 🚀
We fought for #freespeech, empowered thousands, pushed for global human rights in AI, and much more.

If you want to see what impact we made together, check our 2024 Impact report 👇

#Impact2024 #PowerOfOurVoices #FreedomOfExpression

We’re no #BigTech cheerleaders.

But we welcome today decision of @echr.coe.int in #Google v #Russia concerning huge fines for refusing to remove political content and restoring monetisation of sanctioned TV channel on #YOutube owned by Russian oligarch

It's win for #FreeSpeech

UK: Full understanding of ‘hate speech’ vital to assess Glastonbury controversy - ARTICLE 19 When assessing 'hate speech' claims, UK authorities must clearly understand international human rights law and restrictions on speech.

After Bob Vylan’s #Glastonbury set sparked a global storm, with police investigation and leaders calling his remarks #HateSpeech, we urge clear understanding of hate speech laws. Not all shocking/offensive speech is illegal.
#FreeSpeech must be protected unless it incites violence or discrimination.

UN: States must support Myanmar media - ARTICLE 19 ARTICLE 19 made this statement calling for support for journalists in Myanmar at the 59th Session of the UN Human Rights Council.

It's been over 4 years since #Myanmar & military’s onslaught on #MediaFreedom shows no signs of abating.
At least 60 journalists are in jail.

We call on States to continue condemning all attacks on journalists and support media organisations trying to bring the violations to account
#freespeech

EU: Institutions must take action against spyware abuse - ARTICLE 19 ARTICLE 19 joined other CSOs in calling on EU institutions to take action to respond to the threat that spyware poses to human rights.

🔍👀 Who’s watching you?

#Spyware is often abused to surveil journalists and human rights activists. We say enough is enough!

We call on #EU to take urgent concrete action to respond to this threat.

Protect journalists, activists, and democracy itself!

More 👇
#humanrights #freespeech #StopSpyware

I spent five years in Iran’s notorious Evin prison but when Israel bombed it I felt horror and fear | Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe Many held there are opponents of the repressive regime. Who is alive now? Who was killed? Were they just collateral damage, asks former hostage Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe

Brilliant article by former #Iran political prisoner Zaghari-Ratcliffe about what happens when repression meets war.

Read it if you care about the voices that authoritarian regimes try to silence.

Deeply human #MustRead

#PoliticalPrisoners #FreeSpeech #HumanRights #Democracy