Internet blackouts in Venezuela, and fighting for justice in the Maldives
John Otis, CPJ’s Andes correspondent, reports on Venezuela’s internet blackout and the impact it has had on Venezuelans’ ability to access news and information. Three journalists have been killed in the last week, in Afghanistan, Honduras, and Mexico. CPJ Asia Program Research Associate Aliya Iftikhar recently returned from a reporting mission to the Maldives, where…
Cuba passes regulations criminalizing online content, further restricting internet access
Miami, August 19, 2021 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the enactment of new telecommunications regulations in Cuba that will further censor information on the island, and called for their immediate repeal. On August 17, the Cuban government enacted new regulations that criminalize the sharing of “false” and “offensive” information online, and grant…
Pegasus spyware revelations are ‘a wake-up call for security on the internet’
Following recent revelations that journalists around the world were potential targets of NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware, the chief executive of WhatsApp, Will Cathcart, spoke to CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “This should be a wake-up call for security on the internet,” Cathcart said. This week CPJ also joined more than 150 human rights groups and…
Venezuelan authorities restrict internet, block outlets amid unrest
Miami, May 1, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Venezuelan authorities to refrain from restricting access to the internet, social media services, and news outlets in the country during widespread protests and political unrest.
Maduro’s internet blackout stifles news of Venezuela crisis
One of the world’s biggest news stories on March 4 was the daring return to Venezuela of opposition leader and self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaidó, who faced possible arrest by the authoritarian regime of Nicolás Maduro. But most Venezuelans were unable to follow his homecoming.
DRC authorities cut internet and broadcast signals after election
New York, January 3, 2019–Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo should immediately take steps to ensure citizens have access to the internet and news outlets as the country awaits the results of its election, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The government has cut access to internet and SMS services, blocked the signals…
Do news blackouts help journalists held captive?
At any given time over the past two years, as wars raged in Libya and then Syria, and as other conflicts ground on in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, a number of journalists have been held captive by a diverse array of forces, from militants and rebels to criminals and paramilitaries. And at any given…
One month after the start of the Israel-Gaza war, 39 journalists and media workers killed
One month after the start of the Israel-Gaza war, CPJ’s research showed at least 39 journalists and media workers have been killed, in what is now the deadliest month for journalists since CPJ began gathering data in 1992. As the conflict continues, journalists are facing increased hostilities, including 13 arrests, as well as numerous assaults,…
Journalists shot, beaten, and harassed covering conflict between Sudan’s rival military groups
On May 1, freelance Sudanese photographer Faiz Abubaker was filming clashes in Khartoum when, he says, he was shot in the back by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group vying for power with the Sudanese military. The RSF then held him for three hours at a checkpoint, where he was threatened at knife point and…