At reddit we care deeply about not imposing ours or anyone elses’ opinions on how people use the reddit platform. We are adamant about not limiting the ability to use the reddit platform even when we do not ourselves agree with or condone a specific use. We have very few rules here on reddit; no spamming, no cheating, no personal info, nothing illegal, and no interfering the site's functions. Today we are adding another rule: No suggestive or sexual content featuring minors. - After much complaint, Reddit gets rid of /r/jailbait and selected subreddits with similar content.
posted by Artw on Feb 12, 2012 - 413 comments

In Gitmo Opinion, Two Versions of Reality. "When Judge Henry Kennedy Jr. ordered the release of a Guantánamo Bay detainee last spring, the case appeared to be a routine setback for an Obama administration that has lost a string of such cases. But there turns out to be nothing ordinary about the habeas case brought by Uthman Abdul Rahim Mohammed Uthman, a Yemeni held without charges for nearly eight years. Uthman, accused by two U.S. administrations of being an al-Qaida fighter and bodyguard for Osama bin Laden, is among 48 detainees the Obama administration has deemed too dangerous to release but 'not feasible for prosecution.' A day after his March 16 order was filed on the court's electronic docket, Kennedy's opinion vanished. Weeks later, a new ruling appeared in its place. While it reached the same conclusion, eight pages of material had been removed, including key passages in which Kennedy dismantled the government's case against Uthman."
posted by homunculus on Oct 13, 2010 - 92 comments

In the same spirit as the Open Net Initiative and Committee to Protect Bloggers that both track global internet filtering, Sami ben Gharbia's Access Denied Map tries to track the blocking of sites like Blogger, Flickr, YouTube and others by governments, as well as efforts by activists to keep them accessible or to challenge their blockage.
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Nov 19, 2007 - 5 comments

Cryptome Shutdown by Verio/NTT. Who Killed Cryptome.org?
posted by homunculus on May 1, 2007 - 28 comments

An Indonesian TV crew was invited to Malaysia for their Visit Malaysia Year 2007 campaign but encountered many problems. They write up about it - and start a flurry of comments and controversy across the Malaysian government about blogging. [more inside]
posted by divabat on Apr 6, 2007 - 14 comments

Feds seek to gag D.C. Madam this madam threatens to spill the names about the biggies that used her services and so: [...]government lawyers claim that some discovery documents contain "personal information" about Palfrey's former johns and prostitutes that is "sensitive." The prosecution filing does not detail the nature of this confidential information, though the identity of Palfrey's D.C. customers would surely be cloaked if the protective order was signed by Judge Gladys Kessler[...]
posted by Postroad on Mar 7, 2007 - 46 comments

Malaysian bookstore Silverfish Books recently pubhlished a list of books restricted by the Malaysian Home Ministry (confiscated at the border by Customs) - a list that includes Chinese teapots, children's prayers, and Dora the Explorer. Banned books & magazines aren't exactly news in Malaysia; indeed, possession of said books can lead to severe penalties, even jail time.The Opposition has made a statement before, but that hasn't led anywhere. However, since Silverfish's list, Malaysian bloggers have had enough with the arbitrary and Kafka-esque bans and restrictions, and have come together to form Manuscripts Don't Burn, to protest and talk about banned books and the larger issue of freedom of speech in Malaysia.
posted by divabat on Nov 7, 2006 - 19 comments

In a new twist to a theme discussed earlier on MeFi, on language censorship (but in an entirely different case) the UK might be the first country to jail a man for using a single court-prohibited word in public.
As repellent as the defendant's behaviour was, can such a case of censorship and prohibition of freedom of speech ever be justified?
posted by Blue Stone on Aug 12, 2003 - 36 comments

Enforcing silence: American media are unsurprisingly preparing to publish details of Vancouver's Pickton case despite a Canadian publication ban. Are media blackouts censorship, necessary for justice, or both? Or are they just doomed to fail when you can just, you know, do stuff like this?
posted by transient on Nov 21, 2002 - 22 comments

Google censors search results "Google, the world's most popular search engine, has quietly deleted more than 100 controversial sites from some search result listings. "
posted by mert on Oct 24, 2002 - 53 comments

MTV bans Public Enemy 's video "Gotta Give the Peeps What They Need" because the video contains the lyric "Free Mumia and H Rap Brown". MTV are willing to air the video if the lyric is cut. Public Enemy front-man Chuck D is vocal in his response. Responsible action or censorship in its worst form?
posted by nthdegx on Sep 14, 2002 - 75 comments

Comic book retailer sentenced to jail for selling a book to an adult The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund's lawyers are filing an appeal in the highest criminal court in Texas in the obscenity conviction of Jesus Castillo, manager of a Dallas comic book store. Castillo has received six months jail time, a year probation, and a $4000 fine. [more inside]
posted by dejah420 on Aug 21, 2002 - 36 comments

Fighting the CDA : The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom is working with one of nations most interesting erotic photographers to overturn the portion of the CDA that ties all internet obscenity to the most restrictive definition of the most restrictive community in the nation.
posted by soulhuntre on Dec 11, 2001 - 30 comments

Yahoo appeals to U.S. District Court to avoid being regulated by the French government. This is one of the first important cases testing jurisdiction on ecommerce sites, and neither side appears to be backing down.
posted by jed on Dec 27, 2000 - 5 comments

Police State 2000. "What makes you think you can edit content?" the federal judge asked city officials. "Isn't that classic censorship and prior restraint?"
posted by owillis on Jul 10, 2000 - 24 comments

Another day, another piece of unconstitutional net-censorship legislation in Congress. And this time it's authored by your pal and mine, John "Watch Out for Charlies!" McCain. Perhaps we should start a deadpool for all these bills, giving out some cash to whoever guesses the dates on which the courts throw them out?
posted by aaron on Jun 27, 2000 - 4 comments

Third Circuit panel upholds injunction against Child Online Protective Act, says that "community standards" approach doesn't work in 'cyberspace'. Is sanity breaking out in the federal judiciary?
posted by baylink on Jun 23, 2000 - 1 comment

speed limit -- A bill banning Internet sites which publish or even link to drug-making information looks set to sail through Congress
posted by palegirl on Apr 26, 2000 - 3 comments