Almost a year ago, Auckland City Libraries in New Zealand declined to add Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie’s Lost Girls to their collection, fearing prosecution under the country’s child pornography laws. The book was subsequently submitted for review by the…
Category: International
New Manga Crushed by Tokyo Ordinance
A new manga series was cancelled last week just days before it was to debut online, apparently because the publisher was concerned it might clash with Tokyo’s Youth Healthy Development Ordinance. Creator Arisa Yamamoto said on her blog that editors…
Pakistani Political Cartoonist Mourns Free Expression
Pakistani political cartoonist Sabir Nazar is lucky. He’s currently in Washington, DC for a six-month fellowship at the National Endowment for Democracy, just as extremist attacks against journalists are ramping up in his home country. A few days ago he…
CNN Spectacularly Fails To Understand Manga and Anime
As Japan prepares to implement a new law which bans the possession of child pornography but exempts manga and anime, CNN released an over-the-top sensationalist video report this week that demonstrates a profound lack of knowledge about the formats. Much…
What Does Japan’s New Child Porn Law Mean for Manga and Anime?
Although production and distribution of underage pornography have been illegal in Japan for (only) 15 years, possession of it currently is not. That will change later this month, when a law passed last week by the country’s House of Representatives…
Middle Eastern Online Bookseller Puts Spotlight on Banned Books
Hoping to overwhelm censors, the founder of Middle Eastern online bookstore Jamalon announced last week that the site will launch a section devoted to books that have been banned in any of the 22 countries it serves. This is not…
Political Cartoons for Peace
A globalization class at Lebanese American University hosted political cartoonist Hassan Bleibel as he paid a visit to illustrate the power of using art to tackle sensitive issues. The cartoonist is best known for his work at the Daily Star…
British Education Secretary in Hot Water Over Alleged Ban of American Classics
Educators in the United Kingdom and some authors — including Phillip Pullman and Nobel winner Toni Morrison — are upset over allegations that British Education Secretary Michael Gove is removing American classics and other non-British books from GCSE English syllabi.…
Twitter Complies With Pakistan Censorship Requests
Not so long ago, Twitter stood out among social media companies for its defense of free speech. Unlike Facebook, which has a habit of blocking content first and asking questions never, Twitter and its chief lawyer Alexander Macgillivray tended to…
Hertfordshire Libraries Restrict Comics Borrowing for Children and Teens
After a parent in the small English town of Harpenden complained that one of her children was able to access adult graphic novels in the local library, new borrowing restrictions for minors have been imposed across the entire Hertfordshire library…