After months of delay, it looks like Malaysian cartoonist Zunar will finally get his day in court next month as he faces nine sedition charges which could bring up to 43 years in prison. That’s not particularly good news, however;…
Category: Legal
CBLDF Joins Coalition Defending Children’s Books in Florida
Today, CBLDF joined a Kids’ Right to Read-led coalition to defend two children’s books being challenged in Duval County, Florida, over concerns that the books promote Islam and are critical of the US’s role in the Middle East. CBLDF joins…
Index on Censorship Provides Resources to Protect Artists in the UK
US citizens are protected by the First Amendment, but in the UK there are several additional laws and practices that are designed to protect free speech but are often misinterpreted, leading to censorship. Whether you’re a British artist or an…
Maus Pulled from Russia Bookstores for Depicting Nazi Propaganda
Although no formal complaints were issued, several major bookstore chains in Russia have begun pulling the Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel Maus off of their store shelves and internet sites. The reason: The cover depicts a Nazi swastika. According to…
Tanzania Bans Newspaper Over “Disrespectful” Cartoon
The Tanzanian government has banned the Nairobi newspaper, The EastAfrican, from newsstands. Although the publicized reason for the ban is that the newspaper was being distributed within Tanzania without proper legal registration as required by a 1976 law, several individuals…
In Memoriam: Free Speech Lawyer Herald Price Fahringer
Free speech lost a prime defender recently with the death of Herald Price Fahringer, the lawyer who over a more than 50-year career represented clients such as Larry Flynt and Screw magazine’s Al Goldstein. While abstaining from most vice himself,…
Ecuadorian Cartoonist Faces Charges for “Socioeconomic Discrimination”
Political cartoonist Xavier Bonilla, known as Bonil, has been charged with “socioeconomic discrimination” in his home country of Ecuador for a cartoon targeting Agustín “Tin” Delgado, a former professional soccer player who now sits on Ecuador’s legislative assembly. Bonilla is…
CBLDF Joins Cato Institute Brief Urging US Supreme Court to Protect First Amendment Right to Offend
This week, CBLDF advocated for the First Amendment right to offensive speech by joining an amicus brief filed in the United States Supreme Court by the Cato Institute and that includes amici P.J. O’Rourke, Nat Hentoff, and Nadine Strossen. The brief filed…
Censorship 2014: Fun Home and LGBTQ Literature Targeted by Censors
In 2014, we saw one of the most blatant attacks ever perpetrated on free expression and academic freedom when the South Carolina legislature passed a questionable budget “compromise” that effectively functioned as punitive budget cuts for two universities that utilized…
Censorship 2014: Why Are Video Games Still a Scapegoat?
Earlier this year, U.S. Legislators took another crack at the curbing the production of violent video games by enacting the Tax Reform Act of 2014, which would offer permanent tax credits to video game creators that do not make violent…