On July 24th, the New York City Police Department sent two plainclothes cops to paint over a mural that had listed the NYPD alongside multinational corporations and government agencies under the headline, “Murderers.” While artist Alan Ket had permission from…
Category: Legal
Media in Myanmar Opposes New Press Council
Last Friday, after widespread criticism of delays in eliminating its censorship board, the government of Myanmar announced that it was forming an interim council to regulate the press until the new media law is enacted. The 20-member council is comprised…
Men Arrested in India for E-Mailing Cartoon
When Jadavpur University professor Ambikesh Mahapatra e-mailed a cartoon mocking an Indian politician to friends, he probably didn’t expect to be arrested by local police in a midnight raid. Appallingly, Mahapatra and neighbor Subrata Sengupta were arrested in such a…
Political Cartoonist Zunar Scores Partial Victory in Malaysian Court
Last week, a Malaysian civil court ruled that the arrest of political cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaqur, also known as Zunar, was lawful but that the seizure of his 66 books and paintings was not. This decision is the latest in…
Updated Arizona Anti-Harassment Bill Features Improved Free Speech Protection
Heeding concerns of the public and organizations like Media Coalition, of which the CBLDF is a member, the state of Arizona has passed an updated and more precise version of March’s legislation against cyberstalking and cyberharassment. House Bill 2549 was…
Cartoonist Battles Frivolous Lawsuits with Comedic Protest
The Oatmeal, a website that features the work of cartoonist and programmer Matthew Inman, has been entangled in a legal dispute with the attorney of competitor Funny Junk, a comedy site that posts user-uploaded images. After exercising his First Amendment…
Danish Report Discredits Link Between Cartoons and Child Sex Abuse
The Copenhagen Post reveals that a report issued by experts at Sexologisk Klinik discredits claims that cartoon depictions of underaged characters engaging in sex acts encourage people to commit child sex crimes in real life. The report to the justice…
Canadian Fair Dealing Expanded to Include Parody
While working on my recent post about Canadian political cartoonist Dan Murphy’s animated parody being removed from his newspaper’s website, allegedly under pressure from the very company targeted by the video, I was somewhat surprised to learn that such works…
Tunisian Man Loses Free Expression Appeal
On March 28, Jabeur Mejri, a Tunisian man convicted of upsetting public order and morals, was sentenced to seven years in jail after posting cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad on Facebook. Last week, he learned that the court would not…
SDCC: State of the CBLDF!
Another Comic-Con is upon us, and thanks to the generosity of our members, corporate members, sponsors and supporters, we’ve developed a week full of great programs, parties, and an unforgettable auction to raise money for our important First Amendment program…