Congressional human rights leaders call out President-elect Trump‎ for cozying up to Bahrain’s notoriously repressive regime by throwing a lavish holiday party at the mogul’s DC hotel. HUD Secretary designate Ben Carson shows proclivity toward applying political litmus tests for government workers and grant recipients. For more on Carson’s history on free expression, read his Free Expression Report Card. -Suzanne Nossel, Executive Director

 

DARE: Daily Alert on Rights and Expression

PEN America’s take on today’s most pressing threats to free expression

U.S.

Democratic lawmakers slam Trump over Bahrain reception
Trump spent much of his campaign accusing Hillary Clinton of “pay-to-play” politics by accepting foreign government’s donations. Now Democrats are more than happy to turn the tables amid growing complaints that his business interests are creating conflicts of interest even before he’s sworn in.
AL MONITOR

Trump blames unfair media for driving him to tweet
In his 34,100th-plus tweet, President-elect Donald Trump on Monday suggested he would have reason to curtail his prolific Twitter use if the media covered him “accurately & honorably.”
POLITICO

The Anti-Semitism Awareness Act would damage free speech on campus
The Anti-Semitism Awareness Act endorses the State Department definition of anti-Semitism, which includes “delegitimizing” Israel, “demonizing” Israel or holding Israel to a “double standard.” The bill directs the Department of Education to consider this definition when investigating complaints of anti-Semitism on campus. But the bill does not add any new protections for Jewish students.
LOS ANGELES TIME

The Future of Free Speech on Social Media Looks Grim
Social-media platforms have not so much “disrupted” the old media gatekeepers as they have introduced a watered-down version of the same concept.
REASON

Burning Flags, Screaming ‘Trump’ and Our First Amendment
Let’s set aside the fact for the moment that we’re responding to a 138-character exclamation that, like many of Trump’s tweets, may not wind up as policy. In the age of the Tweeter-(elect)-in-Chief, we’re going to have to get used to the topsy-turvy reality of one-off thoughts causing—at times frantic—reactions, policy discussions and uncertainty. This is not about flag burning. This is about people.
TIME

 
Global

Ombudsman rules that Hong Kong gov’t ban on digital journalists is unfair
The Ombudsman has ruled in favour of the Hong Kong Journalists Association after it complained about the government’s policy of denying digital media outlets access to government press conferences and press releases.
HONG KONG FREE PRESS

Internet freedom at stake in Supreme Court of Canada case
B.C. Court of Appeal ordered Google to enforce a worldwide ban on website links in intellectual property battle, thus unilaterally deciding to regulate the free flow of information worldwide.
THE TORONTO STAR

Kidnapped Nigerian journalist regains freedom
The Benue Police Command on Tuesday confirmed the release of a radio journalist, Iyuadoo Tor-Agbidye, who was kidnapped four days ago in her house in Makurdi.
PREMIUM TIMES

Do Turkey’s police use social media monitoring to crack down on dissent?
Turkish people have witnessed journalists being arrested for their news and for their tweets critical to the government. Pro-government companies tried to censor hashtags on social media. And the government shut down internet access to suppress images of protests while it was jailing opposition politicians. Now, the country is witnessing mass arrests of ordinary citizens for tweets that the government dislikes.
THE DAILY DOT

How to ensure safety of journalists
The General Manager of Radio One, Lagos, Nigeria, Funke Treasure Durodola has advised media owners to create enabling environment for journalists to practise through newsroom mentoring.
THE GUARDIAN

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