President Trump tweets a threat to change libel laws, though the courts have set the standard clearly. His administration signals intent to roll back net neutrality rules designed to keep the internet open as a free expression platform, but there has been big public pushback on doing this in the past. Russian President Putin breaks a state-media blackout on nationwide protests by raising the specter of chaos—that only he can prevent. -Dru Menaker, Chief Operating Officer

DARE: Daily Alert on Rights and Expression

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

U.S.

In Twitter attack on New York Times, Trump floats changing libel laws
In another Twitter attack on The New York Times, President Trump floated whether the U.S. should change its libel laws, a threat that worries First Amendment advocates and could exacerbate tensions between his administration and the press.
POLITICO

U.N. experts see ‘alarming’ U.S. trend against free speech, protest
Nineteen U.S. states have introduced bills that would curb freedom of expression and the right to protest since Donald Trump’s election as president, an “alarming and undemocratic” trend, U.N. human rights investigators said on Thursday.
REUTERS

Net Neutrality Is Trump’s Next Target, Administration Says
The Trump administration served notice on Thursday that its next move to deregulate broadband internet service companies would be to jettison the Obama administration’s net neutrality rules, which were intended to safeguard free expression online.
NEW YORK TIMES

Travel Restrictions Create New Headaches for Foreign Artists, U.S. Presenters, and Organizations Like Center Stage
The Trump administration has been aggressively attempting to block citizens of multiple countries from entering the U.S., and organizations like Center Stage, as well as regional arts presenters, now face thorny new challenges.
INDY WEEK

No more land of the free? Trump’s double standard on freedom of speech threatens America’s image
President Trump’s Department of Homeland Security opposed a decision by a US immigration court in Chicago to grant asylum to Amos Yee, an 18-year-old blogger from the tiny Asian city-state of Singapore, showcasing that Trump wants liberties for himself he doesn’t grant to others.
SALON

 
Global

Putin, in First Remarks on Russian Protests, Warns of Potential Chaos
Breaking five days of silence — and a Soviet-style virtual blackout on state media over the biggest protests in Russia in years — President Vladimir Putin responded publicly Thursday to the nationwide anti-corruption demonstrations by saying they could end in chaos.
BOSTON GLOBE

Belarusian police raid TV station in Minsk
A police raid came around a week after hundreds of protesters were arrested in the country’s capital during marches on Saturday marking Freedom Day, an unofficial holiday commemorating the creation of the Belarusian People’s Republic in 1918.
RADIO POLAND

‘Moonlight’ Might Not Be Shown in China Because of Gay Themes
Censorship of American movies has been a subject of note lately. While China allowed screenings of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ despite it’s ‘exclusively gay moment’, there might be a new battle brewing over Moonlight as the movie might run afoul of Chinese censors.
YAHOO!

Costa Rica’s High Court to Decide on Restrictive Internet Measures
A petition challenging restrictions on Internet usage approved by Sutel was brought before the Costa Rican Constitutional Court by the National Ombudsman’s Office (Defensoría de los Habitantes) earlier this month.
THE COSTA RICA STAR

If You Want to Murder a Journalist in Mexico, Chances Are You’ll Get Away with It
People who kill journalists in Mexico get away with murder 99.7 percent of the time. This is what a new report will reveal when it is released next week as it is also pointed out that 2016 was “the most violent year for the press in Mexico”.
TELESUR

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