Guards working for the Federal Communications Commission rough up a reporter from Congressional Quarterly who tries to ask a question of a commissioner in the hallway outside a media briefing. Video released of the Turkish President shows him looking on from his Mercedes in the driveway of the Turkish embassy in Washington as diplomatic guards come to blows with protesters.‎ Pundits, proteges, and victims of his predations debate the legacy of Fox News founder Roger Ailes. Sweden drops rape charges against Wikileaks chief Julian Assange, though he still faces various forms of legal jeopardy that may keep him holed up in Ecuador’s London embassy. -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.

Journalist Says FCC Security ‘Manhandled’ Him After Asking Questions
John Donnelly, a reporter for CQ Roll Call, was thrown out of the scheduled press conference after he tried to ask commissioners questions when they were not behind the podium, the statement said.
TIME

In Video, Erdogan Watches as His Guards Clash With Protesters
New video surfaced on Thursday that shows President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey looking on as armed members of his security team violently charge a group of protesters outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence here.
NEW YORK TIMES

Conservative media remember Roger Ailes as ‘brilliant’ but flawed TV executive
Roger Ailes, the founder and former head of Fox News who died Thursday at 77, was a towering figure in the world of conservative news media—a trailblazer who gave right-wing political voices a national platform and who groomed influential cable news stars like Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity. At the same time, Ailes’ accomplishments were overshadowed by the sexual harassment scandals at Fox News that led to his ignominious departure from the cable channel last year.
LOS ANGELES TIMES

Trump Said to Want Fewer Press Briefings and Less Sean Spicer
President Trump is said to be considering having fewer public briefings, and possibly even making a dramatic change in Spicer’s job status. Politico recently quoted senior White House sources it said were “familiar with the president’s thinking” as saying that Spicer would no longer be doing a daily on-camera briefing once Trump returns from a foreign diplomatic trip that begins this week.
FORTUNE

FCC votes to overturn net neutrality rules
The US Federal Communications Commission has voted to overturn rules that force ISPs to treat all data traffic as equal. Commissioners at the agency voted two-to-one to end a “net neutrality” order enacted in 2015.
BBC

 
Global

Julian Assange Rape Investigation Is Dropped in Sweden
Prosecutors in Sweden said on Friday that they would drop their investigation into Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder who sought refuge in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London five years ago after the authorities in Stockholm opened a preliminary rape inquiry against him. But the prosecutors’ decision does not mean that Mr. Assange is in the clear.
NEW YORK TIMES

Facebook blocks Pulitzer-winning reporter over Malta government exposé
Facebook has censored a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist for publishing a series of posts alleging corruption by the prime minister of Malta and his associates. Matthew Caruana Galizia, a member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists’ award-winning Panama Papers team, was temporarily locked out of his Facebook account over four posts, which were deleted for violating the social network’s community standards.
THE GUARDIAN

Theresa May Wants To Regulate The Internet
Buried at the very end of the Conservative election manifesto is a line of text that could have an enormous impact on how Britons use the internet in the future. “Some people say that it is not for government to regulate when it comes to technology and the internet,” it states. “We disagree.”
BUZZFEED

Critics scrutinize Saudi Arabia’s human rights record ahead of Trump visit
Critics argue that the handshakes and warm smiles ignore Saudi Arabia’s abysmal human rights record. It’s unclear if the White House will condemn the Kingdom’s censorship of free speech, indiscriminate incarceration of citizens with no due process, or the lack of basic freedoms for women and girls.
ABC NEWS

I’m a foreign reporter frozen out by Theresa May. She is behaving like Trump
Even at the early stages, Trump’s relationship with what he terms “the lying media” was toxic. Still, I hung in there, despite the menacing glares and the threat of ejection. A reporter from the New York Times told me: “Incredible. You’re lucky to be based in Europe, where something like that would be impossible.” Impossible? Perhaps not.
THE GUARDIAN

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