PEN’s Free Expression Digest brings you a daily curated round-up of the most important free expression-related stories from around the web. Subscribe here. *This mailing list is currently in BETA as we work out the kinks. Please send your feedback and suggestions to [email protected]

Malaysia: Sedition case against cartoonist Zunar adjourned
Malaysian cartoonist Zunar, who is facing nine simultaneous charges under the country’s controversial Sedition Act, has had his case pushed back until September 9. Zunar faces 43 years in prison over a tweet criticizing the recent jailing of a Malaysian opposition leader. INDEX ON CENSORSHIP
 
UN rights chief concerned by ‘broad scope’ of China’s new security law
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said the law “raises many concerns due to its extraordinarily broad scope coupled with the vagueness of its terminology and definitions. As a result, it leaves the door wide open to further restrictions of the rights and freedoms of Chinese citizens.” UN NEWS CENTRE
 
China’s draft cybersecurity law could up censorship, irk business
China’s parliament has published a draft cybersecurity law that consolidates Beijing’s control over data. The law strengthens the government’s powers obtain records on and block dissemination of private information deemed illegal under Chinese law. REUTERS
 
Mexico is Hacking Team’s biggest paying client — by far
Mexico is by far the biggest paying client of Hacking Team, the Italian cyber-surveillance firm now at the center of a massive hack of its internal data, documents show. The country has paid more than $6.3 million to help it spy on its targets. VICE NEWS
 
In light of Hacking Team leaks, EFF and Latin American civil society groups call for greater oversight of surveillance technology
Leaked documents from Italian surveillance company Hacking Team show a global industry of sales to states of software that can invade and spy on personal computers and mobile devices almost without limit. EFF
 
FBI argues for access to personal communications, tech industry defends need for encryption
Tech firms have moved to put encryption in place that could even shut out the federal government, but the administration continues to argue for work-arounds that would still give investigators access. THE WASHINGTON POST           
 
CPJ says Turkish journalists face threat over anti-defamation law
The Committee to Protect Journalists has said that Turkey’s infamous anti-defamation law, widely exploited by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is a new type of threat against journalists, obstructing professional journalistic activities and taking a toll on reporters. TODAY’S ZAMAN
 
Tanzania accused of making laws on the hoof in ‘Kafkaesque’ curb on free speech
With elections looming, Tanzania’s Cybercrimes Act is the most visible branch of a social media clampdown that frequently embraces more opaque methods. New laws threaten to make Tanzania one of Africa’s most repressive countries for freedom of speech. THE GUARDIAN
 
Hong Kong charges four over public burning of Beijing’s policy paper
Four Hong Kong pro-democracy activist face charges of obstructing the police in the course of their duty, in connection with the burning of a Beijing policy paper outside the Chinese government’s liaison office in the former British colony. RADIO FREE ASIA
 
Egypt: Al-Masriya journalist’s detention renewed
A Cairo Court renewed Monday the pre-trial detention of Al-Masriya photojournalist Wagdy Ghaly for a further 15 days. Ghaly was arrested during while taking photographs outside the Omar Makram Mosque in Downtown Cairo. DAILY NEWS EGYPT