A new report from Human Rights Watch alleges that the Chinese government is intensifying efforts to suppress public memory of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. The organization details how authorities are utilizing censorship, surveillance, and legal pressure to prevent commemorations and remove references to the event from public discourse, education, and online platforms.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has publicly addressed the issue of hate speech on the online platform 'Ilbe'. The President has proposed potential regulatory measures, including the possibility of website closure, citing the community's history of promoting hate speech, ridicule, and discriminatory content within the Republic of Korea.
The Tunisian government has ordered a one-month suspension of the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES). Authorities cited a financial audit as the reason for the measure against the prominent NGO, which frequently monitors migration issues and social protests in the country.
Recent reports alleging that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has issued a decree to close Istanbul Bilgi University are inaccurate. The university remains fully operational, and there is no official government decree revoking its license or ordering a state seizure of the institution. The university continues to conduct its academic activities in Istanbul as a private foundation university.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has signed decrees to create a new governmental body tasked with overseeing and regulating social media platforms. The initiative aims to address the spread of disinformation and enhance digital safety, marking a significant shift in how Brazil manages the digital landscape and platform accountability within the country.
Following recent political developments in Hungary, several prominent pro-government media outlets are undergoing significant restructuring. These changes include high-level leadership departures and the cancellation of established programs, marking a notable shift within the country's media landscape as organizations adjust their editorial strategies.
Bangladesh's Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapon has announced the government's intention to form an independent Media Commission. The initiative aims to foster a free press environment through stakeholder consensus, marking a significant step in the nation's media reform efforts.
Prominent Hungarian business figure Gyula Balásy has voluntarily transferred his corporate empire to the Hungarian state. The move, which involves significant advertising and communications interests, comes amidst a period of shifting political and economic dynamics within Hungary, marking a notable change in the ownership of key media-related infrastructure.
A Seoul-based human rights organization has released a report detailing a significant rise in public executions in North Korea. The findings suggest that the North Korean government is increasingly utilizing capital punishment to suppress cultural and political dissent, targeting individuals for activities such as consuming foreign media and engaging in unauthorized political behavior.
French deputies are set to vote on a parliamentary report authored by Charles Alloncle, which examines the governance and oversight of public broadcasting in France. The report proposes significant structural changes to how state-funded media entities are managed, aiming to address concerns regarding efficiency, independence, and the evolving media landscape in the digital age.
Human Rights Watch has called on the Indian government to scrap proposed amendments to its IT rules, arguing they grant the executive branch excessive control over online content. The organization warns that the draft regulations threaten free expression and could lead to increased government censorship of digital media and social platforms in India.
International media freedom organizations are marking the 27th anniversary of the murder of Serbian journalist Slavko Ćuruvija by condemning the lack of final accountability. Despite years of legal proceedings, the case remains a symbol of the struggle for justice and press freedom in Serbia, as groups call for an end to impunity for crimes against journalists.
Google has terminated the YouTube channels of three prominent Belarusian state-affiliated media outlets—BELTA, ONT, and STV—citing compliance with international sanctions. The move marks a significant reduction in the digital footprint of Belarusian state-controlled media on the platform, following similar actions taken against other state-linked entities globally.
The Constitutional Court of Latvia has declared that legal requirements mandating the production of public media content in minority languages are unconstitutional. The ruling addresses the balance between state language policy and the autonomy of public media organizations, marking a significant legal development in the country's media landscape.
Residents in Moscow and St. Petersburg have reported significant mobile internet outages, prompting widespread discussion regarding digital infrastructure stability and state-managed network restrictions within the Russian Federation.
Russia's federal media regulator, Roskomnadzor, has encountered significant technical difficulties in its attempts to block the messaging app Telegram. Efforts to throttle the platform have resulted in collateral damage to unrelated internet services, highlighting the complexities of state-led internet censorship in the Russian Federation.
Reports from the Russian Federation indicate that military authorities have instructed personnel to remove the Telegram messaging app from their mobile devices. The directive is part of broader efforts to enhance operational security and mitigate risks associated with digital communication platforms within the armed forces.
The Spanish government has officially launched HODIO, a new digital monitoring tool designed to track and analyze hate speech and polarization across the internet. Developed to strengthen democratic discourse, the platform aims to provide authorities with data-driven insights into the spread of extremist content and digital disinformation within Spain.
India's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has blocked five over-the-top (OTT) platforms—MoodXVIP, Koyal Playpro, Digi Movieplex, Feel, and Jugnu—for allegedly streaming obscene and sexually explicit content. The action was taken under the IT Act, 2000, and IT Rules, 2021, following multiple grievances and previous warnings regarding content violations.
Russia's State Duma has passed a bill empowering the Federal Security Service (FSB) to shut down internet and mobile services, and block calls and text messages. The legislation, approved on February 17, 2026, also shields telecom operators from liability for such disruptions, marking a significant expansion of state control over communications.
