News
and Analysis
Filter by:
The Weekly Takedown: 5 June 2018
Spotify reverses hate speech ruling, a new report from EFF, and more in the latest Weekly Takedown!
The Weekly Takedown: 4 May 2018
A popular pig is censored in China...and more in this week's Takedown.
The Weekly Takedown: 28 April 2018
It’s content takedown transparency week, as Facebook and YouTube release reports on how they enforce community guidelines.
Offline/Online Sources
Offline/Online is a series of Onlinecensorship.org data visuals exploring how content moderation practices by social media companies impact marginalized communi...
Onlinecensorship.org Launches Resource Kit for Journalists
This resource answers frequently asked questions and provides background information on various issue areas, including fake news, hate speech, and censorship of...
31 August 2017: The Weekly Takedown
In this week's update: Western firms consider censorship in Iran, another domain registrar pulls a neo-Nazi site, and more...
23 August 2017: The Weekly Takedown
After Charlottesville, debate over how companies should deal with hate speech is growing. Here are just a few of the pieces that addressed the topic this week.
17 August 2017: The Weekly Takedown
As white supremacists take to the streets, social media companies have begun to deny them a platform online.
10 August 2017: The Weekly Takedown
Politicians censor, and accuse platforms of censorship...and more in the latest Weekly Takedown.
2 August 2017: The Weekly Takedown
In the latest Weekly Takedown: Google's technosolutionism, why the #freethenipple movement is struggling, and more...
19 July 2017: The Weekly Takedown
Winnie the Pooh, terrorist content, and sacred cows are among the content censored this week by social media platforms...
12 July 2017: The Weekly Takedown
Criticism of Germany's hate speech law, Facebook's solutions to hate speech, and Twitter's policies...and more in the latest Weekly Takedown.
6 July 2017: The Weekly Takedown
Instagram tests AI, China bans livestreaming, and more...in this week's Takedown.
Facebook Must Go Further on Transparency
The Onlinecensorship.org responds to Facebook's "hard questions" on hate speech.
28 June 2017: The Weekly Takedown
In this week’s Takedown, major platforms form an anti-terrorism agreement, while Twitter gets heavy-handed on copyright infringement.
31 May 2017: The Weekly Takedown
A leak of Facebook's internal rulebook is making waves; meanwhile, users continue to complain about YouTube's advertising policies.
18 April 2017: The Weekly Takedown
Facebook is under fire this week after a murder was broadcast on its Live platform.
12 April 2017: The Weekly Takedown
This week's update shows how governments and corporate executives collaborate to limit access to content online.
31 March 2017: The Weekly Takedown
A look at Twitter's latest transparency report and YouTube's new "restricted" mode...and more in this week's Takedown.
24 March 2017: The Weekly Takedown
This week, we take a look at YouTube's latest restrictions and Twitter's takedown of more than half a million accounts.
1 March 2017: The Weekly Takedown
In this latest edition of the Weekly Takedown, we look at Facebook's latest announcement, an apparent new policy at Twitter, and the effect of online censorship...
2 February 2017: The Weekly Takedown
In this week's update: Facebook admits to automated bans, the company's role in Poland, and the toll that commercial content moderation takes on its workers.
25 January 2017: The Weekly Takedown
The censorship of a Russian media outlet, pirates posting porn, and more in this week's Takedown.
The Weekly Takedown: 7 December 2016
Silicon Valley companies join forces against terrorism, one Chinese's company's quest to take censorship abroad, and more.
23 November 2016: The Weekly Takedown
After a brief hiatus, the Weekly Takedown is back...and just in time for mass suspensions on Twitter!
Onlinecensorship.org launches second report, "Censorship in Context" (PDF)
Censorship in Context: Insights from Crowdsourced Data on Social Media Censorship
26 October 2016: The Weekly Takedown
Will Facebook's new enforcement guidelines result in more freedom of expression on the platform?
Censorship against Palestinians brings Onlinecensorship.org back to its roots
News of an agreement between Facebook and the Israeli government shines a new light on the deactivation of several Palestinian editors' Facebook accounts.
On Facebook, French Antiracists Fall Victim to Censorship
Among those affected by Facebook censorship are activists in France fighting against racism.
14 September 2016: The Weekly Takedown
Nudity on Facebook and Instagram feature heavily in this week's takedown.
1 September 2016: The Weekly Takedown
In this week's takedown, we look at censorship in Turkey, protest against Facebook in the US, and a censored hand.
Blocked and banned by social media: When is it censorship?
In the San Francisco Chronicle, Marissa Lang explores whether bans on social media platforms ever amount to censorship.
21 July: The Weekly Takedown
In this week's update: Facebook is accused of censoring Kashmiris, Twitter bans a journalist's account for racist and sexist tweets, and a 14-year-old blog myst...
13 July 2016: The Weekly Takedown
This week's headlines are filled with news about censorship on Facebook. We take a deeper look.
29 June 2016: The Weekly Takedown
This week, we look at the relationship between art and social media, political censorship in the Philippines and Singapore, and whether companies are using auto...
22 June: The Weekly Takedown
In this week's edition: Pressure from Bangladesh to remove "inappropriate speech," and removal of speech with no prodding at all.
15 June 2016: The Weekly Takedown
In this week's edition: Companies grapple with hate speech, and AI gets its day in the limelight.
8 June 2016: The Weekly Takedown
In this week's edition: Bias against bodies, Israel seeks social media control, a Philippine journalist censored, and more.
European Commission's Hate Speech Deal With Companies Will Chill Speech
A new agreement between the European Commission and four major U.S. companies—Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Microsoft—went into effect yesterday.
31 May 2016: The Weekly Takedown
In this week's roundup: Pirate Bay founder calls Facebook's Zuckerberg a "dictator" and YouTube attempts to redefine pornography.
The Secret Rules of the Internet
The murky history of moderation, and how it’s shaping the future of free speech
Facebook Is Embroiled In A Row With Activists Over “Censorship”
Facebook is embroiled in a row with a group of British activists who say it is “censoring” material that might offend the Turkish government.
Onlinecensorship.org launches first report (PDF)
Unfriending Censorship: Insights from four months of crowdsourced data on social media censorship
March 9, 2016: More transparency needed
In this week's roundup: The ACLU calls for more transparency, and Facebook censors a sexual health video.
March 3, 2016: At the intersection of corporations and governments
In this week's roundup: Facebook erases culture in Indonesia, and meetings between the US Justice Department and social media companies make headlines.
February 9, 2016: Facebook thinks ice cream cones are too sexy
Each week, we will share a roundup of notable news articles related to censorship on social networks.
Facebook begins Europe-wide campaign against extremist posts
Facebook Inc began a Europe-wide campaign on Monday to thwart extremist posts on social media.
Zuckerberg talks to Merkel about hate speech
It's the age-old question on matters of free speech: how do we handle speech the public generally finds unacceptable?