By Jenny Park

In December, the White House blamed North Korea for hacking Sony Pictures (Sony’s confidential information was leaked and the hackers threatened attacks on movie theaters that would play The Interview, a political satire comedy poking fun at Kim Jong-un). Now, the White House has authorized the US Treasury discretionary power to impose sanctions against perpetrators of cyber-attacks on US assets and infrastructure. President Obama declared cyber-attacks as “one of the most serious economic and national security challenges.” The White House stressed that this new power will not target internet free speech and will not replace traditional law enforcement responses to cyber-attacks.

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May 05, 2015

By Jenny Park

The EU’s foreign policy chief will prepare an action plan to increase media freedom, which is of particular concern to the EU as its counter-arguments to Russian propaganda are often regarded to be unconvincing. Russia is increasing its propaganda regarding the EU, thus undermining the importance of a legitimate government and free speech. The general view is that each member state should carry out the action plan, but on a coordinated basis. This action plan is a long-term blueprint, and will supplement the upcoming EU discussion as to whether and when to extend sanctions against Russia.

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April 06, 2015

By Courtney Cox

Every four years, all United Nations members must undergo a Universal Periodic Review of their human rights records. During a review of Turkey this week, accusations of human rights abuses were revealed. Reviewing states criticized Turkey for its suppression of freedom of speech, citing the imprisonment of journalists as evidence. Concerns were also raised about increased police crackdowns on demonstrators and media censorship. Al Jazeera reports that Turkey defended its record, claiming that “it has made progress in promoting human rights and freedom of expression that are an ‘indispensable’ part of the country’s democratic order.”

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February 10, 2015

By Min Wu

The European Parliament approved amendments to a telecommunications legislation package that would solidify net neutrality, according to Wired. The legislation still needs the approval of the Council of the European Union to become the law. 

Net neutrality is the notion that all traffic on the Internet should be treated equally by network service providers, without discrimination. The amendments prevent companies from arbitrarily defining services as “specialized services” to evade the net neutrality requirement. In the United States, net neutrality rules adopted by the Federal Communications Commission were struck down earlier this year.

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April 07, 2014

By Julie Inglese

On Sunday, an Egyptian court finally “ordered the release on bail pending trial of a prominent activist charged with breaking a new law that heavily restricts protests.” The judge presiding over the case agreed with the defense attorney that the defendant was only being held without bail as punishment; therefore, the judge allowed for his release. 

The defendants and lawyers broke out in chants: “Revolutionaries and free, we will continue our journey!” Rights groups criticize the case against the defendants because it is seen as suppression by authorities of dissidents, broadening the “crackdown on Islamist supporters of the ousted President Mohammed Morsi to include the secular opposition.” 

ABC News reports that many see the release of the defendant as a step toward justice.

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March 24, 2014

By Julie Inglese

Although Russian President Vladimir Putin said gay visitors should feel “relaxed and at ease” while in Russia for the Sochi Olympics, he also requested that they abide by a propaganda law and “leave the children in peace,” according to MSNBC. 

Russia has a propaganda law that bans the promotion of "nontraditional" sexual relationships among minors. However, the law does not define what propaganda means, leaving LGBT advocates fearful that anyone who is openly gay could be violating the law. 

Additionally, the International Olympic Committee has emphasized that the Olympic Charter bans political protests, so advocating for gay rights during the games could get someone sent home. 

Time will tell what the law really means and if it will cause trouble during the Winter Olympics. Meanwhile, the mayor of Sochi said that his city has no gay people. 

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January 31, 2014

Sanctions - Is World of Warcraft Sanctions Compliance More Than a Joke?

by Elizabeth Gibson

[Editor's Note: GJIL is having a symposium on the issue of international sanctions - The Evolution of Economic Sanctions: Increasingly Financial, Multilateral, and Robust - on February 13, 2012. Therefore, each month The Summit will feature a post on sanctions. We encourage you to attend our symposium.]

     Over the last month, the media has been all over the story of Iranian gamers getting kicked off World of Warcraft in the name of sanctions compliance, and who can blame them with all the great punch lines about elves, trolls, and the U.S. government?

     However, in addition to the mystery of why exactly Blizzard Entertainment chose now to shut down Iranian accounts (sorry, no refunds), the situation has raised other interesting issues. Should interactive community games be considered a productive form of communication for sanctions purposes, and how much does all this matter in a world where savvy gamers quickly reconnected by rerouting their Internet through foreign networks?

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November 27, 2012