Freedom of Speech – Page 7 of 9 – Pirate Party Australia

Don’t Sue the Messenger, Says Pirate Party

Posted on February 22, 2012

Pirate Party Australia is concerned at the recent spike in litigation aimed against communication service providers, and calls for the Australian Parliament to grant protection for social media service providers and users that guarantees the full sanctuary of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights in regard to freedom of opinion and expression.

Recently, Melbourne man Joshua Meggitt sued celebrity Marieke Hardy for defamation after she wrongly accused him to be the operator of a hate blog dedicated to her via social media platform Twitter. Despite an out-of-court settlement, Meggitt is now suing Twitter for ‘publishing’ Hardy’s claim, as well as for the subsequent 60,000 retweets[1].

Pirate Party Australia argues that Twitter is not a publisher, but instead is a service provider that empowers the public to self-publish their news, thoughts and opinions to the world. Australian lawmakers continue to live in the past, failing to distinguish between a newspaper that is subject to editorial control, and a mass communications medium that enables communication between citizens worldwide without selection, judgement or endorsement.

Protection of Journalists’ Sources Vital

Posted on February 2, 2012

A recent verdict handed down by Justice Lucy McCallum in the NSW Supreme Court could see whistle-blowers and anonymous sources lose their rights to protection in future disputes over the accuracy of news reports[1]. Pirate Party Australia objects strongly to any moves that force the identities of anonymous sources to be disclosed, or to be exposed to undue litigation.

SOPA & PIPA – The Internet Goes On Strike, Pirates Join

Posted on January 18, 2012

On January 18 many websites have gone, or will go, on strike voluntarily[1] to demonstrate against the threat of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and PROTECT-IP Act (PIPA) bills, pending US legislation that would restrict freedom of speech, negatively impact economies, and degrade internet security. Participation in the strike has been confirmed by Wikipedia[2], Reddit, Mozilla, and Free Software Foundation, among others. Many organizations, including Google, Facebook, and Twitter, have expressed grave concerns over the bills[3].

Australian Citizens Must Be Afforded All Protections Of The Australian Government

Posted on November 3, 2011

Pirate Party Australia once again reiterates and echoes the calls of Geoffery Robertson QC, that the Attorney-General and Prime Minister must move to ensure that Julian Assange, as an Australian citizen is afforded the full protection and support of the Australian government in his ongoing legal battle, in order to ensure that due process is observed.

Both the Attorney-General and the Prime Minister have previously made statements, later grudgingly qualified, regarding the legality of both Assange and Wikileaks, that have been extremely prejudicial to the Australian citizen and any future judicial process he, or Wikileaks volunteers may face. Investigations by Australian Federal Police have subsequently cleared Assange’s activities as completely legitimate — there has been no violation of Australian law.

The ongoing and arbitrary financial blockade of the whistleblowing organisation is nothing more than financial terrorism. Whilst Pirate Party Australia has no direct affiliation with the organisation, we have consistently supported strong whistleblower protection and transparency laws.

Ongoing calls by prominent US politicians inciting violence, proclaiming that an Australian citizen should be extrajudicially murdered or brought to trial by an administration that shamefully continues to hold an alleged whistleblower in degrading and inhumane conditions is simply another reason why the Australian Government must afford every available protection to Assange.

Pirates Salute Media’s Rejection Of AG Censorship

Posted on October 21, 2011

Pirate Party Australia applauds media organisations and unions for their rejection of the recent attempt by the Attorney-General to impose a regime of self-censorship on the press[1]. This is a great victory for freedom of speech and information over an increasingly autocratic government, and highlights unnoticed ways in which new media is empowering old media in our democracy.