More here and here.

The court’s full order here.

MFIA and EFF’s amicus brief here.

The conference brought together leaders in journalism, law, government and the music industry to explore the future of free speech.  ISP Alumnus Patrick Kabat moderated a panel about free speech on the internet, featuring Geoffrey Robertson, Julian Assange’s barrister; Google’s policy chief Alan Davidson; David McCraw, the assistant general counsel of the New York Times; and the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s legal director Cindy Cohn.  The panel explored the challenges for new and old media in newsgathering and news dissemination, government secrecy and censorship, and the role of internet intermediaries.

Other highlights of the day included keynotes by CBS News Chairman Jeff Fager and Fox News’ Juan Williams; a live broadcast of the BBC’s World Have Your Say from the conference site, featuring participation by attendees in the audience.  International law expert Professor Michael P. Scharf moderated a panel about the nature of free speech amidst the global events of the age of terrorism with U.S. Attorney Steve Dettelbach, the ACLU’s Jameel Jaffer, and human rights advocate Scott Horton. The NewsHour’s Gwen Ifill moderated a panel including election officials, lawyers, and leading commentators about free speech in the discussion of public affairs.  The day was capped off by a panel discussing free speech in the music industry featuring the American hip hop artist, author, and social activist Chuck D.

More information about the conference can be found here.

Singapore’s Suspended Spring: Media Control and Authoritarian Consolidation

Abstract:

Singapore’s hybrid political system, which has been termed “electoral authoritarian” and “illiberal democratic”, has defied predictions of implosion. Support for the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) slipped in the May 2011 general elections but it still secured a 60-percent vote share, extending its record as one of the most stable regimes in the world.

In his forthcoming monograph, Freedom From The Press, Cherian George analyzes how the state has claimed for itself maximum latitude for efficient administration by subordinating the media, along with other institutions with the potential to challenge its dominance, such as unions, organized religion and universities.

This presentation offers an overview of Singapore’s restrictions on freedom of expression and explains why the relatively unrestricted internet has not unleashed any revolutionary “spring”. George will explore in depth one particular strategy that helps explain the regime’s extraordinary longevity: its strategic self-restraint in its use of force, or what he calls “calibrated coercion”. Since censorship may backfire on the state by provoking moral outrage that can be harnessed by opponents, the PAP has systematically moved away from more spectacular repression and towards less visible modes of control. By making coercion less salient, the PAP has been able to project the consensual face of its hegemony.

The Internet has disrupted this trend to a certain extent, opening access to the public sphere to contentious communications and forcing the government to revert to the use of tougher legislative weapons. Oppositional groups have exploited this opening, using the Internet as a stage for civil disobedience. The evolving and dynamic case of Singapore illustrates how the Internet can change the texture of, without tearing, the fabric of authoritarian restrictions on freedom of expression.

Bio:

Cherian George is an associate professor at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication, Nanyang Technological University, and an adjunct senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. He researches journalism and politics, including alternative media and censorship. He was previously a journalist with Singapore’s national daily, The Straits Times. He is the author of Singapore: The Air-Conditioned Nation; Essays on the Politics of Comfort and Control (Landmark Books, 2000), and Contentious Journalism and the Internet: Towards Democratic Discourse in Malaysia and Singapore (Washington University Press, 2006). He holds a PhD in communication from Stanford University and a Masters from Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism. For a fuller bio, visit http://www.cheriangeorge.net.

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