The ACLU and Facebook weigh in on “liking” as protected speech *

USA - August 9 2012
Updating this previous post, the employees of a Virginia sheriff’s office who were fired allegedly for expressing support for the incumbent’s opponent in Bland v. Roberts have appealed the decision to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Twitter trolls and free speech *

United Kingdom, USA - August 1 2012
Perhaps inevitably, less than a week into the 2012 London Olympics, Twitter is finding itself at the center of numerous free speech controversies: two athletes, a Greek triple jumper and a Swiss soccer player, have been expelled from the Games because of allegedly racist tweets; athletes are turning to Twitter to complain about the IOC’s rules regarding marketing; British journalist Guy Adams was suspended and then reinstated to Twitter after criticism of NBC’s coverage of the Games.

WIPO Treaty grants audiovisual performers new rights *

Global - July 2 2012
The Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances, signed on June 26, is an attempt to harmonize the substantive IP rights of audiovisual performers across the globe.