The US District Court for the Eastern District of California on Wednesday granted a preliminary injunction, blocking a law allowing the subjects of election-related deepfakes to sue the creators for damages. The case concerns California Bill 2839, signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom on September 17. The law prohibits the malicious distribution of “materially deceptive [...]

The European Commission on Thursday referred Hungary to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) over the country’s Sovereignty Protection Act, alleging the law violates fundamental EU principles. The Sovereignty Protection Act has been in force since December 2023.  The legislation established an independent Sovereignty Protection Office (SPO), with the power to investigate and penalize organizations [...]

Pakistan authorities enforced a lockdown in Islamabad on Friday, as well as implementing a blockade on cellphone services, to counter an anti-government demonstration organized by supporters of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan. According to the Islamabad police, Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is in force in the city. The section empowers [...]

Taiwan deported two Chinese nationals on Thursday after they disrupted a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents. The couple — a man identified by the surname Yao and his wife — were deported for violating Taiwan’s immigration regulations after their involvement in an altercation at the event. The event took place on [...]

A US federal court on Thursday blocked the Department of Education’s revised student debt relief plan from taking effect in six states. The preliminary injunction came on the final day of a temporary restraining order that was set to expire. Effective immediately, the ruling stops the Department of Education from mass cancellation of student loans [...]

Ernesa Shala is a JURIST staff correspondent in Kosovo and a recent graduate of the University of Pristina Faculty of Law.  Kosovo’s Ombudsperson is currently examining the case of an 18-year-old student expelled from Bedri Pejani high school in Peja municipality for wearing a headscarf, commonly known as the hijab. Despite a meeting between Minister [...]

Google said on Friday that it will stop linking to New Zealand news articles and ditch the agreements it has made with local news organizations if the country passes the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill, which will force tech companies to pay publishers for content appearing on their feeds. In a blog post by Google’s New [...]

Speaker of the Republic of Georgia’s parliament Shalva Papuashvili announced on Thursday that he signed into law a bill aimed at protecting family values and minors from LGBT and homosexual influences, according to local media. The legislation states that Georgia recognizes family values of the union of a man and a woman, which are strengthened by the constitutional [...]

Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office announced on Thursday that the Prosecutor’s Office in the Volgograd region approved an indictment against Nikita Zhuravel, who was charged with treason under Article 275 of the Russian Criminal Code. The maximum penalty for treason under the Russian Criminal Code is life imprisonment. According to the Prosecutor’s Office investigation, Zhuravel offered [...]