A new Committee to Protect Journalist (CPJ) report released Thursday finds the number of journalists who are behind bars worldwide reached a global high in 2021. CPJ finds 293 reporters were imprisoned, at least 24 journalists were killed as a result of their work, and another 18 died under mysterious circumstances as of December 1 [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Thursday unanimously denied former president Donald Trump’s effort to block the National Archives from turning over his White House records to the House of Representatives Committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot. On January 6, 2021, a mob of Trump supporters attacked the US [...]

Access Now and a coalition of civil society organizations Wednesday raised alarm over safety and security issues plaguing popular messaging app, Telegram. In an open letter to CEO and co-founder of Telegram Pavel Durov, the coalition detailed what the company can do to ensure that the human rights of their 500 million users are prioritized. [...]

The New Zealand government announced Thursday that it would ban the sale of cigarettes for future generations to reach its smoke-free 2025 implementation plan. The Cabinet paper highlights that cigarette smoking is still the leading cause of preventable death in New Zealand, causing between 4,500 and 5,000 deaths each year. Smoking-related harm disproportionately impacts Maori, [...]

The Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM), Italy’s competition authority, announced Thursday that it fined Amazon € 1,128 billion ($1.28 billion) for abusing its dominating market position and harming competitors in the e-commerce logistics industry. The AGCM said that Amazon provides merchants who use its logistics service, Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), with advantages [...]

The New Zealand Parliament passed legislation Thursday that will allow people to amend the gender identity on their birth certificates. The country first allowed self-identification on birth certificates in 2018 but required applicants to prove they underwent medical treatment to align their sex and gender identities. The Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 2017, [...]

The North Carolina Supreme Court Wednesday ordered the delay of the state’s March 2022 primary elections so that it can settle two redistricting lawsuits. The North Carolina General Assembly passed three new redistricting maps in November. The new maps largely favor Republicans and are reportedly likely to create a ten to four split for Republicans in [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Wednesday ruled that Arizona does not have to give voters who forget to sign their mail ballots time to resolve the issue following the election, reinstating Arizona’s election day deadline for fixing the issue. Under Arizona law, voters are allowed to verify mismatched signatures for up to [...]

The US Supreme Court Wednesday heard oral arguments in cases concerning state funding for religious private schools and proceedings for incarcerated people challenging their convictions due to incompetent counsel. In Carson v. Makin, the court will determine whether Maine’s scheme of outsourcing public education to secular private schools by compensating parents for the cost of [...]

The Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol has indicated they will consider holding former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, in contempt for failing to appear for a scheduled deposition on Wednesday. Meadows, who served under former President Donald Trump and was privy to information concerning communications [...]