Archive of thenextweb.com
Written on 25th June 2009
3 COMMENTS 
Zee, Editor in Chief at The Next Web, Principal at WeDoCreative.
A law has been passed in Kazakhstan tightening control over the internet in a way which could restrict free speech.
Under the new law, chat rooms, blogs and public forums count as mass media, and therefore bloggers and individuals alike could break the law for expressing their opinions.
Gatherings and protests have taken place against the new law, many of which have been clamped down upon by the Kazakh government (more…)
Written on 30th November 2008
4 COMMENTS
Ernst-Jan Pfauth, editor in chief
On November 18th, Dutch blogger Nathalie Lubbe Bakker wrote a controversial post. She worked in a bar in New York and was rather surprised to see the Belgian minister of Defense Pieter De Crem stumbling in. According to her, he was absolutely drunk. One of De Crem’s men told Lubbe Bakker the reason to come to New York: he had nothing better to in Brussels and had never seen the Big Apple.
Of course this post was a hit in the Belgian blogosphere – with quite harsh results for Lubbe Bakker. A week later she was fired. Then the mainstream media picked up the story – as they had prove something had happened in that bar. 311 people commented on the post in which she questions the freedom in speech in 2008. Even some major tech blogs, including TechCrunch, covered the incident.
Still, the minister isn’t too pleased and made a remarkable statement about blogs (probably out of anger). He told a journalist the Belgian house of representatives that blogging is “a dangerous phenomenon”. According to the minister, everybody can throw with mud and make random accusations. He says that the targeted person has no possibility of defending himself.
Yes, that darn blogosphere can be scary. But for heaven’s sake, hire a PR person who knows how to deal with it. Don’t start a fight, since you’ll never win it. Don’t focus on destruction mr. De Crem. Instead, try to profit from the endless source of opinions. You want to know what ordinary civilians think about your country? Read some blogs.
The campaign by Adhese might teach De Crem a lesson. Blogger Stefan asks everybody to showcase a Flash badge on their blog (pictured right). ‘Cause yes, bloggers are pretty damn dangerous – especially when they rally together. Cheers Mr. De Crem!
Hat tip: Polle de Maagt
Written on 30th July 2008
5 COMMENTS
Joop Dorresteijn, East Asia correspondent
Contrary to earlier promises to foreign journalists, China will offer limited access to the Internet during the Beijing Olympic Games.
Chinese authorities block information on the Internet that the Communist party views as improper, unhealthy or as a threat to its rule — essentially, all Internet information goes through
gateways in Beijing. The blocking is sometimes referred to as the “Great Firewall of China“.
Last year China introduced new regulations relaxing general media curbs for foreign journalists in the run-up to the Games. “For the first time, foreign media will be able to report freely and publish their work freely in China, There will be no censorship on the Internet” said a spokesman to AFP.
A spokesman for the Olympics replied that there will be sufficient access to the Internet for reporters. However, “sufficient” is not what was promised by China’s communist authorities in the run up to the Olympics. Blocked websites include Amnesty International, Religious websites, Tibet government-in-exile, dissidents and websites that give information about the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. These sites would remain blocked for thousands of foreign reporters covering the Olympics. Amnesty describes China as one of the world’s “enemies of the Internet”.
Written on 30th April 2008
4 COMMENTS
Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten, Serial Internet Entrepreneur
A blogger from Wales has just learned the difference between ‘Freedom of Speech’ and ‘grossly offensive and menacing messages’. After being arrested and charged with over 19 theft offenses 24 year old Gavin Brent used his personal blog to ‘let of steam’. He wrote that he was being mistreated by the officers who arrested him.
Apparently one of the officers had later told him why one of the arresting officers wasn’t present when Brent was charged: he was at home with his new-born baby. The blogger decided to end his post with a dramatic message:
“P.S. – D.C. Lloyd, God help your new-born baby”
Mr Brent explained to the courts that he simply meant that he hoped that the police officer would treat his new-born baby better than he had treated mr Brent. Detective constable Steve Lloyd, and his wife, read it differently and accused the blogger of threatening them and their child.
Brent claimed “You can write on websites because it’s freedom of speech.” The court disagreed and convicted the blogger for his ‘menacing’ rant and fined him £150 with £364 costs. The original blog entry has been removed but Brent is still blogging about his adventures so far.
It sometimes seems like bloggers can say anything they want on their blogs. The ‘Publish’ button is just one click away and mistakes are easily fixed. Besides, most blogs aren’t read by anyone except he blogger (and his mother?) so who cares what you write? Reality is that your words are out there for anyone to read and often forever. Freedom of speech doesn’t mean you can insult, slander or misrepresent subjects. Voicing an opinion and threatening are two very different things.
The fact that you can say and write anything on your blog doesn’t mean you should.
Written on 19th April 2008
0 COMMENTS
Ernst-Jan Pfauth, editor in chief
As we reported last week, France is on the verge of adopting a law against “incitement to anorexia” that is mainly focused on the web. It wouldn’t be the last Internet-related law this week, since the European Union announced some tight laws against “incitement to terrorism” on the Internet. By doing this, the EU wants to fight militant groups who amongst other things recruit and mobilize young people.
A statement by the ministers said that the existing Framework Decision of 13 June 2002 will be expanded by introducing three new offenses: “public provocation to commit a terrorist offense, recruitment and training for terrorism.”
Reuters reports that countries like Spain and Italy already punish public provocation to terrorism, but others, like Scandinavian countries will have to change their laws. Spain’s secretary of state for justice, Julio Perez Hernandez, told the press agency that “The battle to anticipate terrorist acts is crucial for Spain. One should not wait for smoke to know there is terrorism.”
Although the statement says that it’s “well-balanced in terms of its effects on freedom of speech and general respect for human rights”, civil action groups will probably ring the alarm bells. Though I’m not sure whether the public will actually care. Europeans have seen so many anti-terrorism laws that limit their freedom already, that they might have become numb for amendments like these.
Written on 19th February 2008
2 COMMENTS
Ernst-Jan Pfauth, editor in chief
Yesterday, Reuters published an article that provides another interesting view on the advantages of blogging. Editors Andrew Dobbie and Sara Ledwith have interviewed several gay Africans and Arabs about how blogs allow them to discuss and describe what they have to hide in daily life. As homosexual acts are illegal in most countries in Africa and the Middle East. Some leaders, like President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, even deny the existence of gays.
“If you haven’t heard or seen any gays in Sudan then allow me to tell you ‘You Don’t live In The Real World then,’” Sudanese blogger Ali wrote in a message to other Sudanese bloggers on his blog Black Gay Arab. The blogging scene have become one of the safes ways for suppressed men like Ali to meet. Gug, writer behind the blog GayUganda, told Reuters that he ‘looked around for others until I found others’. Gug: “Oh yes, I do love the Internet, and I guess it is a tool that has made us gay Ugandans and Africans get out of our villages and realize that the parish priest’s homophobia is not universal opinion. Surprise, surprise!”
This blog was created to allow access to the psyche of me, who represents the thousands of us who are unrepresented
Next to supportive comments, the gay bloggers also receive hostile messages. Yet they keep up their diaries and news blogs, proving to their fellow citizens that African and Arab gays do exist. As a Kenyan man says on Ali’s blog: “The Kenyan gay man is a myth and you may never meet one in your lifetime. However, I and many others like me do exist; just not openly. This blog was created to allow access to the psyche of me, who represents the thousands of us who are unrepresented.”
Written on 30th January 2008
3 COMMENTS
Ernst-Jan Pfauth, editor in chief
Before I started working at The Next Web Blog, I covered news at the United Nations headquarters, New York. On a daily basis, spokespersons and diplomats confronted me with colleagues all over the world being threatened to death for their articles. Think of BBC correspondent Alan Johnston and Egyptian blogger Abdel Kareem Soliman. While what we Web 2.0 bloggers do is also important – after all, Web 2.0 is changing our societies – it doesn’t hurt anybody to realize what some of our fellow writers go through every day.
Think of Pervez Kambaksh, the 23-year old Afghan journalist whose sentenced to death for blasphemy. BBC reports today that the upper house of the Afghan parliament has supported this sentence. Kambaksh allegedly downloaded and distributed an article insulting Islam. He has denied the charge.
Kambaksh, who studies at Balkh University and writes for small newspaper Jahan-e Naw (New World), is a colleague of all writers, including bloggers. To support this man, sign the petition we started on iPetitions.com
Spread the word by pasting the URL of the petition – http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Pervez_Kambaksh – in your Twitter feed, blog, Facebook profile or any other online publishing tool.
The Next Web Blog is closely associated with The Next Web Conference which is held annually in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. At this event speakers from all over the world come together to talk about, and show off, the future of the Web. (More info 
