22 Democrats Sponsor a Bill That Could Censor Abortion Info From the Internet

The Kids Online Safety Act is “a blank check” for Republican AGs to "intimidate any way they can," a digital civil liberties advocate told Jezebel.

By Susan Rinkunas
Oct 12, 2023

Imagine you’re pregnant and living in one of the 20-something states where abortion is banned or heavily restricted. You want to know if it’s feasible for you to get care in another state, or learn how to avoid the legal risk posed by ordering your own abortion pills. But, thanks to a bill passed with support from both Republicans and Democrats, you can’t access the websites or social media accounts for abortion funds or online forums where people answer abortion questions.

A controversial, bipartisan Senate bill could create this exact scenario. It purports to protect kids from algorithms that might recommend harmful content online, but advocates warn that it could end up censoring all internet users.

Continued: https://jezebel.com/22-democrats-sponsor-a-bill-that-could-censor-abortion-1850923128

Spanish Supreme Court orders the unblocking of a website that provided information on sexual and reproductive rights

The website of the international organization Women on Web has been blocked in Spain since the beginning of 2020. Women's Link Worldwide, on behalf of Women on Web, filed a lawsuit to defend the right to information on the internet about sexual and reproductive rights, especially about safe abortion.

Spain, October 06, 2022

The Supreme Court of Spain has ordered the partial unblocking of the website of the international organization Women on Web, which offers information on sexual and reproductive rights and access to safe abortion via online services. The website was completely blocked in 2020 by order of the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS), part of the Ministry of Health, without a prior court order authorizing it.

The decision comes in the framework of the legal proceedings initiated in 2021 by Women's Link Worldwide, on behalf of Women on Web, to defend the right to information on the internet about sexual and reproductive rights, especially about safe abortion. In the judgment, the Court recognizes that the complete blocking of the website without judicial authorization should not have happened and was a disproportionate measure.

Continued: https://www.womenonweb.org/en/page/21685/spanish-supreme-court-orders-the-unblocking-of-a-website-that

06.10.2022

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Section 230 Is a Last Line of Defense for Abortion Speech Online

Dobbs should be a wake-up call for anyone seeking to undercut the immunity protections afforded by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

Evan Greer, Lia Holland
Jun 29, 2022

Forced-birth extremists are not satisfied with shutting down abortion clinics. They also want to scrub accurate information about abortion access from the internet. In a post-Roe world, defending online speech about abortion—and the ability for abortion advocates and providers to fundraise and organize online—is a matter of life or death. Democrats who have been misguidedly attacking Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act need to wake up now. If they don’t start listening to the warnings of human rights experts, sex workers, LGBTQ+ folks, and reproductive rights groups, Democrats could help right-wing zealots achieve their goal: mass censorship of online content about abortion.

https://www.wired.com/story/section-230-is-a-last-line-of-defense-for-abortion-speech-online/

International coalition to support filing of a suit to stop South Korea’s shutdown of womenonweb.kr

March 11, 2022
Women on Web

On December 13, 2020, the Korea Communication Standards Commission (KCSC) issued a ruling to block South Korea’s access to womenonweb.kr, Women on Web’s website that provides information on women’s health, sexual and reproductive rights, medical abortion, and thereby helps women to obtain safe, timely and affordable abortion care, charging that the website facilitates sale of unprescribed drugs by non-pharmacists.

The ruling to block the website follows a similar ruling on womenonweb.org that was issued on March 11, 2019. the undersigned organizations including Open Net, Women on Web International Foundation, Human Rights Watch are concerned that KCSC’s ruling blindly follows a request to KCSC by Korea’s Food and Drug Agency (KFDA) to block the site within Korea for distributing drugs in ways unapproved, without an independent professional analysis based on communications governance and excessively restricts women’s access to knowledge.

Continued: https://www.womenonweb.org/en/page/21291/international-coalition-to-challenge-shutdown-of-womenonweb

11.03.2022

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Is TikTok Censoring Pro-Abortion Content?

KATIE BASKERVILLE
8 JUNE 2021

Sex and censorship has always been a divisive topic, almost always met with pearl-clutching protest. 'Think of the children' attitudes are infiltrating social media feeds and causing a spree of virtuous violence against educators, activists and sex workers. Abortion is no different. Now, pro-choice groups focused on drawing attention to abortion access and empowering their communities are falling victim to conservative policing on one of the largest and fastest-growing social media apps on the market: TikTok.

This censorship is endemic across the app but doesn’t seem to be affecting right-wing groups or, for that matter, pro-lifers. One activist group, Rogue Valley Pepper Shakers (@rvpeppershakers), which defends Planned Parenthood clinics from so-called 'pro-life' harassment and posts information on abortion resources, is one of many groups facing unnecessary censorship from TikTok.

https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/2021/06/10500889/abortion-pro-choice-censoring-tiktok

08.06.2021

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Facebook Pulls Abortion Group Page for ‘Encouragement of Drug Use’—Then Reverses

Facebook Pulls Abortion Group Page for ‘Encouragement of Drug Use’—Then Reverses
David Z. Morris
May 13, 2017

Facebook on Thursday deactivated the group page of Women on Web, a Dutch organization that helps women obtain abortion pills by prescription in regions where abortions are not easily accessible. A message from Facebook, shared by an allied organization, cited “promotion or encouragement of drug use” as the reason for the action.

The shutdown immediately attracted media attention, with the Guardian pointing out that Facebook had previously blocked abortion-related content from the group’s founder. Organizers said they expected Facebook to “undo this action soon enough, as access to information is a human right.”

Continued at source: Fortune.com: http://fortune.com/2017/05/13/facebook-censors-abortion-page/

13.05.2017

Facebook U-turns on banning abortion page after claims it was stifling human rights

Facebook U-turns on banning abortion page after claims it was stifling human rights

by Cara McGoogan
12 May 2017

Facebook has reinstated the page of a pro-choice group that helps women access abortion pills hours after it was banned for breaking the site's rules.

The social network blocked the Amsterdam-based Women on Web group on Thursday for violating its policies against "promoting and encouraging drug use". But it soon backtracked, apologising to the group and saying it was blocked "in error".

Continued at source: The Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/05/12/facebook-u-turns-abortion-pill-page-ban-claims-stifling-human/

12.05.2017