A Seoul-based human rights organization has released a report detailing a significant rise in public executions in North Korea. The findings suggest that the North Korean government is increasingly utilizing capital punishment to suppress cultural and political dissent, targeting individuals for activities such as consuming foreign media and engaging in unauthorized political behavior.
French deputies are set to vote on a parliamentary report authored by Charles Alloncle, which examines the governance and oversight of public broadcasting in France. The report proposes significant structural changes to how state-funded media entities are managed, aiming to address concerns regarding efficiency, independence, and the evolving media landscape in the digital age.
Human Rights Watch has called on the Indian government to scrap proposed amendments to its IT rules, arguing they grant the executive branch excessive control over online content. The organization warns that the draft regulations threaten free expression and could lead to increased government censorship of digital media and social platforms in India.
International media freedom organizations are marking the 27th anniversary of the murder of Serbian journalist Slavko Ćuruvija by condemning the lack of final accountability. Despite years of legal proceedings, the case remains a symbol of the struggle for justice and press freedom in Serbia, as groups call for an end to impunity for crimes against journalists.
Google has terminated the YouTube channels of three prominent Belarusian state-affiliated media outlets—BELTA, ONT, and STV—citing compliance with international sanctions. The move marks a significant reduction in the digital footprint of Belarusian state-controlled media on the platform, following similar actions taken against other state-linked entities globally.
The Constitutional Court of Latvia has declared that legal requirements mandating the production of public media content in minority languages are unconstitutional. The ruling addresses the balance between state language policy and the autonomy of public media organizations, marking a significant legal development in the country's media landscape.
Residents in Moscow and St. Petersburg have reported significant mobile internet outages, prompting widespread discussion regarding digital infrastructure stability and state-managed network restrictions within the Russian Federation.
Russia's federal media regulator, Roskomnadzor, has encountered significant technical difficulties in its attempts to block the messaging app Telegram. Efforts to throttle the platform have resulted in collateral damage to unrelated internet services, highlighting the complexities of state-led internet censorship in the Russian Federation.
Reports from the Russian Federation indicate that military authorities have instructed personnel to remove the Telegram messaging app from their mobile devices. The directive is part of broader efforts to enhance operational security and mitigate risks associated with digital communication platforms within the armed forces.
The Spanish government has officially launched HODIO, a new digital monitoring tool designed to track and analyze hate speech and polarization across the internet. Developed to strengthen democratic discourse, the platform aims to provide authorities with data-driven insights into the spread of extremist content and digital disinformation within Spain.
India's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has blocked five over-the-top (OTT) platforms—MoodXVIP, Koyal Playpro, Digi Movieplex, Feel, and Jugnu—for allegedly streaming obscene and sexually explicit content. The action was taken under the IT Act, 2000, and IT Rules, 2021, following multiple grievances and previous warnings regarding content violations.
Russia's State Duma has passed a bill empowering the Federal Security Service (FSB) to shut down internet and mobile services, and block calls and text messages. The legislation, approved on February 17, 2026, also shields telecom operators from liability for such disruptions, marking a significant expansion of state control over communications.
The United Kingdom will assume the co-chairmanship of the Media Freedom Coalition, a global alliance of 51 countries dedicated to press freedom, for a two-year term starting March 1, 2026. This marks the UK's return to a leadership role in the coalition it co-founded in 2019.
France's media regulator, Arcom, has fined conservative television network CNews €100,000. The penalty stems from two broadcasts in August 2025 on the program 'L'heure des pros' that were found to encourage discrimination against Muslims and Algerians, violating French broadcasting standards.
Russia's communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, has restricted access to the 'I Want to Return' website, which publishes details of wounded and killed Russian servicemen. The move, effective around February 13, 2026, is seen as an effort to conceal the true scale of military casualties in Ukraine, with the database listing over 156,000 killed and 96,000 wounded personnel. Access now requires VPNs.
Russia's communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, throttled access to Telegram on February 9 and 10, 2026, marking a significant escalation in the Kremlin's three-year effort to control the national information space and promote state-backed digital services.
UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan has expressed concern that Germany's anti-terrorism laws are shrinking the space for freedom of expression, particularly impacting advocacy for Palestinian rights and leading to self-censorship in academic and artistic circles.
A new report from the UK's Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) calls for government regulation of AI-generated news. Key recommendations include fair payment for news publishers whose content is used by AI systems and the implementation of transparent 'nutrition labels' to inform users about content origins and generation methods. The think tank warns that without intervention, AI could narrow public perspectives and undermine independent journalism.
Photojournalists Artin Ghazanfari and Hamed Araghi have been detained by Iranian authorities in January 2026, weeks after a nationwide internet shutdown began. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called for their immediate release, citing concerns over media targeting during the information blackout.
Pope Leo XIV has cautioned against the pervasive dangers of 'fake news' and the trivialization of information in digital media, emphasizing the need for discernment and quality communication. His remarks were made on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of an Italian television program and reiterated in an address to a Vatican charity coalition.
