Honduras lawmakers debate bill seeking to curb online speech


Honduras lawmakers debate bill seeking to curb online speech

By Noe LEIVA AFP • February 12, 2018

Tegucigalpa (AFP) - Lawmakers in Honduras are debating a bill that wants to fine administrators of social media networks for online comments deemed offensive or promoting "hate campaigns."

The measure was introduced by a member of the ruling National Party as the country is wracked by protests claiming President Juan Orlando Hernandez won a new mandate through a rigged November election.

Much of the vitriol against Hernandez and the National Party is being expressed in social media. The opposition and other groups are also using online forums to organize the anti-government protests.

The bill calls for fines of up to $43,000 against those running websites or social networks on which text encouraging "hate and discrimination" are posted.

Civil society groups say the move is an attempt to curb free speech and quash legitimate protests.

The Association of Communication Media in Honduras said the bill undermines basic rights and called on the country's congress to suspend the debate.

The national journalists' association warned the bill would pave the way for "manipulation" by certain interests and strike a blow to citizens' rights to express themselves freely.

Hernandez, a conservative who has the backing of the United States, was declared the victor of the November 26 election despite observers from the Organization of American States listing irregularities in the polling.

The leftwing opposition asserts that Hernandez stole the election from its candidate, Salvador Nasralla, and was not legitimately re-elected. It is persisting with protests that have been met by police action.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/honduras-lawmakers-debate-bill-seeking-curb-online-speech-220450439.html


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BMW traps alleged thief by remotely locking him in car

BMW traps alleged thief by remotely locking him in car Stealer's Wheel? Seattle police department quotes "Watchmen" movie in a recap of the recent arrest. Tech Culture by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper December 4, 2016 5:00 PM PST It's maybe the most satisfying arrest we can imagine. Seattle police caught an alleged car thief by enlisting the help of car maker BMW to both track and then remotely lock the luckless criminal in the very car he was trying to steal. Jonah Spangenthal-Lee, deputy director of communications for the Seattle Police Department, posted a witty summary of the event on the SPD's blog on Wednesday. Turns out if you're inside a stolen car, it's perhaps not the best time to take a nap. "A car thief awoke from a sound slumber Sunday morning (Nov. 27) to find he had been remotely locked inside a stolen BMW, just as Seattle police officers were bearing down on him," Spangenthal-Lee wrote. The suspect found a ke...
Read more

Report: World’s 1st remote brain surgery via 5G network performed in China

World’s 1st remote brain surgery via 5G network performed in China Published time: 17 Mar, 2019 13:12 ·           A Chinese surgeon has performed the world’s first remote brain surgery using 5G technology, with the patient 3,000km away from the operating doctor. Dr. Ling Zhipei remotely implanted a neurostimulator into his patient’s brain on Saturday, Chinese state-run media  reports . The surgeon manipulated the instruments in the Beijing-based PLAGH hospital from a clinic subsidiary on the southern Hainan island, located 3,000km away. The surgery is said to have lasted three hours and ended successfully. The patient, suffering from Parkinson’s disease, is said to be feeling well after the pioneering operation. The doctor used a computer connected to the next-generation 5G network developed by Chinese tech giant Huawei. The new device enabled a near real-time connection, according to Dr. Ling.  “You barely feel that th...
Read more

New ATM's: withdraw money with veins in your finger

New cash machines: withdraw money with veins in your finger Cash machine technology that reads the pattern of finger veins is already available in Japan and Poland   By Telegraph Reporters 6:59PM BST 15 May 2014 Cash machines could soon be installed with devices that identify customers by reading the veins in their fingers. The technology is already being rolled out in Poland, where 1,730 cash machines will this year be installed with readers, negating the need for a debit card and Pin. Developed by Hitachi, the Japanese electronics firm, the machines read the patterns of the veins just below the surface of the skin on your finger using infra-red sensors. The light is partially absorbed by haemoglobin in the veins to capture a unique finger vein pattern profile, which is matched to a profile. The technology is used by Japanese banks and also in Turkey, offering “groundbreaking levels of accuracy and speed of authentication”, Hitachi said, which in t...
Read more