Columbia Global Freedom of Expression seeks to contribute to the development of an integrated and progressive jurisprudence and understanding on freedom of expression and information around the world. It maintains an extensive database of international case law. This is its newsletter dealing with recent developments in the field.
“25,000 records of my movements were found in three months alone—and during the pandemic,” journalist and human rights defender Claudia Julieta Duque Orrego said at an earlier CGFoE webinar about one of her court cases. Duque Orrego investigates impunity, paramilitarism, violence, and armed conflict. She has faced years of surveillance, psychological torture, and persecution in Colombia.
In 2025, Colombia’s Supreme Court of Justice acquitted Ronal Harbey Rivera Rodríguez, a former detective with the Administrative Department of Security, who was prosecuted for his alleged involvement in the psychological torture of Duque Orrego. Freedom of expression groups argued the Court overlooked key evidence linking Rivera Rodríguez to illegal operations that targeted the journalist. Crucially, the Court also failed to conduct a gender-sensitive analysis of the case. Duque Orrego appealed to challenge the decision—the appeal was declined.
“The exclusion of this procedural opportunity fosters a climate of impunity,” CGFoE writes in an amicus curiae brief filed in the case, now pending before Colombia’s Constitutional Court. “Denying access to effective judicial mechanisms in contexts such as this one not only undermines the rights of the individual victim,” CGFoE argues, “but also sends a deeply problematic social message: that attacks aimed at silencing female journalists may go unchallenged by robust judicial scrutiny.”
Authored by CGFoE Associate Director Hawley Johnson, Program Coordinator Estefanía Mullally, Senior Legal Researcher Lautaro Furfaro, and Senior Legal Editor Juan Manuel Ospina Sánchez, the brief draws on international human rights standards, emphasizes States’ positive obligations to investigate crimes against journalists, and notably addresses the case’s gender-specific dimensions as women journalists face specific and exacerbated forms of violence in the course of their work.
“Even though I’m one of the well-known victims of espionage and torture in Colombia, this phenomenon is not at all new […],” Duque Orrego said at our webinar. “The main challenge is impunity. […] Some people are committed to keeping these cases unpunished.” Read CGFoE’s amicus curiae brief in the original Spanish version or in the English translation. Find other cases concerning Duque Orrego in our database.
Photo: Colombian journalist Claudia Julieta Duque Orrego, Credit: FLIP
United States
Loomer v. Maher
Decision Date: April 22, 2026
The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida granted summary judgment in favor of Bill Maher and HBO, holding that political activist Laura Loomer failed to establish the essential elements of defamation. The case arose from statements made by TV host Maher during an episode of Real Time with Bill Maher, in which he joked that Loomer might be in a romantic or sexual relationship with Donald Trump following extensive media coverage and public speculation regarding their close association during the 2024 presidential campaign. The Court concluded that, when viewed in context, Maher’s remarks constituted protected comedic expression rather than actionable assertions of fact. It emphasized that “context is paramount” in defamation cases and held that a reasonable viewer of a late-night comedy program hosted by a well-known comedian would understand the remarks as a joke rather than a factual claim. The Court further considered that Loomer, as a public figure, failed to produce evidence of actual malice, noting that Maher had no reason to seriously doubt the truth of the underlying speculation given the widespread public discussion, media reports, and Loomer’s own public statements regarding Trump. The Court also argued that Loomer failed to demonstrate actual damages, observing that she could not identify any person who believed the alleged affair because of the broadcast, any damaged relationship, or any measurable economic loss attributable to the episode. Summarizing its reasoning, the Court concluded that “no reasonable person would take the Episode as Maher commenting on facts” and that Loomer had not established falsity, actual malice, or damages.
Rosado v. Bondi
Decision Date: April 17, 2026
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted a preliminary injunction, finding that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their First Amendment claim that federal officials unlawfully coerced private platforms into suppressing protected speech. The case arose after government officials allegedly pressured Facebook to disable a group sharing information about ICE activity, and Apple to remove a mobile application serving a similar purpose, while publicly taking credit for those removals and suggesting possible legal consequences for noncompliance. The Court held that the plaintiffs had standing and demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits because the officials’ conduct could reasonably be understood as coercive government action rather than mere persuasion. Relying on NRA v. Vullo, Backpage.com v. Dart, and Bantam Books v. Sullivan, the Court emphasized that “government officials cannot attempt to coerce private parties in order to punish or suppress views that the government disfavors,” and found that the defendants “demanded, rather than requested,” censorship while also making “thinly veiled threats” implying possible prosecution. The Court further concluded that the continuing suppression of the plaintiffs’ speech constituted irreparable harm and that protecting First Amendment freedoms served the public interest, thereby warranting injunctive relief.
United Kingdom
The Case of the Ofcom Investigation into 4chan
Decision Date: April 21, 2026
The Office of Communications (Ofcom), acting as the statutory regulatory authority in the UK, issued a Confirmation Decision finding 4chan Community Support LLC in continuous violation of the Online Safety Act 2023. The governing agency launched an investigation regarding the digital forum’s compliance with mandatory online protection rules, specifically concerning the mitigation of unlawful material and the safeguarding of minors. The platform vehemently refused to cooperate or deploy age-verification mechanisms, citing United States constitutional protections and asserting that such mandates would unlawfully dismantle digital anonymity. The regulatory authority ultimately determined that enforcing these safety regulations constituted a lawful and proportionate restriction on the right to freely express oneself, as the measures were strictly necessary to shield vulnerable individuals from digital harms. To address the multiple and ongoing breaches, the authority imposed fixed financial penalties totaling £520,000 (approximately USD 693,000) against the 4chan platform.
Cenzolovka on CGFoE’s Analysis of the “Ćuruvija” Case: a Precedent, Important for Issues of Freedom of Expression, Accountability, and Historical Memory, by Danica Djokic. Serbian media freedom news portal Cenzolovka published an article about CGFoE’s newly updated analysis of the entire legal process concerning journalist Slavko Ćuruvija: from before and after his murder in 1999 to the release of the defendants and the 2025 decision by Serbia’s Supreme Court. The article quotes Cenzolovka’s earlier interview with CGFoE Associate Director Hawley Johnson and CGFoE’s recent conversation with Pavol Szalai of Reporters Without Borders.
● US: Free Speech Organizations File Comment Demanding the FCC Stop Censorship Campaign Against ABC, Jimmy Kimmel. The Knight First Amendment Institute and three other free speech groups filed a joint comment urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to cease its retaliation against ABC. The FCC has called for the network’s eight stations to undergo license renewal—years ahead of the required timeline. Tens of thousands of people submitted comments to the public docket in support of ABC and comedian Jimmy Kimmel, whose show was taken off the air last year after President Trump criticized his jokes.
● UK: Apple Launches New Legal Challenge Against the Government Demand to Access Data. Apple has launched a new legal challenge against the British government’s latest request to access encrypted customer data. Following the first such “backdoor” request last year, Liberty and Privacy International pursued legal action alongside Apple against the UK authorities. “This is a hugely important case that will have far-reaching implications for the public’s privacy rights well into the future,” Ruth Ehrlich of Liberty said in response to the notice on Apple’s second complaint this week.
● IACHR: Special Rapporteur Condemns the Murders of Journalists in Mexico and Colombia. The Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) decries the murders of journalists Josué Martínez Contreras and Francisco Alejandro Leyva Aguilar in Mexico, and Jader Luis Durango in Colombia. Given the persistence of lethal violence against the press in both countries, the Special Rapporteur expresses particular concern over the inaction of authorities in some cases involving threats reported by journalists before their murder and stresses that “States have a heightened obligation to protect individuals who are exposed to a special risk with respect to the exercise of their fundamental rights.”
This Week in Protests
Last Thursday, July 30, in Tehran, Iran, nurses at Fayazbakhsh Hospital staged a strike over poor working conditions; they were beaten, detained, dismissed or suspended, and had their phones confiscated. That day in Lahore, Pakistan, police conducted violent arrests at a rally of solidarity with the protesters in Pakistan-administered Kashmir who have faced a deadly crackdown—see CGFoE’s analysis below; more solidarity marches took place in Islamabad, Pakistan, and London, the UK. Also on Thursday, 117 supporters of the banned protest group Palestine Action were arrested outside a London courthouse as the group was granted permission to appeal its ban to the UK Supreme Court. On Monday in Newark, New Jersey, the US, protests gathered outside Delaney Hall immigration detention center—a site of over 60 press freedom violations this past May and June—following the death of ICE detainee Edwin Lopez-Cornejo. That day in Mumbai, India, dozens of Tibetan activists protested near the Chinese consulate against Beijing’s “ethnic unity” law; some were detained.
Find our new web tool documenting protests since January 2026 here.
Pakistan-Administered Kashmir: June 2026—ongoing
In the lead-up to elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, the region has been engulfed in two months of continuous mass protests, which have turned deadly.
Background & Demands: An alliance of civil activists, traders, lawyers, students, and transporters, the Jammu and Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) grew to be the territory’s strongest grassroots political force. On June 5, the JAAC was banned under an anti-terrorism law; on June 7, the territory’s Supreme Court ruled that 12 legislative seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees living in Pakistan are constitutionally protected—the JAAC has long argued the seats undermine local representation and called for protests demanding electoral reform. Mass arrests followed, and clashes with police left 11 dead. On July 9, the JAAC called for a region-wide strike and has been urging residents to boycott the elections. Thousands have been joining a round-the-clock sit-in, refusing to leave.
Significance: The mobilization for electoral reform is one of the region’s largest movements. The protests—and one of Pakistan’s deadliest state crackdowns—have continued and escalated by the July 28 elections, set to stretch until August 10—experts say the violence is bound to overshadow the legitimacy of the vote, in which Pakistan’s ruling party is leading.
State Response: Pakistan’s paramilitary forces have been deployed to the region, with a complete internet blackout and a curfew in place since June 5. On July 27, the first election round, tens of thousands marched peacefully to Rawalakot where the paramilitary forces opened fire. The JAAC accused Pakistan’s security forces of killing more unarmed protesters in Mirpur on July 28 and removing bodies to hide the evidence. Pakistani officials have alleged that India-backed fighters joined the protesters, whom the defense minister described as “enemies of Pakistan.”
Toll: Ahead of the election, at least 40 people have reportedly been killed. As of July 28, local journalists documented 89 deaths in total in Rawalakot and Mirpur.
FoE Violations: The internet shutdown both exacerbates freedom of expression violations and impedes the independent verification of their full extent. Amnesty International calls on the authorities to conduct a “prompt, independent, and transparent investigation” into the use of force against protesters, restore internet access, and allow media and observers into the region. The organization also repeats its demand that the authorities lift the unlawful ban on the JAAC.
● #PrivacyCamp26: Call for Sessions. Privacy Camp will host its 14th edition, “The Origins of Future Technologies: Towards communities of digital self-determination,” on October 13, 2026, in Brussels and online. Submit a proposal for panel sessions by August 10, 09:00 AM CEST. Learn more here.
● Recently Launched: The Atlas. The editors of Coda Story and The Continent recently launched The Atlas and introduced the newspaper in a pilot essay: “Today, the struggle over information is about who builds the systems through which reality is organized, distributed and trusted.” Issue 3 is out now. You can subscribe here for free. “One blackout for the lights. Another for the truth,” Anuradha Bhasin wrote for The Atlas about electricity cut-offs and the silence of Pakistani media during the protest crackdown in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. “A perfect metaphor for darkness by design.”
This newsletter is reproduced with the permission of Global Freedom of Expression. For an archive of previous newsletters, see here.