People who live in relatively open societies risk taking freedom of expression and access to information for granted, especially when it comes to social media. Twitter is announcing this latest policy as a move that will allow more content to remain online globally, but we are concerned that it will facilitate granting of censorship requests in specific regions. Censorship is a slippery slope. As Canadians and citizens of the world, we have a responsibility to analyse the potential repercussions of this proposal very, very carefully. Accommodating local laws will increasingly limit free expression in the very regions that need it most – where current governments and legal structures do not support it. More information: Read Twitter's statement regarding its policy change.

The Associated Press | Activists and bloggers fear Twitter censorship, by Michael Liedtke BBC | Twitter to selectively 'censor' tweets by country The Globe and Mail | Why Twitter’s censorship plan is better than you think, by Omar El Akkad The Guardian | Twitter censorship backlash: users react The Huffington Post | Twitter To Censor Tweets In Some Countries, by Bianca Bosker TechCrunch | Twitter, Democracy, and Internet Freedom, by Richard Fontaine TechnoSociology | Why Twitter’s new policy is helpful for free-speech advocates, by zeynep