The week in free expression 26 September – 3 October

Bombarded with news from all angles every day, important stories can easily pass us by. To help you cut through the noise, every Friday Index publishes a weekly news roundup of some of the key stories covering censorship and free expression. This week, we look at the British government’s demands for data access and the Gen Z protest movement in Madagascar.

Labour asks for backdoor to Apple data

The government has renewed efforts to demand backdoor access to encrypted user data on Apple devices.

Ministers first asked for it in February this year, and Apple responded by pulling its Advanced Data Protection (ADP) tool from all UK users meaning no more secure end-to-end encryption of data stored on the iCloud platform.

This incurred Trump’s anger and he accused the British government of behaving like China. It seemed that the UK government then capitulated to US demands to drop the order with US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard stating on X; “the UK has agreed to drop its mandate for Apple to provide a ‘back door’ that would have enabled access to the protected encrypted data of American citizens and encroached on our civil liberties”’

The new order is believed to be more specifically geared towards the data of UK citizens and according to the Financial Times, “two senior British government figures said the US administration was no longer leaning on the UK government to rescind the order.”

The debate over encryption goes back to 2017, when encrypted messaging service WhatsApp was used just before an attack on Westminster, prompting then Home Secretary Amber Rudd to demand security services have backdoor access when given a warrant.

The UK has a history of levelling accusations against services that allow for end-to-end encryption. In 2022 parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee stated that terrorists were using encrypted messaging apps to communicate, and in 2020 England’s children’s commissioner released a report stating that end-to-end encryption puts children at risk.

Madagascar government dissolved after Gen Z protests 

Gen Z protesters have risen up against the sitting president of Madagascar in the latest in a series of youth demonstrations around the world. 

The protests were coordinated by the online Gen Z Mada movement against President Andry Rajoelina who took power during a 2009 coup. Aged 34 then, he became Africa’s youngest president. He is now in his third presidential term and aged 51.

In response Rajoelina has dissolved his government, however protesters argue that this is not enough.

The demonstrations began last week leading to a crackdown by security forces. The subsequent violence has now resulted in the deaths of at least 22 people and more than 100 injured according to the UN.

Jane Fonda relaunches Committee for the First Amendment 

Actor Jane Fonda has relaunched the Committee for the First Amendment, a group formed in 1947 to fight back against McCarthyism.

The organisation at the time supported screenwriters, actors and filmmakers who had been accused of being communists and had been added to the Hollywood blacklist. Fonda is the daughter of original committee member Henry Fonda.

In a  letter shared with CNN Jane Fonda wrote: “I’m 87 years old. I’ve seen war, repression, protest, and backlash. I’ve been celebrated, and I’ve been branded an enemy of the state. But I can tell you this: this is the most frightening moment of my life.

“When I feel scared, I look to history. I wish there were a secret playbook with all the answers – but there never has been. That’s why I believe the time is now to relaunch the Committee for the First Amendment – the same committee my father, Henry Fonda, joined with other artists during the McCarthy era, when so many were silenced or even imprisoned simply for their words and their craft.”

Taliban imposes nationwide communications blackout 

The Taliban initiated a nationwide internet shutdown in Afghanistan this week, claiming it was just “maintenance”.

The blackout began on Monday and lasted for 48 hours, but internet access was reinstated following disruption to businesses.

Mobile phone connections were also affected in the week causing a complete shutdown of the country’s communications.

Taliban officials told journalists on Wednesday there hadn’t  been a nationwide internet ban, however there is a history of such moves in the country, with broadband internet services being cut in over ten provinces last month, including in Herat.

Voice of America stops broadcasting during US government shutdown

Voice of America (VOA), founded in 1942 as an American international broadcaster, has halted all broadcasts.

This has never happened before because the federal news agency has, up until now, been considered to be essential to national security.

The VOA which broadcasts to authoritarian states has been the subject of criticism by President Trump and his administration. In March of this year Trump signed an executive order that targeted VOA, alongside Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Liberty, ordering that they “be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law”.

The news comes only days after a judge ordered the government to reverse its firing of  more than 500 staff members at the broadcaster, firings that the judge alleged would affect its ability to continue worldwide broadcasting as required by Congress.