Press Releases

List of our press releases, in reverse chronological order.

President Obama’s call for strong rules against Internet slow lanes a positive sign for Internet users around the world

November 10th, 2014
November 10, 2014 – This morning U.S. President Barack Obama released a decisive statement urging the FCC to use the strongest measures possible to ensure strong net neutrality rules keep the Internet an open playing field, stating “no service should be stuck in a ‘slow lane’ because it does not pay a fee.” International digital rights organization OpenMedia welcomes this strong statement from the President, as recent rumors reported in the Wall Street Journal suggested that the FCC was still considering rules allowing slow lanes online. In his statement, President Obama directly refers to Title II reclassification, a strong and enforceable approach that Internet freedom advocates - including OpenMedia - have been fighting to implement for the past year, saying: “I'm asking the FCC to classify Internet services under Title II of the law known as the Telecommunications Act.”
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Leaked draft confirms TPP will censor Internet and stifle Free Expression worldwide

October 16th, 2014
October 16, 2014 – This morning Wikileaks published a second leaked draft of the Intellectual Property chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The draft confirms people’s worst fears about Internet censorship. That’s according to community-based organization OpenMedia, which is leading a large international Fair Deal Coalition aimed at securing balanced copyright rules for the 21st Century. “It is hugely disappointing to see that, yet again, members of the public worldwide have to be informed about these critical issues through leaked drafts, instead of through democratic engagement on the part of governments and elected officials,” said OpenMedia Campaigns Coordinator Meghan Sali. “When will our decision-makers recognize that negotiating serious issues - especially proposals that would censor our use of the Internet - must be considered and debated democratically instead of in secret meetings with industry lobbyists?”
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Global study finds citizens want balanced copyright rules that respect creators, prioritize free expression, and reject Internet censorship

October 15th, 2014
OpenMedia launches report crowdsourced from over 300,000 people in 155 countries worldwide. The findings are a direct challenge to the secretive Trans-Pacific Partnership where extreme proposals to censor the Internet are being created in near-total secrecy
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Global study finds citizens want balanced copyright rules that respect creators, prioritize free expression, and reject Internet censorship

October 14th, 2014
October 15, 2014 – Citizens from across the globe want balanced copyright rules that are shaped democratically, respect creators, and prioritize free expression. That’s the message of Our Digital Future: A Crowdsourced Agenda for Free Expression, a new report launched today by community-based OpenMedia. The overall consultation process took place over 2 years engaging 300,000 people from Australia to Vietnam. The report is being launched just days before a crucial round of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks take place in Australia. The findings come as a significant blow to Big Media lobbyists, who have been using the secretive TPP talks to ram through extreme proposals that would censor the Internet and criminalize many everyday online activities. The report finds that over 72% of respondents want copyright rules to be created through “a participatory multi-stakeholder process” in contrast to closed-door TPP meetings from which citizens are completely excluded.
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Canadians call on decision-makers at crucial public hearing to fix our broken wireless market and Unblock Canada

October 2nd, 2014
Tired of high wireless bills, Canadians want action from regulators to stop the Big Three blocking more affordable, independent wireless services
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BREAKING: Government shamelessly moves to cut short debate on Peter MacKay’s unpopular and unconstitutional Online Spying Bill C-13

September 30th, 2014
Radio ads set to air in MacKay’s riding, as Gov’t prepares to ram Bill C-13 through House of Commons, despite opposition from tens of thousands of Canadians and a Supreme Court ruling that warrantless disclosures are unconstitutional
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Award-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald to debate privacy and CSEC spying at Ottawa event sponsored by OpenMedia.ca

September 22nd, 2014
Greenwald has worked extensively with whistleblower Edward Snowden to report on how spy agencies like Canada’s CSEC and the U.S. NSA are monitoring the private lives of law-abiding citizens on a massive scale
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Diverse groups put out hard-hitting video exposing how government spy agency has the power to monitor the everyday lives of innocent Canadians

September 22nd, 2014
Viral video released amid growing outrage at how government spy agencies like Canada’s CSEC and the U.S. NSA are collecting hugely revealing information on innocent citizens
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