Over 40 years since Tom Wolfe writes Radical Chic. Vice Magazine does a fashion shoot in the midst of a student riot. Hmmmm … maybe they could read it … here’s a

Index on Censorship: Fitwatch closure threatens free speech

Val Swain, a Fitwatch activist, writes a strident defense of the closed site over on Index on Censorship. As pointed out, the site was closed before it got taken to court. The decision to take the website down was taken entirely by the police.

The effect on freedom of expression may not be immediately apparent. While Fitwatch may dig its heels in, others will start to worry about the wisdom of publishing contentious information. And while dozens may rally round to resist police censorship, dozens more may become that little bit more cautious about what they post. Nobody wants to have their website taken down, or be accused of criminal activity. If we value freedom of expression, we should not tolerate the police deciding what websites we should, or shouldn’t be allowed to read.

Fitwatch shut down by police

Of great concern is the status of Fitwatch (background wiki page), a civil disobedience website that has been shut down by police. I couldn’t possibly concur that it is an anti-police website, as has been widely reported, but I have tracked down the article that has been judged to have been so seditious that it must be withdrawn from the internet. Thankfully Indymedia, among others, has linked to the text. I won’t repost it here, but I am happy to link to it so you can judge for youreself. I think that it’s certainly angry in its tone a, but it’s hardly the work of Maximilien Robespierre. I cannot see why our democracy cannot allow such ideas to circulate freely .