The Guardian view on free speech online: let law decide the limits | Editorial

The standards by which the internet is controlled need to be open and subject to impartial judiciaries – not left to advertisersThe revelations we publish about how Facebook’s data was used by Cambridge Analytica to subvert the openness of democracy are only the latest examples of a global phenomenon. All over the world, governments are coming to grips with the destructive power of social media. In recent weeks, Sri Lanka, Britain, Indonesia and Myanmar have all seen measures taken against hate-speech campaigns. In some cases the companies that publish and profit from them have acted themselves; in others the government has taken direct action. In Sri Lanka, the government reacted to a burst of anti-Muslim rioting by completely shutting down Facebook, WhatsApp, and the messaging app Viber for a week on 7 March. In Britain, Facebook banned the neo-Nazi Britain First movement, which had acquired 2m “likes”, after two of its leaders were jailed. The leaders’ personal pages were also removed. Why it took the company that long to act, when the hateful nature of the pages had been obvious to the whole world ever since Donald Trump retweeted one of their made-up news stories in 2017, is difficult to explain.YouTube can not only profit from disturbing content but in unintended ways rewards its creation. The algorithms that guide viewers to new choices aim always to intensify the experience, and to keep the viewer excited. This can damage society, and individuals, without being... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2018-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Avery made editorial director at William Heinemann

Tom Avery has been promoted to editorial director of William Heinemann. Avery joined the Cornerstone imprint in 2011 as editor, and was made senior editor in 2013. Before joining William Heinemann he was at Jonathan Cape and Vintage Books. Avery publishes non-fiction and some literary... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Seeing stars: writers should not fear online reviews

Will social media and aggregated preferences sweep away book reviewing and literary culture? There’s nothing new about the death of literatureThe writer Caleb Crain is unhappy about “the intrusion of counting into the life of literature”. He believes that big data and predictive-taste algorithms... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Guardian launches children’s book festival

The Guardian is organising a children’s literature festival – a free one-day event in London on 29th August, featuring authors such as Sarah McIntyre, Philip Reeve and Paul Strickland. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Laws to publish 'inside story' of Coalition

Former Liberal Democrat MP David Laws has written a book exposing the ‘inside story’ of the Cameron-Clegg coalition. Biteback Publishing m.d. Iain Dale acquired world rights to Coalition by David Laws, which will be published in Spring 2016. The book, which will be supported by a ‘major press... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The day I met EL Doctorow: from Persian translations to his view of a writer's duty

After celebrated novelist’s death last week, Saeed Kamali Dehghan remembers an interview with him on everything from books to Iran’s copyright infringementMost famous writers don’t have a clue that their work has been translated into Persian and that they are literary celebrities in Iran. When... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ursula Le Guin Debuts Online Fiction Workshop

The National Book Award lifetime achievement winner, who said she no longer has "the stamina" for classroom teaching, wants to guide aspiring writers via her Book View Cafe blog. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Booksellers get free access to digital proofs

Booksellers will get “quicker and wider access” to book proofs from across the publishing industry through a partnership with the Booksellers Association and NetGalley. UK booksellers will get access to digital proofs from over 50 publishers – including Bonnier, Hachette, HarperCollins, Penguin... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Is This the Greatest Book Award Acceptance Speech Ever?

Bryan Stevenson took home the Carnegie Medal for 'Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption' and gave a riveting speech that left the audience buzzing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Vending Machines to Dispense Free Kids Books

Jet Blue, Random House and Mary Pope Osborne are giving away free kids books through a program that places book vending machines in underprivileged neighborhoods. The post Vending Machines to Dispense Free Kids Books appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Printing error hits 'limited' Harper Lee stock

A "limited number" of copies of Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman (William Heinemann) have been found to contain a printing error, with Penguin Random House's printer Clays having to print replacement stock. Copies affected by the technical fault at Clays have two lines missing on each of six... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ebury acquires memoir about online life

Ebury Press has bought Ctrl, Alt; Delete, a memoir about growing up online, by journalist and blogger Emma Gannon [pictured].   Commissioning editor Sara Cywinski has bought UK and Commonwealth rights to the book, in which Gannon talks about subjects from editing photos for MySpace to... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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McCurdy Re-Joins Kensington as Editorial Director

Wendy McCurdy, formerly executive editor at Berkley Publishing Group, has been named editorial director at Kensington Publishing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon, Wal-Mart face off in online discounting

A 32-inch LED television for $75. Harry Potter books for up to half off their list price. An Apple iPad mini for $265. Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2015-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon at 20: what has the online giant ever done for retail?

The e-commerce site is 20 years old this week. So what influence has it really had on the retail and internet industries?It was originally billed as “Earth’s Biggest Bookstore” and featured over one million titles. Twenty years later it boasts over 270m active accounts and claims to have more... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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FCS Creditors to Decide Fate of Chain by August 7

Family Christian Stores creditors will vote on the fate of the beleaguered chain by August 7. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fearing Piracy, Authors Guild Pushes Change to Copyright Law

Citing a major uptick in Internet piracy, the Authors Guild has urged Congress to require ISPs to monitor and filter the Internet for pirated works. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mary Poppins Treasures on View at the New York Public Library

Items that inspired 'Mary Poppins,' given by P.L. Travers herself, are on view at the Children's Center of the main branch of the New York Public Library. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Microsoft is giving away over 200 eBooks covering Windows 10, Office 365 and more for free

Eric Ligman, Microsoft Director of Worldwide Partner Experience is once again giving away a large collection of useful eBooks covering widely used products including Windows 8 and 8.1, Windows 7, OneNote, Skype, Office 2013, Office 365, Azure, and Lync 2013. Since his last mega giveaway, Eric... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2015-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Guardian to pre-publish first Lee chapter

The Guardian is to publish the first chapter of Harper Lee’s forthcoming novel Go Set a Watchman (William Heinemann) ahead of publication, as part of the publicity campaign building up to the novel’s release next week. Go Set a Watchman will be released on Tuesday 14th July. The Guardian will... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Free school visits ‘one of the worst things an author can do’

Following the debate over whether authors should be paid to appear at festivals, children’s writers have warned that fewer schools are now offering to pay for author visits. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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