IP Democracy: Net Censorship is a Global Activity

Reporters without Borders just released its 2006 Annual Report on censorship and press freedom around the globe and the 153-page run-down is a heartbreaking document. But, this year the group has a special section devoted to Internet censorship and it’s not surprising to find that countries that limit press freedom are also stepping up censorship of the Internet.

Numerous nations around the world filter out undesired content. But, governments are becoming more active in punishing those they believe flout censorship laws via Internet postings and emails. In 2003, the report notes, only China, Vietnam and the Maldives imprisoned cyber-writers for purported violations of content curbs. Now that list has grown to include Iran, Libya, Tunisia and other countries.

Until recently, the Internet was a fairly open means of communications even in the more authoritarian countries. However, as this BBC article on the report notes, blogs, forums and social networking increase political activity, which in turn attracts the attention of government authorities.

Julien Pain - who heads the internet freedom desk at the [Reporters Without Borders] and was one of the report’s authors, noted: “Everyone’s interested in the internet - especially dictators.”

Western nations don’t escape criticism, although Reporters Without Borders makes clear that there is no comparison between the EU and the US, for example, and China. Still, the organization makes a point of singling out Western technology firms as enablers of press repression; Cisco, for example, sold special equipment to Chinese authorities for filtering content.

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield on May 4, 2006 11:47 PM to IP Democracy