IP Democracy: RSF Releases Annual Internet Enemies List

Reporter Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontieres, or RSF) has released its annual Internet enemies list, highlighting the countries that are the most oppressive when it comes to Internet-based freedoms, mostly those dealing with freedom of speech. Three countries have been removed from the offenders list — Nepal, Maldives and Libya — and one country, Egypt, has been added.

Although the organization doesn’t rank the countries from bad to worst, it does note that China “continues to be the world’s most advanced country in Internet filtering.” Although virtually all of the countries on the list filter web sites to block politically or socially “objectionable” content, and virtually all seem to have imprisoned bloggers or writers that violate the countries’ censorship laws, some noteworthy facts stand out.

—In Cuba, connecting to the Internet illegally, which pretty much means any home-based Internet connection, is punished by five years in prison.

—In Iran, where broadband Internet connections are banned, censors are now focused on blocking out web sites that deal with women’s rights.

—Less than 1% of the population is online in Turkmenistan.

On a positive note, Nepal, under a democratic regime since May 2006, no longer censors content or imprisons bloggers.

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield on November 8, 2006 4:21 PM to IP Democracy