The Global Internet seems like a dream, for the first time in history, people around the globe can communicate at the speed of the electron no matter where they live. this innovation has sparked hope for a closer global community and is an avenue for information never before dreamed of, but as always there those who would like to control the flow of data to the masses.
Burma, China, Cuba, Egypt, Iran (http://maps NULL.google NULL.com/maps?ll=35 NULL.6833333333,51 NULL.4166666667&spn=10 NULL.0,10 NULL.0&q=35 NULL.6833333333,51 NULL.4166666667 (Iran)&t=h), North Korea (http://maps NULL.google NULL.com/maps?ll=39 NULL.0333333333,125 NULL.75&spn=10 NULL.0,10 NULL.0&q=39 NULL.0333333333,125 NULL.75 (North%20Korea)&t=h), Saudi Arabia (http://maps NULL.google NULL.com/maps?ll=24 NULL.65,46 NULL.7666666667&spn=10 NULL.0,10 NULL.0&q=24 NULL.65,46 NULL.7666666667 (Saudi%20Arabia)&t=h), Syria Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam top the list as countries that would rather control the flow of information from the World Wide Web (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/World_Wide_Web) to their citizens, mostly out of fear that it might spark revolution and civil unrest. They fear freedom of speech as well as losing control of the masses due to inability to censor what the general population consumes as news, entertainment, and political ideas. How far each country will go in controlling the Internet varies from country to country and is not limited to totalitarian regimes, as we shall see.
Burma, also known as Myanmar, is so threatened by the Internet that the very act of going online is considered a dissident act; the use of or importing a modem without official permission is punishable by up to 15 years in prison for threatening state security (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/National_security), national unity, culture, the economy, and/or law and order. The government fears its citizens will be exposed to website relating to human rights (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Human_rights), political opposition groups, and organizations that promote democracy in the country.
Most recently, in Iran, an “Internet police force” is being developed to help combat what the government considers “unique and serious threats [that] are felt by users and society. Among these threats are: content that is critical of the government, pornographic websites (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Website), political blogs, weblogs, online magazines, and sites that promote women’s rights. Some Iranian bloggers have imprisoned in the past and will most likely be detained in the future for their Internet activities.
Syrians and Vietnamese who express their opinions or report information online have been detained when their country’s “Internet police” have caught them through close monitoring. Tunisia not only blocks access to search engines and pornography but peer-to-peer and FTP services as well.
But do not think that democratic nations are immune to Internet censorship. Australia has been attempting to censor materials that the government deems inappropriate for it’s citizens to consume. So far they have not totally enforced the use of blacklists to block content deemed inappropriate for the masses. The United States (http://maps NULL.google NULL.com/maps?ll=38 NULL.8833333333,-77 NULL.0166666667&spn=10 NULL.0,10 NULL.0&q=38 NULL.8833333333,-77 NULL.0166666667 (United%20States)&t=h) has passed several Acts that affect Internet use such as, The Communications Decency Act (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Communications_Decency_Act), the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and the Children’s Internet Protection Act.
So, even if you do live in a free country, do not think for an instant that no one is looking through what you say online to make sure you are not going against the wishes of the government. George Orwell’s “1984″ wasn’t far off the mark, Big Brother is watching you.
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Global campaign seeks to crush web censorship (http://www NULL.v3 NULL.co NULL.uk/v3/news/2259429/internet-censorship-rife) (v3.co.uk)
Report names ‘enemies of the Internet’ (http://news NULL.cnet NULL.com/8301-13578_3-10468332-38 NULL.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20) (news.cnet.com)
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Censorship and the World Wide Web
The Global Internet seems like a dream, for the first time in history, people around the globe can communicate at the speed of the electron no matter where they live. this innovation has sparked hope for a closer global community and is an avenue for information never before dreamed of, but as always there those who would like to control the flow of data to the masses.
Burma, China, Cuba, Egypt, Iran (http://maps NULL.google NULL.com/maps?ll=35 NULL.6833333333,51 NULL.4166666667&spn=10 NULL.0,10 NULL.0&q=35 NULL.6833333333,51 NULL.4166666667 (Iran)&t=h), North Korea (http://maps NULL.google NULL.com/maps?ll=39 NULL.0333333333,125 NULL.75&spn=10 NULL.0,10 NULL.0&q=39 NULL.0333333333,125 NULL.75 (North%20Korea)&t=h), Saudi Arabia (http://maps NULL.google NULL.com/maps?ll=24 NULL.65,46 NULL.7666666667&spn=10 NULL.0,10 NULL.0&q=24 NULL.65,46 NULL.7666666667 (Saudi%20Arabia)&t=h), Syria Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam top the list as countries that would rather control the flow of information from the World Wide Web (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/World_Wide_Web) to their citizens, mostly out of fear that it might spark revolution and civil unrest. They fear freedom of speech as well as losing control of the masses due to inability to censor what the general population consumes as news, entertainment, and political ideas. How far each country will go in controlling the Internet varies from country to country and is not limited to totalitarian regimes, as we shall see.
Burma, also known as Myanmar, is so threatened by the Internet that the very act of going online is considered a dissident act; the use of or importing a modem without official permission is punishable by up to 15 years in prison for threatening state security (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/National_security), national unity, culture, the economy, and/or law and order. The government fears its citizens will be exposed to website relating to human rights (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Human_rights), political opposition groups, and organizations that promote democracy in the country.
Most recently, in Iran, an “Internet police force” is being developed to help combat what the government considers “unique and serious threats [that] are felt by users and society. Among these threats are: content that is critical of the government, pornographic websites (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Website), political blogs, weblogs, online magazines, and sites that promote women’s rights. Some Iranian bloggers have imprisoned in the past and will most likely be detained in the future for their Internet activities.
Syrians and Vietnamese who express their opinions or report information online have been detained when their country’s “Internet police” have caught them through close monitoring. Tunisia not only blocks access to search engines and pornography but peer-to-peer and FTP services as well.
But do not think that democratic nations are immune to Internet censorship. Australia has been attempting to censor materials that the government deems inappropriate for it’s citizens to consume. So far they have not totally enforced the use of blacklists to block content deemed inappropriate for the masses. The United States (http://maps NULL.google NULL.com/maps?ll=38 NULL.8833333333,-77 NULL.0166666667&spn=10 NULL.0,10 NULL.0&q=38 NULL.8833333333,-77 NULL.0166666667 (United%20States)&t=h) has passed several Acts that affect Internet use such as, The Communications Decency Act (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Communications_Decency_Act), the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and the Children’s Internet Protection Act.
So, even if you do live in a free country, do not think for an instant that no one is looking through what you say online to make sure you are not going against the wishes of the government. George Orwell’s “1984″ wasn’t far off the mark, Big Brother is watching you.
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