Protecting Internet Freedom

Global Voices Advocacy – Defending Free Speech Online
by Rebecca MacKinnon – 26 March 2012 – Global Voices

Pakistan’s anti-censorship activists recently proved how coordinated, global and local action can make a real difference.

Last month, Pakistan’s government publicly solicited proposals from companies around the world to create an automatic URL filtering system to block “objectionable” content. The request triggered a wave of protests which began with the local group Bolo Bhi and spread quickly to international groups like Access Now who wrote letters to tech companies’ CEOs urging them not to bid on the project, and launched online petitions which gathered tens of thousands of signatures. The Global Network Initiative (GNI), Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Bytes for All, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, all issued statements urging technology companies to consider the impact of the tender on the human rights of citizens in Pakistan.

Their message was received and absorbed at least by some. Five of the eight companies petitioned, including Websense, Cisco, Verizon, Sandvine and McAfee, have declined join the Pakistan government’s censorship attempt. On the other hand, Huawei, Blue Coat, Netsweeper, and ZTE did not respond to calls from the advocacy groups before the deadline of the proposal on March 16. Now the Express Tribune has reported that as a result of the protests, the Pakistani government may step back from its censorship plans.

More broadly, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has voiced its concern over challenges to freedom of expression and the Pakistani government’s plans to censor the media and the Internet. It “demands the media, civil society and the people in general must be consulted before any changes are considered in the law. The media should do more to counter radicalisation and intolerance. It regrets that the misuse of blasphemy laws and the official apathy and appeasement of extremists have continued.”

More censorship news

March 12, marked the World Day Against Cyber Censorship, and the publication of the annual “Enemies of the Internet” report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). According to the list, Bahrain, Belarus, Burma, China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam were named as the worst offenders in online censorship, while other 14 countries, including Australia and France, are “countries under surveillance”, which means that the citizens of these countries are also facing increased censorship.

Although RSF does not rank the countries listed as the “Enemies of the Internet”, Matthias Spielkamp from the German branch of Reporters Without Borders pointed out in an interview by Deutsche Welle that China and Syria “would be candidates for a top 3”.

Some organizations and companies such as The Bahrain Center for Human Rights and Google also released statements against censorship in observance of the day.

The government of Iran is moving forward with plans to build a domestic Internet meant to shield the Iranian people from “harmful” content online. Amnesty International recently published a briefing paper outlining the tightened cyber control by Iranian government.

The Tajik government requested the country’s Internet Service Providers block Facebook and four news websites. According to media report, the blocking was the result of the publication of some sensitive articles which criticized the government.

Facebook and Google have begun their trial in India over the objectionable content on their websites.

According to a study conducted by Carnegie Mellon University, the Chinese censorship mechanism used on the popular microblog platform Weibo has been quite nimble and adaptive. The study outlines for the first time the ways in which the censorship system functions on this new media platform.

Sina Corp, the company which owns Weibo, estimated that 60% of its microblog users will complete the real-name registration process by the deadline of March 16.

PayPal announced a policy that it would not process transactions for ebooks which contain erotic content. However, the decision spurred a backlash from free speech advocacy groups. Facing the criticisms of conducting censorship, PayPal finally stepped back and allowed sale of legal fiction with erotic materials. …more

Most of this report was researched, written, and edited by Weiping Li, Mera Szendro Bok, James Losey, and Sarah Myers.