12 July 2006
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT SCOLDS COMPANIES FOR AIDING INTERNET CENSORSHIP
The European Parliament has added its voice to the chorus of critics who say companies should not be assisting regimes in censoring the Internet, says Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF). On 6 July 2006, it passed a resolution calling on the European Commission to establish a voluntary code of conduct "limiting the activities of companies in repressive countries."
Parliamentarians also urged the Commission to "take into account, when considering EU assistance programmes with third countries, the need for unhindered internet access by the citizens of those countries."
The resolution singled out U.S. companies Yahoo, Google and Microsoft, which were criticised for allowing Chinese authorities to censor their search engines and blog software in China. It also criticises Cisco Systems for supplying technologies to countries that censor the Internet, and Telecom Italia and France Telecom's Wanadoo for co-operating with Tunisia and Cuba in blocking websites.
The resolution mentions 15 countries that are notorious for censoring the Internet: China, Belarus, Burma, Cuba, Iran, Libya, Maldives, Nepal, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
Visit these links:
- RSF: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=18223
- European Parliament Resolution: http://tinyurl.com/zcavz
- OpenNet Initiative: http://www.opennetinitiative.net/
- Investment Funds Pledge Commitment to Internet Free Expression: http://www.rsf.org/fonds-investissement-en.php3
- U.S. Congress Holds Hearing on Internet Censorship in China: http://boss.streamos.com/real/hir/56_af021506.smi
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