Global campaign seeks to crush web censorship

Reporters without Borders: Web 2.0 is colliding with Control 2.0

Reporters without Borders has launched World Day Against Cyber Censorship, a global event designed to raise awareness of censorship on the internet.

The initiative names and shames the worst offending governments, bundling the UK, France and Australia alongside others like China and South Korea.

The press organisation also names Saudi Arabia, Burma, North Korea, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Uzbekistan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan and Vietnam, and has asked global trade bodies to intervene and encourage some of these to improve their record on censorship.

"As a barrier to trade, web censorship should be included on the agenda of the World Trade Organisation," said Reporters without Borders.

"Several of latter's members, including China and Vietnam, should be required to open their internet networks before being invited to join the global village of international commerce."

The number of countries now employing internet censorship has doubled over the past year, according to the organisation.

"In 2009, some 60 countries experienced a form of web censorship, which is twice as many as in 2008. The internet is being progressively devoured by the implementation of national intranets whose content is 'approved' by the authorities," it said.

"It does not matter to those governments if more and more internet users are going to become victims of a digital segregation. Web 2.0 is colliding with Control 2.0."

The group added that western democracies, particularly Australia, France, Italy and the UK, are slipping internet rules into place "in the name of the fight against child pornography or the theft of intellectual property".