Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., reintroduced his Global Online Freedom Act on Wednesday with the bipartisan backing of Reps. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., Frank Wolf, R-Va., and others. The measure would prevent U.S. technology companies from working with repressive foreign governments that seek to conduct Internet surveillance to find, capture, convict and often torture citizens for engaging in democracy promotion and human rights advocacy online. Smith's bill passed several House committees last Congress but he could not secure a floor vote before the session ended.
The latest version of Smith's bill would require American IT companies that do business with countries known for clamping down on free speech to keep records on and notify the Justice Department of demands for personal information about Internet users. The legislation also would give the attorney general authority to order tech firms not to comply with those demands if there is a reasonable likelihood that the request is not made for legitimate law enforcement purposes. Additionally, the bill would require the U.S. firms to disclose data they block when asked by foreign governments and disclose how they filter search engine results.
Smith's measure would prevent U.S. IT firms from blocking U.S. government Web sites and would create an Office of Global Internet Freedom within the State Department to promote freedom of expression online. "The reality is that dictatorships need two pillars to survive -- propaganda and secret police," Smith said in a press release. "The Internet -- when misused by authorities --gives them both in spades." He added that it is "unconscionable that American businesses... would even consider enabling repressive governments that seek to stifle basic freedoms."
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
I have always said that what we need is a global entity governing the internet. I think that if Microsoft begins shipping with software that can buy phentermine online circumvent censorship on a national level it will more or less signal the end of oppressive regimes. Once people can communicate without fear of being heard then cheap auto insurance quotes it’s only a matter of time before governments like China and Australia realise that they can’t hope to control people without their permission.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
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Monday, April 19, 2010
Great step in the right direction given what has been happening over in Iran!
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Thursday, March 25, 2010
US companies are making millions selling software to repressive governments, software that inspects each packet, which counteracts what little "security" proxy servers may provide. This software doesn't just block access to particular websites, it identifies the sender of an HTTP request, logs the information, and then turns those logs over to the government. Yahoo recently admitted that information of this type, provided to the Chinese government, allowed that government to arrest a pro-democracy user. Is that legal in China? You bet. So what? It's still not right.
America is not about capitalism, it's about freedom. If the message we send to the world is that we believe in freedom of speech unless it gets in the way of US companies that sell software designed to abrogate that freedom of speech, then we are unmasked to the world as hypocrites. It's long past time for our government to step up and set a better standard, and to uphold the ideals those Congressmen have sworn to defend: freedom of speech.
Rowan
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Sounds like a step in the right direction. I have always said that what we need is a global entity governing the internet. I think that if Microsoft begins shipping with software that can circumvent censorship on a national level it will more or less signal the end of oppressive regimes. Once people can communicate without fear of being heard then it’s only a matter of time before governments like China and Australia realise that they can’t hope to control people without their permission.
Friday, March 12, 2010
That's a really good decision but I wonder to which extend it can be actually translated into facts. I don't think that big corporations like Yahoo, Google, Cisco and all the other major players involved in Internet business with China (or other net filtering countries like France or Australia) will put their business at risk just to comply with this Global Online Freedom Act. I would love to see it happen, but I fear that "business is business", and that's already anticipated with the "legitimate law enforcement purposes" added to the text. Is a Chinese law restricting freedom of speech legitimate. May be not in the US, but for sure in China. Does restricting access to online pokerice website legitimate? Depends on each country law. It is "legitimate" in France to filter access to online gambling site, like it is in the USA. Upon which laws, which texts will the attorney general decide that it is a "legitimate law enforcement"? US laws apply only in the US, however some wouldn't agree.
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