Report: More Countries Moved To Restrict Net in '09
While technology has helped people all over the world gain greater access to more information, many governments last year devoted increased attention and resources to curtailing access to those technologies and information, the State Department said Thursday in its annual Human Rights report.
"It was a year in which governments spent more time, money, and attention finding regulatory and technical means to curtail freedom of expression on the Internet and the flow of critical information and to infringe on the personal privacy rights of those who used these rapidly evolving technologies," the report noted.
"Many governments continued to exert control over information that came into and was produced within their countries," the report added. "This was accomplished by hindering the ability to organize in public, online, or through use of new technologies; by restricting the dissemination of information on the Internet, radio, or television or through print media."
During a briefing to discuss the report, Michael Posner, the assistant secretary for human rights, said one of the areas the department is pursuing "practical strategies" for protecting human rights is in Internet freedom, saying it's "critical that we figure out how are we going to address the restrictions on the Internet that many governments ... are now imposing with greater energy and resources."
Posner noted that the department has set up an Internet task force and last week brought in about 25 businesses to talk about their responsibilities. In addition, Posner said the department is providing funding for technology to circumvent Internet blocking systems and helping "local activists figure out how to use that technology [and] how do you protect them when they get in trouble."
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced in a January speech that Internet freedom would be a diplomatic priority for the Obama administration.
Among the countries cited in the report for restricting the free flow of Information was China, which has gained new attention over the issue of Internet freedom after Google announced in January that it would stop censoring search results for users in China. The move was prompted by a cyber attack on Google, which the firm said originated from China. "The government of China increased its efforts to monitor Internet use, control content, restrict information, block access to foreign and domestic Web sites, encourage self-censorship, and punish those who violated regulations," according to the report.
Iran also was criticized for blocking access to Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites before and after the country's disputed election last summer and imposing other technological restrictions. Vietnam also was singled out for monitoring e-mail and suppressing access to Web sites and social media sites like Facebook.
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