[WSIS CS-Plenary] Tr: Weapons of Mass Oppression

[Milton Mueller]

Jean-Louis:
This fits in perfectly with the proposed theme on content filtering and freedom of expression, so thank you for sending it. It also indicates that we can probably expect some resistance to that theme from private sector actors as well as states.

>>> jlfullsack at wanadoo.fr 3/24/2006 4:50:22 PM >>>
 
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> American technology companies are taking heat for helping China's
> government police the Internet. But this controversy extends well beyond
> China and the so- called Internet Gang of Four: Google, Yahoo, Cisco and
> Microsoft.
> (...)
> The initiative found that SmartFilter has been used by
> government-controlled monopoly providers in Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia,
> Sudan, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates. It has also been used by
> state-controlled providers in Iran, even though American companies are
> banned from selling technology products there. (Secure Computing denies
> selling products or updates to Iran, which is probably using pirated
> versions.)
> 
> According to OpenNet, filtering products from another U.S. company,
> Websense, have also been used by a state-controlled service provider in
> Iran, ParsOnline. (...) The initiative also found that Myanmar, arguably
> the world's most repressive regime, uses censorware from the U.S. company
> Fortinet. And Singapore's government-controlled Singnet server uses
> filtering technology from SurfControl, a company that is now technically
> British but has its filtering operations headquarters in California.
> 
> One of America's most laudable national goals is the export of free speech
> and free information, yet U.S. companies are selling censorship
> (...)
> If American companies are already obligated to disclose the sale of bombs
> and guns to repressive regimes, why not censorware? 
> 
> Mehr: 
> http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/03/09/opinion/edjardin.php 
> 
> 
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