Is internet censorship out of control?

4 Jul 2011

Internet censorship is rife and it seems to be getting worse. This month, Reporters Without Borders ran an article about bloggers and human rights activists in Bahrain who have been given life-sentences for expressing their opinions online. This year alone, the site reports that 121 'netizens' have already been imprisoned around the world for reasons directly relating to their writing activities online.

The countries where this is most prevalent are China, Vietnam and Arab countries including Iran, Syria, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. As horrifying as it is, it would be wrong to say that the incredible sentences being imposed on bloggers are completely disproportionate to the crime. That's because it is completely ridiculous to consider that expressing one's opinions in public should even be considered a crime.

This month, Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt spoke out at the Summit Against Violent Extremism (SAVE) in Dublin, to say that while Google does not like to take a political stance it is clear that the ongoing Arab uprisings could lead to an upsurge in internet censorship. His main concern was that there is an increased risk of arrest for colleagues working in countries with restrictive policy. "There are countries where it is illegal to do things that Google encourages," he said. "In those countries, there is a real possibility of (employees) being put in prison for reasons which are not their fault."

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Source: Memeburn

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