Who are the 'enemies of the internet'?

Author: Ryan Garside
Published: 8th November 2006
Comments (24) Stumble
China has been known to ban certain websites from the public domain. How can this be right?

China has been known to ban certain websites from the public domain. How can this be right?

A human rights group called 'Reporters Without Borders' ( Reporters sans frontières) has released a list of 13 countries they describe as "enemies of the internet", the BBC reports.

The list, which can be seen in more detail here, is made up of these countries (let us know if you live in one of these countries in the forums): Belarus, Burma, China, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam.

Interestingly, the RSF has given detailed descriptions about the countries on the blacklist. They haven't held back either, here is their summary of the internet in North Korea:

"Like last year, North Korea continues to be the world’s worst Internet black hole. Only a few officials are able to access the web, using connections rented from China. The country’s domain name - .nk - has still not been launched and the few websites created by the North Korean government are hosted on servers in Japan or South Korea. It is hard to believe this is simply the result of economic difficulties in a country which today is capable of manufacturing nuclear warheads."

The report contains some interesting facts about the countries who restrict internet usage. Did you know that Syria tortures 'cyber dissidents'? Or that despite there being 17 million Chinese bloggers, governmental filters mean that none of them ever discuss politically sensitive issues? The report emphasises the fact that nearly a third of the world's population live in a country where there is little or no internetpress freedom.

Meanwhile, Daily Tech is reporting that the US Air Force will now have a new division whose sole aim will be to regulate military cyberspace. The US Air Force has assigned senior military personnel to oversee the operation, with the intention of preventing or countering a cyber attack on US military operations.

Should the internet be free? Let us know your view in the forums.
Quote DougEdey 8th November 2006, 10:24
Anyone spot the similiraties (sp) between the countries? Distinct lack of true democracy.
Quote specofdust 8th November 2006, 10:35
Pretty sure Iran has true democracy, we just don't call it that for political reasons.

I'm pissed off that Nigeria ain't on that list. The home of the 419 scammer deserves to be classed as an enemy of the internet.
Quote quack 8th November 2006, 10:59
Quote:
Should the internet be free?
Yes.


Nigeria doesn't systematically violate online free expression, hence why it's not on the list.
Quote specofdust 8th November 2006, 11:01
Without security though, freedom is worthless. Perhaps. If the internet is so full of the innocent being scammed, is that freedom worth anything to them(or their scammers?).
Quote Mother-Goose 8th November 2006, 11:28
Maybe there should be a "Team Internet: Cyber Police", as long as they were puppets mind.
Quote Phil Rhodes 8th November 2006, 11:34
The US military aren't puppets?

- P
Quote Tulatin 8th November 2006, 12:05
"Enemies of the Web?"

ROFL! Some groups just have TOO much time on their hands. Last i recalled, it's a country's choice whether or not to allow net access...
Quote specofdust 8th November 2006, 12:08
The internet is far too important to humanity to be left in the hands of mere governments. It's the sort of thing that can really bring about change in the world in a big way. Indirectly yes, but it can effect all of us in a positive manner. People have to be able to access it though.

Net access should be considered a requirement, not a luxury, and in the next 100 years humanity should work to ensure every man, women and child has access to the greatest information repository in the world.
Quote Swafeman 8th November 2006, 12:38
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil Rhodes
The US military aren't puppets?

- P

No, there muppets :)
Quote boggsi 8th November 2006, 12:53
I agree with quack. The internet wouldn't be what it is without freedom of expression. The innocent being scammed is always going to happen, not to say things aren't being done about it. Look at the amount of open source software developed to combat this. The underlying principle of the internet is freedom of expression/speech, not security, thats why this list was created, enemies of the principles of the internet.. if u will
Quote Mother-Goose 8th November 2006, 15:14
To be honest it should be free, everyone has a phone line, the line rental should stay the same and include 2mb bb, if you want more bandwidth then u pay.
Quote Boswell 8th November 2006, 15:31
Iran is just stupid they have banned internet speeds that are above 128 kbps because it wants "to cut west's influence". I mean come on!! Get over yourself! link

Ed
Quote specofdust 8th November 2006, 17:35
Quote:
Originally Posted by Swafeman
No, there muppets :)

Irony lol!
Quote Tyinsar 8th November 2006, 17:56
Quote:
Originally Posted by Article
...US Air Force will now have a new division whose sole aim will be to regulate military cyberspace.
"military cyberspace" :) what in the world is that? (now I have a mash images from Tron to WOW in my head)

:? so no more weapon trading? (I wanted a good axe for Guild Wars)
Quote:
Originally Posted by DailyTech
The Cyberspace Command will be run by Lt. Gen. Robert Elder...
I was hoping General Jack O'Neil would be involved. :D
Quote MrFusion 8th November 2006, 17:59
Note that all these regimes with no true democracy are also the ones who block the internet in some fashion. It would seem that they think that if their people know what's going on in the world, they might look at their own government and their own living conditions and want a change. I think blocking or censoring the internet is a bad thing. Freedom to choose is who your leaders are and what you are allowed to do is something everyone must have. Hopefully the internet will spur more countries to see how much better they can be with freedom and things will change for the better.
Quote Hans Voralberg 8th November 2006, 18:32
Well I live in Vietnam, half of the year anyway. As far as Im concern the net is pretty damn free, it's true there used to be blockage some years ago on political sensitive and sexual explicit sites. But they practically gave up on the effort, because well cant keep up with the sheer number i supposed. Also people in the goverment is rapidly shifting to younger generation which have much more open view. Though if you expect a truly non-sensoring net I'll put my bet on say 5 years time. About the arrest, such thing is not disclosed to the public and in this sense I have to say quite undemocratic, but I know that regarding the Net there are some people arrested for activities like DDOS or hacking of businesses/goverment sites and releasing viruses etc.
Quote MrFusion 8th November 2006, 18:44
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyinsar


I was hoping General Jack O'Neil would be involved. :D

I had hoped the same thing!! Ohwell, well maybe at least we'll get Carter.
Quote mikeuk2004 8th November 2006, 19:59
How do you know the USA or UK arnt blocking out certain sites etc and restricting what you see and hear. You dont know what your getting is 100% unrestricted.

Remeber AOL restricted its customers to what they could see, Im not sure if AOL still do. And thats American owned company.
Quote eddtox 8th November 2006, 20:02
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tulatin
"Enemies of the Web?"

ROFL! Some groups just have TOO much time on their hands. Last i recalled, it's a country's choice whether or not to allow net access...

Same as it is a country's choice to advocate the killing (genocide) of innocent people including women and children. That, however does not make it right. Western regimes are under constant scrutiny regarding their censorship activities in order to promote the freedom of speech a democracy requires. Everybody has the right to an opinion and should be able to express it regardless of whether you, I or any other person or organization agrees with it. Freedom of speech is especially important to journalists, who if the need arises should be able to expose a government's transgressions without fear of repression. I know that in reality this is sometimes difficult, but we should, nevertheless, strive towards it. Freedom of expression, like love, life and the pursuit of happiness, is a basic human right, and if we allow it to be denied, the consequences are likely to be dire.

-ed out
Quote mikeuk2004 8th November 2006, 20:06
Quote:
Now, with China enjoying increasing geopolitical influence, people are wondering the opposite, whether perhaps China’s Internet model, based on censorship and surveillance, may one day be imposed on the rest of the world.

Yes I wonder when that will happen. Once China shows it can censor and control the internet, I wonder how many countrys will want to learn from it and use it to censor their own country for example porn and gambaling sites etc. Its a power the USA will want to have, I bet.

Anyhow it is a bit of a bugger when I was staying with family in Beijing this year and I tried to use my fav search engine Google.co.uk. It was blocked suprise suprise and had to use google.com.cn instead which doesnt bring the results i was after. I gave up and waited until I got back to the UK to use the Net.
Quote koola 8th November 2006, 20:13
It's a know fact (having seen them myself) that all major UK ISPs have to have "black boxes" installed on their main fibre connections (inbound+outbound). There is no choice in the matter!

Who knows what they restrict/filter out
Quote speedfreek 8th November 2006, 22:26
Hey, if the us ever wnated to block certian sites they could just say terrorisim and everyone woud be ok with it. They do it with everything else.
Quote mikeuk2004 8th November 2006, 23:35
Quote:
Originally Posted by speedfreek
Hey, if the us ever wnated to block certian sites they could just say terrorisim and everyone woud be ok with it. They do it with everything else.

lol funny but again so true :)
Quote quack 9th November 2006, 14:58
The Chinese government has attacked statements by Reporters Without Borders that it is one of the 13 worst internet censors.
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