Reporters Without Borders said 15 countries are ‘enemies of the I...
Reporters Without Borders said 15 countries are “enemies of the Internet,” citing another 10 with worrisome outlooks on the Web. The enemy countries censor independent news sites and opposition outlets, monitor the Web to stifle dissidence and harass and…
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sometimes imprison Web users and bloggers who deviate from the official line, the group said Thurs. At the top of the list: Belarus, alleged to use a telecom monopoly to block access to opposition sites, especially at election time; Burma, where PCs and home Internet connections cost dearly Internet cafes come under military regime scrutiny; and China, one the first repressive countries to grasp the importance of the Internet and of controlling it, the group said. Other “enemies": Cuba, Iran, Libya, Syria, N. Korea, The Maldives, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. On the watch list: Bahrain, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Singapore, S. Korea, Thailand, Zimbabwe. The U.S. and the European Union also made the list. The report was presented last week at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) despite Secy. Gen. Robert Menard’s inability to enter the country to attend the conference, the group said. Tunisian police kept Menard from leaving an Air France plane after it landed in Tunis. One officer reportedly told Menard he had no right to get off the plane since he did not have accreditation for WSIS.