Amnesty's concerns over freedom on the net

Amnesty International are raising concerns about net censorship ahead of a conference they are organising on the subject.

Amnesty are highlighting that the internet, "could change beyond all recognition" unless action is taken against the erosion of online freedom . Getting into a computing (main) frame ;-) of mind they warn that the "virus of internet repression" has now spread to dozens of governments.

Amnesty also attack companies such as Google - particularly their presence in China, Microsoft and Yahoo of all being complicit in censorship.

Tim Hancock the campaign director said:

"The Chinese model of an internet that allows economic growth but not free speech, or privacy, is growing in popularity. From a handful of countries five years ago, to dozens of governments today, who block sites and arrest bloggers".

"Unless we act on this issue, the internet could change beyond all recognition in the years to come. More and more governments are realising the utility of controlling what people see online and major internet companies, in an attempt to expand their markets, are colluding in these attempts,"

Amnesty point out it’s not just filtering, increasingly it was seeing ‘politically motivated’ closures of websites and internet cafes, also threats and imprisonments. In February, Abdul Kareem Nabeel Suleiman, a young Egyptian blogger, was imprisoned for four years for insulting Islam and defaming the President of Egypt.

Amnesty's is re launching their website irrepressible.info to highlight freedom on the net