First Amendment

Originally Published November 07, 2006; Last Updated January 07, 2010; Last Republished December 31, 2009:

Today, Reporters without Borders has published its list (2006 data see below for 2009) of countries with the worst records of censoring the internet:

Belarus Burma China Cuba Egypt Iran North Korea

Saudi Arabia Syria Tunisia Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Vietnam

Three countries have been removed from the list; Libya, Maldives, and Nepal.

Reporters without Borders has launch the internet campaign "24 hours against Internet censorship" to protest and highlight the 13 countries remaining on the internet censorship list.

Web:

• UPDATED 01/07/2010 UPIAsia, China reins in cyberspace – again.

• UPDATED 03/18/2009 UPIAsia, China warns against 'cyber mafia'.

  China's communist party leaders imagine a cyber-mafia; by which it means Internet content inconsistent with its perception of itself.

  Not surprisingly the imagined "cyber-mafia" is quiet large and posts quite a bit of Internet content about the authoritarian Chinese Communist Party's that is inconsistent with its self-perception.

• UPDATED 03/18/2009 Sydney Morning Herald, Banned hyperlinks could cost you $11,000 a day.

  Perhaps Australia should be put on the list of countries to watch? The Australian Communications and Media Authority recently added the transparency site Wikileaks to its "censorship list" and then threatened to fine sites linking to Wikileaks!

  Shame on Australia and Australians if they tolerate ACMA's anti-speech and censorship behavior!

  "We are not. The Government is embarking on a deeply unpopular and troubling experiment to fine-tune its ability to censor the internet.

  "I agree with Reporters Without Borders. If you consider this kind of net censorship in the context of Australia's anti-terror laws, it paints a disturbing picture indeed."--Australian Senator Scott Ludlam--

  • Dentist, animal carer websites blacklisted in internet censorship debacle
  • SMH, Leaked Australian blacklist reveals banned sites
  • ZDNet Australia, Claimed blacklist spreads on internet

  • UPDATED 03/20/2009 Wikileaks, Australian government secret ACMA internet censorship blacklist, 6 Aug 2008

    • UK Register, US prof undermines foundations of Aussie firewall
      Derek Bambauer, Assistant Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School has a general guide to legitimacy of an internet censorship blacklist process:

      "Legitimate censorship is open; transparent about what is banned; effective, yet narrowly targeted; and responsive to the preferences of each state’s citizens"--Register quoting Derek Bambauer--

      It is useful to clarify Bambauer's general statement to ensure no other alternative to censorship exists and to assert a citizen's preference should be controlling and determinative. If a citizen's preference violates a law arrest in accordance with the rule-of-law, not censorship is the remedy.

• UPDATED 03/12/2009 Reporters Without Borders 2009 Censoring Countries

  Countries (2009) Actively and Aggressively Impeding or Censoring Unrestricted Internet Information Flows (in alphabetical order):

  Belarus, Burma, China, Cuba, Iran, Libya, The Maldives, Nepal, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam

  Countries (2009) Favoring Actively and Aggressively Impeding or Censoring Unrestricted Internet Information Flows (in alphabetical order):

  Bahrain, Egypt, European Union, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, United States, Zimbabwe

  Remarkably our country whose lode-star is our First Amendment finds itself on the list of countries to watch!

  It's easy to maintain free speech and press when nobody can hear or read—when everybody can hear and read, we'll that's going to be a huge, even in America!

  It will take our governments awhile to learn to govern in an environment of unrestricted information flows—but our governments and our world will dramatically improve when all governments must so govern.

  Governments that specialize in looting, war, and oppression will have a shorter and shorter half-life. It's probably not a coincidence that these are the governments most intent on restricting information flows.

• UPDATED 06/06/2007 Censorship 'changes face of net'