As Amnesty International celebrates the first birthday of its web site irrepressible.info, it’s issued a direwarning about the erosion of online freedom. Coming just before a conference organized by Amnesty, “Some People Think theInternet is a Bad Thing: The Struggle for Freedom of Expression in Cyberspace,” the organization hasn’t been shy in pointing fingers at the big three of Microsoft, Google and Yahoofor being complicit in the repression. “The Chinese model of an internet that allow economic growth but not free speech or privacy is growing in popularity, from a handful of countriesfive 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,” explainedAmnesty campaign director Tim Hancock. Among the techniques used by governments is filtering online content, and a recent report reveals that this happens in at least 25 countries, includingSaudi Arabia and India. Other repressive measures used by some governments include closing Internet cafes and web sites, as well as imprisonment and threats. Globally, there have been severalexamples of bloggers imprisoned for comments. In Egypt, Abdul Kareem Nabeel received four years in prison for defaming the country’s president and insulting Islam. More are in jail in China. Amnesty is relaunching irrepressible.ino to coincide with the conference and hopes to make the site a center for all those interested in online freedom.
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