A Legal Survey of Internet Censorship and Filtering - Presentation at IGF 2009
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1 Freedom House IGF: Survey of Internet Censorship and Filtering Robert Guerra Project Director, Internet Freedom Freedom House 1301 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20036 (202) 296-5101 Email: [email protected]www.freedomhouse.org Remarks given November 16, 2009 at the 4 th Meeting of United Nations Internet Governance Forum (IGF):A Legal Survey of Internet Censorship and Filtering Workshop The internet offers people worldwide the opportunity to freely share information, express ideas and break down barriers in a way that few could have imagined just a generation ago. In many places, such as China, the internet is a space for interactive dialogue and discussion that is more free than other more traditional forms of media. However, an increasing number of repressive regimes are actively working to prevent citizens from participating in this global forum, denying billions of people their right to freedom of expression. These regimes also place great pressure on U.S. and Western companies to obtain sensitive technology, which is then used to track internet users and commit human rights abuses to limit freedom of expression. To improve understanding of the threats to free expression online, Freedom House released earlier this year a report entitled Freedom on the Net: A Global Assessment of Internet and Digital Media (available at http://net-freedom.info ). This report presents a new methodology to analyze and track Internet freedom globally and applies this methodology in 15 country reports, which assess Internet freedom in different regions of the world and span the range of experiences from free to highly repressive environments for Internet freedom. In our assessment of Internet freedom, Freedom House applies the same standard to all countries, irrespective of geographic location, ethnic or religious composition, or level of economic development. This standard is derived in large measure from Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers.” The Freedom on the Net methodology measures Internet and digital media freedom on the basis of access to relevant information and communications technologies, including mobile phones and text messaging services, and of the free flow of information online. The methodology is particularly concerned with the exchange of news and other politically relevant content, the protection of users’ rights, and the ability of citizens to use information and communications technologies for activism. It is organized into three categories of analysis: 1. Obstacles to access, including control over Internet service and mobile phone providers, Internet infrastructure, and economic barriers to access
Remarks given November 16, 2009 at the 4th Meeting of United Nations Internet Governance Forum (IGF):A Legal Survey of Internet Censorship and Filtering Workshop
