A
report from the Reporters Without Borders
Key
findings:
"Three
of the government bodies designated by Reporters Without Borders as
Enemies of the Internet are located in democracies that have
traditionally claimed to respect fundamental freedoms: the Centre for
Development of Telematics in India, the Government Communications
Headquarters (GCHQ) in the United Kingdom, and the National Security
Agency (NSA) in the United States."
"The
NSA and GCHQ have spied on the communications of millions of citizens
including many journalists. They have knowingly introduced security
flaws into devices and software used to transmit requests on the
Internet. And they have hacked into the very heart of the Internet
using programmes such as the NSA’s Quantam Insert and GCHQ’s
Tempora."
"The
2014 list of Enemies of the Internet includes 'surveillance
dealerships' – the three arms trade fairs known as ISS World,
Technology Against Crime and Milipol. These forums bring companies
specializing in communications interception or online content
blocking together with government officials from countries such as
Iran, China and Bahrain."
"The
censorship and surveillance carried out by the Enemies of the
Internet would not be possible without the tools developed by the
private sector companies to be found at these trade fairs. Ethiopia’s
Information Network Security Agency has tracked down journalists in
the United States thanks to spyware provided by Hacking Team, an
Italian company that Reporters Without Borders designated as an Enemy
of the Internet in 2013. Even the NSA has used the services of Vupen,
a French company that specializes in identifying and exploiting
security flaws."
"Private-sector
companies are not the only suppliers of surveillance technology to
governments that are Enemies of the Internet. Russia has exported its
SORM surveillance system to its close neighbours. In Belarus, Decree
No. 60 on 'measures for improving use of the national Internet
network' forces Internet Service Providers to install SORM"
"China
has begun assisting Iran’s uphill efforts to create a Halal
Internet – a national Internet that would be disconnected from the
World Wide Web and under the government’s complete control."
"The
NSA and GCHQ, Ethiopia’s Information Network Security Agency, Saudi
Arabia’s Internet Services Unit, Belarus’ Operations and Analysis
Centre, Russia’s FSB and Sudan’s National Intelligence and
Security Service are all security agencies that have gone far beyond
their core duties by censoring or spying on journalists and other
information providers."
"Ignoring
the objections of many human rights groups, France’s parliament
cavalierly adopted a Military Programming Law in December 2013 that
allows the authorities to spy on phone and Internet communications in
real time without asking a judge for permission. The grounds given
are vague and general, ranging from the need for 'intelligence
affecting national security' and 'safeguarding the essential elements
of France’s economic potential' to 'preventing terrorism,
criminality and organized crime.'”
"In
Tunisia, the government gazette announced the creation of a Technical
Agency for Telecommunications (ATT) on 12 November 2013 for the
purpose of monitoring communications in order to assist judicial
investigations into 'information and communication crimes.' Its
sudden creation by decree without any consultation with civil society
triggered immediate concern, as it revived memories of the Tunisian
Internet Agency (ATI), the symbol of online censorship under ousted
President Zine el-Abine Ben Ali. The lack of any safeguards and
mechanism for controlling its activities is particularly alarming."
"In
Syria and Iran, Internet speed is often reduced drastically during
demonstrations to prevent the circulation of images of the protests."
"In
China, the authorities disconnected the Internet for several hours on
22 January 2014 to stop the circulation of reports about the use of
offshore tax havens by members of the Chinese elite."
"In
Sudan, the authorities disconnected the Internet throughout the
country for 24 hours on 25 September 2013 to prevent social networks
being used to organize protests."
"Internet
Service Providers, website hosting companies and other technical
intermediaries find themselves being asked with increasing frequency
to act as Internet cops."
"In
Venezuela, President Nicolás Maduro has forced ISPs to filter
content of a sensitive nature. The authorities ordered them to block
about 50 websites covering exchange rates and soaring inflation on
the grounds that they were fuelling an 'economic war' against
Venezuela. This did not prevent a wave of protests against shortages
and the high crime rate. On 24 February, when many photos of the
protests were circulating on Twitter, the authorities ordered ISPs to
block all images on Twitter."
"In
Turkey, the latest amendments to Law 5651 on the Internet, voted on 5
February 2014, turn ISPs into instruments of censorship and
surveillance, forcing them to join a new organization that
centralizes requests for content blocking or removal. If they do not
join and install the surveillance tools demanded by the authorities,
they will lose their licence."
“In
Gambia, the government gave itself a new legislative weapon in July
2013 by getting the national assembly to pass amendments to the
Information and Communications Act – the main law limiting freedom
of information. The amendments make the 'spreading of false news
against the government or public officials' punishable by up to 15
years in prison or a fine of 3 million dalasis (64,000 euros).”
"The
creation of a licencing system for news websites serves as an
administrative and sometimes economic barrier and is a widely-used
method for controlling online information."
“In
Singapore, the authorities have created a major economic barrier for
online news media. Under a measure that took effect in June 2013,
news websites that post more than one article a week about Singapore
and have more than 50,000 Singaporean visitors a month need a licence
that requires depositing 'a performance bond' of 50,000 Singaporean
dollars (39,500 US dollars). The licence has to be renewed every one
year.”
“The
latest and perhaps most outrageous practice to come to light so far
is GCHQ’s 'Optic Nerve' programme, used to capture the personal
images of millions of Yahoo webcam users. It suggests that there are
no limits to what the intelligence agencies are ready to do.”
More:
Related:
Finally those who wanted the internet (TPTB) for their own purposes find there are consequences. They should remember that -- every decision and action carry consequences, both anticipated and not, good and not. Sleep well all you tyrants.
ReplyDeleteHowever, they started now an effort to control it:
Delete"Neoliberal dictatorship will try to erase the independent voice of public broadcasters in Europe - through the Greek experiment - and dictate a Too Big to Fail model for the largest private media, following the same pattern applied on the banking sector, in order to erase the independent information in maximum degree. The next big step will be to find a way to control the independent Internet information, in order to complete its domination."
http://failedevolution.blogspot.gr/2013/06/europe-look-what-will-happen-to-you.html