(RSF/IFEX) – On 5 August 2002, RSF noted that, one year after the tragic events in New York and Washington, the antiterrorism crusade by the world’s governments has tended to put the Internet under the control of the security services. “Basic Internet freedoms have clearly been curtailed,” said the organisation’s secretary-general, Robert Ménard. The Internet […]
(RSF/IFEX) – On 5 August 2002, RSF noted that, one year after the tragic events in New York and Washington, the antiterrorism crusade by the world’s governments has tended to put the Internet under the control of the security services.
“Basic Internet freedoms have clearly been curtailed,” said the organisation’s secretary-general, Robert Ménard. The Internet can be placed on a list of “collateral damage” caused by the drive for tighter security.
To commemorate the September 11 attacks, RSF has published a report entitled “The Internet on Probation”, which condemns the concerted attacks on Internet freedoms around the world over the past year.
Under the guise of the international anti-terrorism campaign, countries such as China, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia, which are traditionally hostile towards human rights and freedom of expression, have seized the opportunity to strengthen police forces and legislation to crack down on the Internet. Moreover, they have stepped up their repression of cyberdissidents. Ménard notes that the situation is especially disturbing because the Internet must now face a “new threat” posed by Western democracies.
The report states that many countries have introduced the ability to retain data from individuals’ e-mail and Internet activity, which turns Internet service providers (ISPs) and telecommunications companies into “a potential arm of the police.” Furthermore, access to this information is being given to police and intelligence services with alarming ease. This unprecedented abuse means that all citizens are theoretically under suspicion.
The report cites some of the major steps taken in the fight against terrorism over the past year. These include the 28 September 2001 UN Security Council Resolution 1373, the 24 October 2001 USA Patriot Act and various decrees from U.S. President George Bush, the 30 May 2002 amendment of the European Union’s rules on the protection of electronic data, various other laws passed by parliaments around the world and the recommendations of the G8 nations and the European police body, Europol.
“The United States, Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Denmark, the European Parliament, the Council of Europe and the G8 nations have all challenged cyber-freedoms over the past year,” said Ménard. “Yet these are countries with deeply rooted democratic traditions whose citizens have fought long and hard to win the right to free expression, the confidentiality of mail and the right of journalists not to reveal their sources.”
“What would the citizens of Europe or elsewhere do,” asked Ménard, “if they were told a law had been passed allowing what they sent through the post to be routinely read by the police at any time? They would be outraged at such restrictions on their freedom. Yet these are exactly the kind of measures that have been taken or are being taken concerning the Internet. We need to be much more vigilant.”
The full report is available in French, English and Spanish at the www.rsf.org website.
