Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has launched an initiative to help increase awareness of countries that actively censor the Internet, and singled out Yahoo’s Jerry Yang for specific complaints about his company’s dealings with oppressive governments.
Site visitors can “vote” against countries that have become what RSF calls the Internet Black Holes. As examples, RSF cited the ban on broadband connectivity in Iran and China’s continued filtering of websites among the thirteen countries cited for their oppression.
RSF provided a list of those countries – Belarus, Burma, China, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.
Podcasting News noted how RSF kicked off their 24-hour protest in France:
In Paris, Reporters Without Borders projected a gigantic world map of online censorship onto the city’s monuments. The press and passers-by saw the map projected onto the facade of Saint-Lazare station, onto the building that houses the French headquarters of Yahoo!, and onto the Bastille Opera. The organizers’ aim was to encourage the public to get involved in the fight to defend the right to online free expression.
China’s actions and Yahoo’s assistance in the prosecution of journalist Shi Tao has been a continual sticking point for RSF. In response, they encourage visitors to the Twenty-Four Hours site to record a voice message for Yang. “A simple ‘Shame on Yahoo’ would do,” RSF said.
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David Utter is a staff writer for murdok covering technology and business.
