Burma is the worst place in the world to be a blogger because of its military government that severely restricts Internet access and imprisons people for posting critical content, according to a new report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
CPJ’s “10 Worst Countries to be a Blogger” also ranks a number of countries in the Middle East and Asia where Internet penetration has increased and government repression has grown in response.
Joel Simon
“Bloggers are at the vanguard of the information revolution and their numbers are expanding rapidly,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon.
“But governments are quickly learning how to turn technology against bloggers by censoring and filtering the Internet, restricting online access and mining personal data. When all else fails, the authorities simply jail a few bloggers to intimidate the rest of the online community into silence or self-censorship.”
Using a variety of tactics including detentions and intimidation, authorities in Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Egypt have become the top online repressors in the Middle East and North Africa.
China and Vietnam where emerging blogging cultures have been heavily monitored and restricted, are among Asia’s worst blogging nations.
“The governments on the list are trying to roll back the information revolution, and, for now, they are having success,” Simon added.
“Freedom of expression groups, concerned governments, the online community, and technology companies need to come together to defend the rights of bloggers around the world.”
Worst Countries to Blog:
1. Burma
2. Iran
3. Syria
4. Cuba
5. Saudi Arabia
6. Vietnam
7. Tunisia
8. China
9. Turkmenistan
10. Egypt
