U.N. Affirms Internet Freedom as a Basic Right
Posted in: Governance at 08/07/2012 00:02
Will Internet companies help or hinder government authorities that try to restrict their citizens from using the Web freely? And will their customers, investors or shareholders care enough to do something about it?
That debate was freshly stirred on Thursday as the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a landmark resolution supporting freedom of expression on the Internet. Even China, which filters online content through a firewall, backed the resolution. It affirmed that "the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online, in particular freedom of expression, which is applicable regardless of frontiers and through any media of one's choice."
To continue reading this New York Times report, go to:
bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/06/so-the-united-nations-affirms-internet-freedom-as-a-basic-right-now-what/
Also see:
UN Human Rights Council backs internet freedom as a right [AFP]
The United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva passed its first resolution on internet freedom with a call for all states to support individuals' rights online as much as offline.
The resolution is likely to anger countries that restrict or censor people's free access to information online or use the internet to conduct covert surveillance on their citizens.
www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/un-human-rights-council-backs-internet-freedom-as-a-right/story-e6frgakx-1226418509346
