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<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/5020788.stm>
        
Last Updated: Sunday, 28 May 2006, 09:32 GMT 10:32 UK
Amnesty to target net repression
Yahoo homepage, AFP
Yahoo is accused of helping China identify dissidents
Internet users are being urged to stand up for online freedoms by backing a new campaign launched by human rights group 
Amnesty International.

Amnesty is celebrating 45 years of activism by highlighting governments using 
the net to suppress dissent.

The campaign will highlight abuses of rights the net is used for, and push for the release of those jailed for speaking 
out online.

It will also name hi-tech firms aiding governments that limit online protests.

Pledge bank

Called Irrepressible.info, the campaign will revolve around a website with the same name. While the human rights group 
has run separate campaigns about web repression and the jailing of net dissidents before now, Irrepressible.info will 
bring them all together.

It aims to throw light on the many different ways that the freedom to use the 
net is limited by governments.

For instance, said a spokesman for Amnesty, around the globe net cafes are being closed down, home PCs are being 
confiscated, chat in discussion forums is being watched and blogs are being censored or removed.

        
AMNESTY INTERNET PLEDGE
I believe the internet should be a force for political freedom, not repression. People have the right to seek and 
receive information and to express their peaceful beliefs online without fear or interference. I call on governments to 
stop the unwarranted restriction of freedom of expression on the internet and on companies to stop helping them do it

Internet censorship around the world
"The internet has become a new frontier in the struggle for human rights," said Kate Allen, UK director of Amnesty 
International.

"Its potential to empower and educate, to allow people to share and mobilise 
opinion has led to government crackdowns."

Ms Allen added that there were growing numbers of cases in which those who have turned to the net to discuss change or 
protest about government policies have been jailed for what they said.

For instance, she said, Chinese journalist Shi Tao is serving a 10-year jail sentence for sending an e-mail overseas 
which detailed the restrictions the Chinese government wanted to impose on papers writing about the 15th anniversary of 
the Tiananmen Square massacre.

        
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Hi-tech firm Yahoo helped identify the journalist via his e-mail account. Amnesty is calling for the jailed journalist 
to be released immediately.

However Mary Osako, a spokeswoman for Yahoo, said the case was "distressing" 
to the firm.

"We condemn punishment of any activity internationally recognised as free expression, whether that punishment takes 
place in China or anywhere else in the world," she said.

She added the company had received "a valid and legal demand" for information 
and responded to it as required by the law.

She went on: "The choice in China or other countries is not whether to comply with law enforcement demands for 
information. Rather, the choice is whether or not to remain in a country.

"We balance the requirement to comply with laws that are not necessarily consistent with our own values against our 
strong belief that active involvement in China contributes to the continued modernization of the country - as well as a 
benefit to Chinese citizens - through the advancement of communications, commerce and access to information."

Profit and principles

The Amnesty campaign will seek to get net users to sign a pledge that opposes repressive use of the net. The pledges 
will be collated and presented to a meeting of the UN's Internet Governance Forum that is due to meet in Athens in 
November 2006.

Amnesty wants to get people using an icon in e-mail signatures or on websites 
that contains text from censored sites.

The group also wants to run an e-mail campaign to target companies to stop putting "profit before principles" and 
respect human rights everywhere they operate.

Reports will be prepared on those countries that place restrictions on what can be said online or use it to keep an eye 
on those expressing discontent.

"Irrepressible.info will harness the power of the internet and of individuals to oppose repression and stand up for free 
speech," said Ms Allen.