Cheap attempts on internet censorship

By Steve Paterno

May 3, 2009 — Last year, in advance of World Press Freedom Day, the Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA), an initiative of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), convened a media conference in collaboration with US Congressional Caucus for the Freedom of the Press. The event brought experts to the US capital to discuss challenges and opportunities to secure press freedom through the new media in this new world order. The discussions focused mainly on the role Internet plays in empowering citizens to freely express views and effectively participate in democratic process, in addition to how authoritarian regimes censor citizens’ access to information by blocking Internet contents and monitoring its usage.

These group of experts concluded that as the population of Internet users grows so are the numbers of countries filtering its access. According to one of these leading experts, John Palfrey, the executive director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School, “in 2001 or so, there were two places in the world that were censoring the Internet: that was China and Saudi Arabia. And five or six years later, there are now two to three dozen places that are actively censoring the Internet and carrying out surveillance over the network.” This startling trend is on a rise and in the process it creates tensions between the society that uses the Internet and Internet censoring regimes. Nevertheless, the experts are hopeful that the odds in this fight favor the society who uses the Internet, despite huge efforts by the repressive regimes to stifle this mode of communication. The difficult tasks for these regimes are so momentous that they have to grapple with their citizens who are connected with local, national and international audiences like never before through diverse network sources that include popular information sites such as the Wikipedia, social networks like Facebook, the video broadcasting sites like YouTube or the publishing world of blogging—all of which present challenges to the press censoring governments.

To combat these perceived threats, the Internet censoring regimes employ technology, set regulations, and commit resources in their efforts of implementation. Some of the technological measures used vary in their degree of sophistications from blocking access to certain Internet contents to tempering with Internet publications. The media laws, communication regulations, and national security statutes are often extended or tailored to specifically target those who use the net. In worst case scenario, surveillance over Internet users are carried out, and pursued by harsh punishment against those caught as the alleged violators of the law. Licensing regulations are used as instrument for controlling Internet companies and net service providers so that they play along with the Internet censoring regimes in attempts to restrict access to information. Generally, the cost of Internet filtering operations depends on complexities of the hardware vital for the specific levels of filtering; the more complex the hardware the higher the cost.

Out of curiosity, one will ask as to how then do poor governments like the one in South Sudan without technological knowhow, which lack set of regulations, and commits no resources into such endeavor, fits among these Internet censoring regimes.

Like the rest of citizens from around the globe, South Sudanese have taken full advantage of Internet to express their views about their government in Juba for its dysfunctional system, institutionalized corruption, incompetence in governance, and tribalism among others. They sort of conform to be viewed by the leadership in government as an ‘official opposition’ to the administration—many will argue so. In a typical fashion to respond to the threats, the government of South Sudan launches crusade against Internet users. And, it seems to have designated the US as staging point for its mission, given the active population of South Sudanese Internet users in the US. The President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir, has on many occasions expressed his dissatisfactions with the Internet users on his numerous visits to the US. However, on his last visit to the US, President Kiir explicitly asserted his warnings: wishing through God’s grace that should those who write on the Internet come to South Sudan, they will be shown what they have been writing—confirming rumors that his government compiles files on some individuals—chilling reminder to the ever growing trend of surveillance over net users by despotic regimes.

Fortunately, the targeted individuals cannot risk their lives easily through such illegal surveillance threats, because they are freely living in Diaspora and will continue to use the Internet to express their views without fear of any repercussions as the Internet is emerging to be the most adapted mode of communications by societies from all around the world. Lately, the government is trying to play smart. Through its party Secretary General Pagan Amum, it orders some South Sudanese Internet discussion forums be shut down under false pretext of “name-brand” violations. Up until now, it is difficult to assess how effective such ill-informed order is, but speaking of violations, this is the government operating without regulations to be violated, beside lack of work ethics and respect for any law. Paradoxically, the same Secretary General who is ordering the shutting down of Internet discussions forums is leading the fight for freedom of expression from Bashir’s Khartoum regime—a regime notorious for censorship and illegal monitoring of those individuals it deemed threats.

As we are approaching the celebration of World Press Freedom Day, the odds are indeed in favor of the citizens of South Sudan who will continue to freely express their thoughts and dreams over the Internet, despite cheap attempts to clump on their rights of freedom of expression. Together with the rest of global citizens of Internet generation users, the people of South Sudan are destined to win the fight against whoever getting on their ways of freedom. Therefore, all should join in celebrating this World Press Freedom Day.

Steve Paterno is the author of The Rev. Fr. Saturnino Lohure, A Roman Catholic Priest Turned Rebel. He can be reached at [email protected]