Reporters Without Borders warned today that security "abuses" by the world's governments in the year since the 11 September attacks in the United States have increasingly put the Internet under the control of security services.

11 September 2001 - 11 September 2002
The Internet on probation

Anti-terrorism drive threatens
Internet freedoms worldwide


Reporters Without Borders warned today that security "abuses" by the
world's governments in the year since the 11 September attacks in the
United States have increasingly put the Internet under the control of
security services.

"Basic Internet freedoms have clearly been cut back," said the
organisation's secretary-general, Robert Ménard, and the Internet can
be put on the list of the "collateral damage" caused by the "tragic
events" in New York and Washington and the drive for tighter security.
Many governments had also used the pretext of the anti-terrorism
drive to curb basic freedoms or crack down on their domestic
opponents using the Internet.

Robert Ménard spoke as Reporters Without Borders published a report,
The Internet on Probation, detailing the concerted attacks on
Internet freedoms around the world over the past year.

He said the situation was especially disturbing because, apart from
countries (such as China, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia)
traditionally hostile to human rights and freedom of expression that
had used the situation to step up repression, Western democracies
were now posing a "new threat" to citizens' freedoms with an arsenal
of new security measures.

The report said many countries had introduced facilities for general
retention of data about people's e-mail traffic and Internet
activity, turning Internet service providers (ISPs) and
telecommunications companies into "a potential arm of the police."
"Access to this mass of information is being given with alarming ease
to police and intelligence services," it said. "This unprecedented
abuse means all citizens are theoretically under suspicion."

The report cites the major steps taken in the drive against Internet
freedoms over the past year. These include UN Security Council
Resolution 1373 on fighting terrorism, the USA Patriot Act passed by
the US Congress and various orders of President George Bush, the
amendment of the European Union's rules on protection of electronic
data, various other laws passed by parliaments around the world and
the recommendations of the G8 nations and the European police body,
Europol.

"The United States, Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Denmark,
the European Parliament, the Council of Europe and the G8 nations
have all challenged cyber-freedoms over the past year," said Ménard.
"Yet these are countries with deep-rooted secular and democratic
traditions whose citizens fought long and hard to win their right to
free expression, the confidentiality of mail and the right of
journalists not to reveal their sources."

"What would the citizens of Europe and elsewhere do," asked Ménard,
"if they were told a law had been passed allowing what they sent
through the post to be routinely read by the police at any time?
They would be outraged at such restrictions on their freedom.

"Yet these are exactly the kind of measures that have been taken or
are being taken concerning the Internet. We need to be much more
vigilant."

www.rsf.org