Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
give rise to autonomous voices, the administration responded by purchasing
independent websites, promoting pro-government websites, and fostering a
network of government-friendly bloggers. Russia's internet surveillance law, the
System for Operational-Investigative Activities, allows state security services
unfettered physical access to ISPs and requires them to report statistics about
users, and has been emulated, to one extent or another, by other countries in this
region. In Ukraine, where the internet remains relatively free, the state-owned
provider Ukrtelecom is the largest ISP in the country; even here, however,
government officials have raided the offices of on-line newspapers, such as Obkom,
on national security grounds. In 2003 the Ukrainian Parliament passed the Law on
Protection of Public Morals (OpenNet Initiative
2007
). Under the guise of com-
bating terrorism, the Ukrainian state has held that censorship is necessary to secure
the ''national information space''.
In Belarus, whose government Reporters Without Borders called one of the
world's ''bitterest enemies of the Internet,'' President Lukashenko claimed that he
would ''put an end to the anarchy'' online and would ''not allow humanity's great
technical achievement to become a news sewer'' (Reporters Without Borders
2008
). The point was backed up by the presence of government troops at internet
cafes. All Belarussian ISPs are required to connect through Belpak, a subsidiary of
the state-controlled ISP Beltelecom. During the 2006 presidential elections the
government launched ''just-in-time'' cyberattacks against opposition party web-
sites, which often mysteriously suffered frequent disconnections.
3.2.3 South Asia
India, despite its generally democratic practice of governance, has nonetheless also
engaged in moderate internet censorship. In 2000, the Indian Parliament approved
the Information Technology Act to crack down on cybercrime, allowing cyb-
ercafes and internet users' homes to be searched without warrants as part of
criminal investigations. It also allowed the government to block access to sites
considered pornographic or that ''endanger public order, the integrity and security
of the nation and relations with other countries.'' Those setting up ''anti-Indian''
websites can be jailed for up to 5 years (Reporters Without Borders
2004
, p. 1). In
2002, India enacted the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance Act authorizing the
government to monitor electronic communications, including personal email. The
Indian cybercafé association, the Association of Public Internet Access Providers,
strenuously protested against the measures, which it said would lead to the closure
of most of the country's 3,000 or so cybercafés.
The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) repeatedly filters internet
content deemed to be irreligious, antimilitary, or secessionist. All international
traffic to and from the country is routed through three sites owned by Pakistan
Internet Exchange, with locations in Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi. The 2006
Net Café Regulation bill requires internet cafes to monitor patrons, although its
