Amnesty calls for ISPs to protect free speech
Link: Amnesty calls for ISPs to protect free speech
Human rights group Amnesty International has called for Internet service providers to protect free speech online.
Amnesty’s campaigns director, Mr Tim Hancock, told delegates at the 2007 annual awards dinner of the Internet Service Providers’ Association, that ISP’s and web users had a responsibility to protect democracy, freedom and access to knowledge on the Internet.
Mr Hancock criticised companies such as Google who provide censored search results to Chinese users of their search engines. Microsoft and Yahoo also came under criticism from Mr Handcock who said that people in China were being denied their basic rights to freedom of expression and information.
Yahoo has been criticised for helping the Chinese government catch ‘cyber-dissidents’.
The chair of the Internet Service Providers’ Association council, Jessica Hendrie-Liaño, replied that the association was in regular discussions with the UK government, NGOs and other stakeholders regarding online content.
Amnesty International launched a Web site to campaign for online freedom in May 2006. Over 60,000 people to date have signed the site’s pledge to protect freedom of speech on the Internet.
