... what have YOU said that could brand you a "cyber-dissident" ?
sent to prison for speaking your mind on your blog ... that couldn’t happen to you, right ?
"reporters without borders*" is a group that highlights the plight of people imprisoned and branded as “cyber-dissidents” for publishing their views on the internet. their website reports that 72 online authors worldwide have been charged with being “cyber-dissidents” and are currently imprisoned, with new incidences on the increase.
consider the case of the chinese blogger and journalist du daobin, currently under four years’ house detention in china after his arrest in october 2003 for posting articles on the internet advocating democracy and respect for human rights.
du, 40, posted articles online calling peacefully for more democracy and freedom of expression in china. he also highlighted the plight of “cyber-dissident” liu di, (a young female student imprisoned for posting messages in online forums calling for democracy in china). liu di was held for over a year in prison and was never brought to trial. she was eventually released in november 2003.
and it doesn’t stop in china. in the ukraine recently, kostyantyn sydorenko, 28, was arrested whilst covering the election of a city mayor for an election monitoring site. he had previously supplied the website with footage of ukranian police moving in to dislodge activists from 'pora' (a local organisation which criticises the election process in the ukraine). he was charged with "cyber-dissidence" for his web coverage and post content.
in zimbabwe, a contract issued to the every one of the countries isp’s by 'telone' (the telecommunications monopoly holder) requires that all internet service providers “monitor the content of all online traffic” (including their customers’ emails) and “take all necessary measures to prevent the transmission of illegal material online”.
not so bad until you consider that “illegal” includes: "obscene, unauthorised or any other content, international & domestic cyber laws, in any form or inconsistent with the laws of zimbabwe"; and that zimbabwes' isp's will be legally bound to reveal both contents and originating source of any "illegal material", including full contact details.
the story of zouhair yahyaoui (who attained fame for the unfortunate distinction of becoming tunisias' first internet journalist to be imprisoned for his online work) is well known, yet it is not well known that yahyaoui’s “crime” was publishing online a letter from his uncle, mokhtar yahyaoui (a retired tunisian judge), stating that the tunisian judiciary showed a total lack of independence.
so could it happen to you ?. well, is there anything in your blog that would cause you to be viewed as a threat to "peace" ?. do you rant and rave about electoral policy ? do you have a social conscience ? do you speek too freely about injustice ? ‘cause if you do, there’s every chance that someone, somewhere, is reading your words and wondering how to shut you up.
the threat to privacy is now so real that a blogsite exists which promises total anonymity to its' users*. the site bloggers use an anonymous mail redirector to post their content, and you cannot be identified unless the website owners are legally subpoenaed to reveal who you are. whilst this is not for your "average joe" (pardon the pun), they do report a slowly growing subscription base.
and if instant messaging seems safer, listen to elias levy, chief technology officer with (net security specialist) securityfocus.com:
“most common instant messaging applications send data through a central server where all communications are recorded and stored. there they remain should law enforcement request them. electronic communications are becoming more and more important to the enterprise, but whenever you use them, remember that they might be used against you sometime in the future”
*links to sites mentioned in this article:
"the invisible blogsite": Link
"reporters without borders": Link