[Media Caucus] UNITED-STATES : Fourteen human rights organisations express support for a US draft law on free expression online (GOFA) / ETATS-UNIS : Quatorze organisations de défense des droits de l'homme affichent leur soutien à une proposition de loi américaine sur la liberté d'expression sur Internet (GOFA)

Tue Jul 18 16:06:59 BST 2006

English / français
18 July 2006

Reporters Without Borders / Internet Freedom desk

UNITED-STATES

Fourteen human rights organisations 
express support for a US draft law on free 
expression online (GOFA)

Fourteen human rights organisations, including 
Reporters Without Borders, signed a statement on 
10 July in support of the Global Online Freedom 
Act (GOFA) which is currently under debate in the 
US House of Representatives. The signatories said 
the law would prevent Internet sector companies 
helping governments of authoritarian countries, 
particularly the Chinese, from cracking down on 
freedom of expression.

-------------------------------

ETATS-UNIS

Quatorze organisations de défense des droits de 
l'homme affichent leur soutien à une proposition 
de loi américaine sur la liberté d'expression sur 
Internet (GOFA)

Quatorze organisation de défense des droits de 
l'homme, dont Reporters sans frontières, ont 
signé, le 10 juillet, une déclaration de soutien 
à la loi sur la Liberté d'Internet (Global Online 
Freedom Act - GOFA) actuellement en discussion à 
la chambre des représentants américaine. Selon 
les signataires, cette régulation empêcherait les 
entreprises du secteur de l'Internet d'aider les 
gouvernements de pays autoritaires, notamment les 
autorités chinoises, à réprimer la liberté 
d'expression.

+++++++++++++++++++

THE JOINT STATEMENT (only in English)

NGOs Joint Statement in support of H.R. 4780, the 
Global Online Freedom Act of 2006

July 10, 2006

Chairman Christopher H. Smith
Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights, and International Operation

We write in support of HR 4780, the Global Online 
Freedom Act of 2006, in its effort to prevent US 
companies from carrying out or facilitating the 
suppression of online speech in China and other 
countries.

In repressive societies such as China, the 
Internet has given people unprecedented 
opportunities to communicate with each other and 
to learn about the outside world in ways that 
their governments forbid.  But undemocratic 
governments are now fighting back, by making 
Internet and technology companies allies in their 
repression.  China, for example, has pressured 
Yahoo to turn over to its secret police the names 
of political dissidents who send sensitive 
information over email.  One such dissident, Shi 
Tao, was recently sentenced to 10 years in prison 
after being identified by Yahoo.  China has also 
convinced Microsoft to shut down Internet blogs 
in which Chinese users were criticizing their 
government, and persuaded Google to censor its 
search engine results.  Chinese citizens using 
Google's Chinese search engine now cannot even 
learn of the existence of information about human 
rights and democracy on the Internet, including 
that found on U.S. government supported websites 
such as the Voice of America.

Internet companies argue that people in closed 
societies such as China are better off if U.S. 
companies are there to influence the development 
of this medium.  We agree - so long as U.S. 
companies set a higher standard with respect to 
privacy and free expression than do local 
providers in these societies.  Thus far, the 
leading U.S. companies are not doing so.  And 
realistically, they are unlikely to stand up 
alone to governments in countries like China 
without clear rules of the road and strong 
engagement from the U.S. government.  H.R. 4780 
would compel more transparency about company 
practices when they operate in repressive 
countries. 

Crucially, the bill would make it more difficult 
for repressive governments to obtain Internet 
user information from U.S. companies when seeking 
to punish dissidents or other individuals for 
exercising their right to free expression, as 
user data would have to be stored outside 
countries such as China that use such information 
to jail its citizens. In addition, the bill 
prohibits U.S. companies from disclosing to 
officials of repressive countries such as China 
personally identifying user information except 
for legitimate law enforcement purposes.

Thank you for supporting this important 
legislation and working for its speedy enactment.

Reporters Without Borders
Amnesty International
Human Rights Watch
China Information Center
CPJ
Earth Rights International
Laogai Research Foundation
National Economic and Social Rights Initiative
PEN USA
PEN American Center
Religious Freedom Coalition
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights
Secretariat of the International Network for 
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR-Net)
Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia

-- 
Julien Pain
Bureau Internet et libertés / Internet Freedom desk
___________________________________________

Reporters sans frontières / Reporters Without Borders
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