David Cameron, prime minister, and Joe Biden, US vice president, took a strong line on freedom of speech on the internet on Tuesday, criticising governments which censored the internet, in what appeared to be a challenge to China and Russia.Mr Cameron told an international conference in London that “governments must not use cyber security as an excuse for censorship”. Mr Biden said that governments which imprisoned bloggers were in the wrong and urged countries to keep the internet as an open space for all.To read this Financial Times report in full, see:
www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/ed0eca5a-04b1-11e1-b309-00144feabdc0.htmlAlso see:Governments must not censor internet, says William Hague
The UK has issued a direct challenge to China and Russia over regulation of the internet, with William Hague insisting that cyberspace must not be “stifled by government control or censorship”.In a strongly worded opening address to an international conference hosted in London, the foreign secretary told delegates that the internet “must remain open and not become ghettoised” – rebuffing the notion that new international treaties were needed to police online activity.
www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/nov/01/governments-must-not-censor-internetUK, U.S. talk tough on web freedom at cyber talks
Britain and the United States strongly rejected calls from China and Russia for greater Internet controls on Tuesday at a major conference on the future of cyberspace, although Western states too faced accusations of double standards.While Western states worry about intellectual property theft and hacking, authoritarian governments are alarmed at the role the Internet and social media played in the protests that swept the Arab world this year.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/11/01/idINIndia-60233820111101