In some parts of the world, what I am doing right now could land me in jail. That's right. If I were sitting in front of my computer in Egypt posting a message wenting about my government, I could be arrested. The organization "Reporters Without Borders" is trying to raise awareness on this issue with a 24 hour online cyber demonstration.
Thirteen countries censor what should be a space for free expression. They are Belarus, Burma, China, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
Throughout the world, more than 60 Internet users are currently in prison for posting news or information on the Internet.
In Paris, Reporters Without Borders projected a gigantic world map of online censorship onto the city’s monuments. The press and passers-by saw the map projected onto the facade of Saint-Lazare station, onto the building that houses the French headquarters of Yahoo!, and onto the Bastille Opera. The aim was to encourage the public to get involved in the fight to defend the right to online free expression. Reporters Without Borders activists distributed leaflets explaining the 24-hour online protest against censorship.
The organization gave all Internet users the opportunity to speak out against censorship on the Internet by visiting their Website www.rsf.org. About 100,000 people logged into the site within 24 hours. The Reporters Without Borders is particularly critical of Yahoo! and its founder Jerry Yang who gave in to Chinese authorities by self-censoring its search engine. Microsoft and Google are similarly working to sensor their sites.
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