Seminar access
Watching the Internet.Censoring or monitoring the Net
Briefing 05.0398

With Internet, from any country, everyone with a computer, a modem and a telephone line may have access to an immense amount of information coming from all over the world. Political ideas, social conflict, cultural possibilities, and facts wanted to be kept hidden cross the planet in microseconds. For many totalitarian governments this is just not acceptable.

Which ones have taken measures to limit their citizens' access to Internet, so that they do not become "ideologically infected"? How did they do it? Have there been any reactions to it? On the other hand, committing crime using a computer and spreading and/or exchanging pornography, sectarian, racist or fascist beliefs has never been so simple as over the Internet. Some attempts have been made to prevent such activities. In a kingdom without borderlines, can and should barriers be established and specific laws passed in order to avoid the spread of certain ideas? Finally, can we be sure that nobody monitors our own access to Internet, reads the files in our computer connected to the Net, and even laughs at the contents of our electronic messages?