Censorship, restrictions on access, and high prices are stunting Internet growth in the Middle East and North Africa, Human Rights Watch said in a report Freedom Of Expression On The Internet .
While claiming to protect the public from pornography, the governments of Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Bahrain, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates also block access to some human rights and political websites. Iraq and Libya, meanwhile, are not even linked to the global Internet, while Syria is the only country in the region that has a link but has refused thus far to make local access available to its citizens. Tunisia leads the region in adopting Internet-specific laws—many designed to ensure that critical speech is subjected to the same restrictions as in other media.
"Authorities in this region are used to keeping tight reins on the media, but they cannot control the free-flowing Internet," said Hanny Megally, Human Rights Watch's executive director for the Middle East and North Africa. "Instead of erecting barriers that cannot stand for long, these governments should work to make online communication widely available."
Many users in the region worry about high-tech surveillance of their online activities and e-mail correspondence. Such fears are understandable in a region where the police frequently wiretap the phones and fax machines of suspected dissidents, and telecommunication networks are still largely in state hands. In one instance, a Bahraini spent nearly two years in detention on suspicion of e-mailing political information to opposition groups overseas.
But the development of tools to protect against censorship and surveillance online, such as encryption, anonymous re-mailing, anti-censorship proxy servers, and wireless communications, seems to be outpacing the technologies of control, noted Human Rights Watch, an international monitoring organization based in New York.
People in the Middle East are already using the Internet to erode controls on information. Local human rights organizations are disseminating news more effectively than ever and newspapers are posting stories online that were censored from their print editions. Viewpoints that are restricted or taboo locally—such as pro-Islamist views in Algeria and pro-Polisario views in Morocco—are readily available to Internet users in those countries.
Not all governments have been actively trying to control the Internet. Egypt and Jordan are among those that allow news and commentary online even when it has been censored or is considered taboo in the print media. Governments tolerate this paradox in part because the cost of Internet access—as high as U.S.$70 per month in some countries—ensures a small and mostly elite audience.
"Internet speech may seem low on the human rights agenda in a region where torture is commonplace and a computer is beyond the means of the average household," observed Megally. "But the Internet is actually most important in repressive countries, where people now have the power to send and receive information."
After a slow start, Internet use is growing in the Middle East and North Africa. Information technology receives much attention from Arab media and is the subject of frequent conferences. Cybercaf? welcome the public in at least fourteen countries. But the region still lags far behind North America, South America, Europe and Asia in terms of connectivity per capita. A shortage of Arabic content and antiquated telecommunication sectors also hampers Internet growth.
In the 92-page survey report issued today, Human Rights Watch unveiled policy guidelines aimed at protecting the rights to privacy, association and expression online. Among the recommendations:
Censoring mechanisms, if used, should be in the hands of individual users, and not governments;
Strong encryption should be available to individuals;
Government surveillance of electronic communications should not infringe unduly on the right to privacy and other civil rights, and should be subject to the requirements of due process and judicial supervision; and
Individuals should have the right to communicate and receive information anonymously.
The report, which contains written responses from the governments of Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Tunisia, and Yemen, is available online here beginning July 8.
For Further Information:
In Washington: Eric Goldstein 202 612-4326 (English, French)
In New York: Hanny Megally 212-216-1230 (English, Arabic)
In Brussels: Jean-Paul Marthoz 32.2.736.7838 (English, French)
