Published August 6th, 2009 by Future Atlas
Iraq to Limit Internet Freedom?
Iraq is planning to clamp down on the Internet, raising concerns that it will revert to a restrictive approach more typical of the region. Iraq currently has many Internet providers and hundreds of Internet cafes.
A government official told the Associated Press that “All Web sites that glorify terrorism and incite violence and sectarianism, or those that violate social morals with content such as pornography will be banned.”
An Iraqi press freedom group said that the plan was an “attempt to control the flow of free information on the Internet and limit the knowledge of the citizens,” the AP reports.
This can be taken as another sign that the overall durability of a democratic Iraq is still in question. As the US departs, there could easily be backsliding on human rights and democratic practices. The populace will not want to be oppressed, as they were in the Saddam years, but they may well be happy to limit the freedoms and rights of ethnic, political, and religious minorities.
(Image courtesy Mike Licht, Flickr)