Telecoms Should Defy Tyrants

FEBRUARY 01, 2011


Unfortunately, some telecom companies will do anything for a premium.


From The Hill:


Phone, Internet companies urged to defy Egypt's orders

Rep. David Wu (D-Ore.) urged Western communications companies to defy orders from Egypt's government to shut down their services.

The comments came during a day of violent protests and a sweeping attempt by the Egyptian government to block Internet services, a move analysts are calling "unprecedented in Internet history."

Wu, an outspoken opponent of online censorship and the co-founder of the Internet freedom caucus, rejected the idea that Western companies should comply with orders from Egypt's government.

"Have some courage. These international companies really ought to know better," he said in an interview with The Hill. "They should do the right thing."

Wu said he could understand why Egyptian companies would comply, but that western firms who follow the orders are "abetting suppression and repression."

International companies including the U.K.-based Vodafone have received orders from the Egyptian government to shut off communications services. Vodafone said it cooperated because the mandate fell within the bounds of Egyptian law.

"That's bunk," Wu said. "For a [non-Egyptian] company, come on. What [these companies] really care about is their long term business interests in Egypt, not Egyptian law."

Wu called on companies to "follow the Google motto and 'don't be evil,'" referring to the search giant's decision to narrow its business operations in China because it did not want to censor Web content.

Wu had strong words for companies that work with governments who infringe on civil liberties. He described a company that sold technology to China to help with citizen surveillance.

"That's not as bad as selling nerve gas to the Nazis to use on Jewish concentration camp victims, but its about a bad as selling handcuffs to the South African [perpetrators of] apartheid," he said. He said he could not disclose the name of the firm.

Wu said he will reintroduce his bill to fund research and development for technology that helps people skirt censorship, making it possible to access the Web in countries that block content.

Wu is also a co-sponsor of a bill by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) that would impose sanctions on governments who censor Web content.