Amnesty International believes that companies like Microsoft, Google or Yahoo have played an active role in spreading the «Internet repression virus».
The non-governmental organization has dedicated a conference to the theme of repression on the Internet and is concerned with the issue that is no longer a problem for a handful of countries to assert itself as a reality for dozens of governments.
In this scenario, large multinationals have taken on an important role, agreeing with governments on excessive control of online activities under the pretext of complying with local laws.
If this line of evolution is maintained, AI believes that the Internet can be transformed in an unrecognizable way, which is why urgent measures to curb repression initiatives are urgent.
«The Chinese model of an Internet that allows economic growth but does not allow freedom of expression and privacy is increasing in popularity, moving from a handful of countries to dozens of governments that block websites and arrest bloggers,» said Tim Hancock, director of AI campaign on Internet repression.
In its latest report, Amnesty International points to 25 repressive countries including names such as Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Morocco or Saudi Arabia.
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