] Internet restrictions, government secrecy and
] communications surveillance have reached an unprecedented
] level across the world.
]
]
] A year-long study of Internet censorship in more than 50
] countries found that a sharp escalation in control of the
] Internet since September 2001 may have outstripped the
] traditional ability of the medium to repel restrictions.
]
]
] The report fires a broadside at the United States and the
] United Kingdom for creating initiatives hostile to
] Internet freedom.
]
]
] Those countries have "led a global attack on free speech
] on the Internet" and "set a technological and regulatory
] standard for mass surveillance and control" of the Net,
] the report by London-based Privacy International and the
] GreenNet Educational Trust argues.
]
]
] The 70,000 word report, Silenced, is launched today
] (Friday, September 19) at the preparatory meeting of the
] World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva.
]
]
] The study, undertaken through a collaboration of more
] than 50 experts and advocates throughout the world and
] funded by a grant from the Open Society Institute, found
] that censorship of the Internet is commonplace in most
] regions of the world.