Government Censorship of New Media Content Impacts the World -- NMI Releases Paper on the Effect of Government Sanctioned New Media Censorship Beyond

New York, NY (PRWEB) April 7, 2008 -- Recent attempts at government sanctioned censorship in several countries have not only affected those particular regions, but raise serious questions/concerns about freedoms of speech, expression and communication in a clearly pan global socio/economic and political arena. Diverse worldwide policy on new media certainly sends mixed signals to internet giants who are forced to comply or be blocked all together.

"Not all countries have freedom of speech. Before this era of new media (http://www.newmedia.org), regional censorship of speech did not affect people beyond their borders. Technology, the easy access to the internet, and the simplistic ability for anyone with an idea or opinion to express it far beyond their national borders has changed all of this," explained Noah Eber-Schmid, Analyst for the New Media Institute.

The rise of the Internet as a portal for increased intercommunications between citizens of the globalized world has drastically altered the possible effects of government censorship of new media. The simultaneous push of the Internet to directly link people across the globe and allow them to express themselves using websites, blogs, and other instances of user-generated new media and the pull of governments to control their respective populations has greatly altered the dynamics of censorship on a worldwide audience.

Recent Developments

-24 March, 2008, Internet users in Yemen reported that access to the popular Middle Eastern and North African blog hosting site maktoobblog.com was restricted by Yemennet, a state-sponsored Internet Service Provider. The restriction will affect Yemeni bloggers because Maktoobblog.com is hugely popular with bloggers.

-2 March 2008, After riots broke out following a contested presidential election, the Armenian President Robert Kocharian, declared a temporary state of emergency which restricted reporting on state and interior matters. Only officially released state-sponsored information was permitted. This restriction limited the ability of Armenian media outlets to objectively report on the issue and has sparked confusion and controversy over the reliability of blog reports as well as the legality of reports using new media on the Internet without using officially backed information.

-22 February 2008, After the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority ordered the banning of Pakistani access to the popular video hosting site YouTube.com, Pakistani Internet Service Providers inadvertently restricted some access to the site by non-Pakistani users beyond the borders of Pakistan.

Impacts of New Media Censorship (http://www.newmedia.org/pages/The-Effect-of-New-Media-Censorship-on-the-World-%28White-Paper%29.html)

Government attempts to restrict access to new media web content can cause damaging Internet access/disruption. In seeking to avoid such damage while still seeking to control a virtual citizenry, some governments have sought the help of the sites themselves in restricting access. Cooperation between website and restrictive governments may set a precedent seemingly antithetical to the spirit of the free exchange of ideas supposedly inherent in the purpose of the Internet. Yet, it also sets a precedent which burdens internet giants to such a degree that their ability to provide fair use content and serve as forum arenas for user-generated new media may be greatly impaired.

Download the Full White Paper: The Effects of New Media Censorship on the World (http://www.newmedia.org/pages/The-Effect-of-New-Media-Censorship-on-the-World-%28White-Paper%29.html)

About NMI

The New York-based New Media Institute (NMI) (http://www.newmedia.org) is a research and fact finding organization whose mission is to improve public understanding of issues surrounding the Internet and other forms new media communications. This June, NMI will be holding two training workshops in the financial district of New York City: Online Public Relations Workshop (http://www.newmedia.org/pages/Online-Public-Relations-Workshop.html) and Search Engine Optimization Training Workshop (http://www.newmedia.org/pages/Search-Engine-Optimization-Training-%26-Conference-%252d-New-York-City.html).

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