A raíz del reciente caso de censura sufrido por el bloguer y periodista chino Michael Anti, la organización Reporteros Sin Fronteras ha propuesto una serie de medidas para obligar a las empresas estadounidenses a respetar la libertad de expresión, también cuando operan fuera de los Estados Unidos: Do Internet companies need to be regulated to ensure they respect free expression?
El texto, que ha sido remitido también a la Unión Europea y a la OECD, plantea las siguientes iniciativas:
E-mail services
No US company would be allowed to host e-mail servers within a repressive country*. So, if the authorities of a repressive country want personal information about the user of a US company???s e-mail service, they would have to request it under a procedure supervised by US.
Search engines
Search engines would not be allowed to incorporate automatic filters that censor ???protected??? words. The list of ???protected??? keywords such as ???democracy??? or ???human rights??? should be appended to the law or code of conduct.
Content hosts (websites, blogs, discussion forums etc)
US companies would not be allowed to locate their host servers within repressive countries. If the authorities of a repressive country desire the closure of a publication hosted by a US company, they would have to request it under a procedure supervised by the US judicial authorities. Like search engines, content hosts would not be allowed to incorporate automatic filters that censor ???protected??? key-words.
Internet censorship technologies
Reporters Without Borders proposes two options:
Option a : US companies would no longer be permitted to sell Internet censorship software to repressive states.
Option b : They would still be able to market this type of software but it will have to incorporate a list of ???protected??? keywords that are rendered technically impossible to censor.
Internet surveillance technology and equipment
US companies would have to obtain the express permission of the Department of Commerce in order to sell to a repressive country any technology or equipment which can be used to intercept electronic communications or which is specifically designed to assist the authorities in monitoring Internet users.
Training
US companies would have to obtain the express permission of the Department of Commerce before providing any programme of training in Internet surveillance and censorship techniques in a repressive country.
Relacionados: Otro bloguer chino bloqueado y Declaración sobre la libertad de expresión en Internet
Actualización
Versión en español: Responsabilidad de las empresas : Reporteros sin Fronteras hace un llamamiento a internautas y bloggers para que apoyen sus recomendaciones sobre la libertad de expresión