Internet could lead to terrorism acts: Russia PM - Friday, 3 June , 2005 18:40:00 Reporter: Emma Griffiths
http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2005/s1384269.htm MARK COLVIN: After decades of Soviet rule, when most contact with foreigners was banned, Russians have embraced communication with the rest of the world, especially through the internet. Last year the number of internet users in Russia increased by 20 per cent, but now Russia's Federal Security Service, the successor to the old KGB, wants to clamp down on the worldwide web. It says the internet is a threat to the Russian State, which could lead to political upheaval and acts of terrorism. Moscow Correspondent Emma Griffiths reports. [sound of typing] EMMA GRIFFITHS: In a smoky basement caf� in central Moscow, about a dozen internet users huddle over their computers. A few of them are playing online games, most are checking emails or just surfing for information. There are thousands of internet caf�s in Russia, servicing an increasingly web-savvy population. Nearly 18-million Russians regularly use the internet. The growth has alarmed the authorities. The Federal Security Service, the successor to the KGB, believes the internet poses a threat to the state. A spokesman recently told Russian MPs that he was worried about the internet's power to shape public opinion. No doubt, they've seen how political groups used the internet in the recent revolutions in Ukraine and Georgia. The Russian Security Service wants to guard against similar upheaval by controlling what people can read and send over the net. At the internet caf� there is, understandably, resistance. VOX 1: "We live in times when everybody needs more freedom," this man says. "If anybody from the Government tries to control the internet or any method of communication, it will limit the activity of the people." EMMA GRIFFITHS: But others agree with the Security Service, saying information on the internet should be controlled. "It creates chaos in the head," this woman says, "and you don't know what to believe and what not to." EMMA GRIFFITHS: Most experts believe authorities would find it technically impossible to control the net anyway, because every Russian Service Provider would have to work through a single server. But another former Soviet state has managed it � Uzbekistan. Authorities there control the internet and all media. Danil Kislov is an Uzbek who now lives in Moscow. Here, he's been able to set up a news website about his former home, but access to it is banned in Uzbekistan. "The Uzbek Government controls the internet so strictly," he says, "that none of my friends can access my site. They have to use particular program tricks or proxy-servers to see it." Danil Kislov set up his website to tell the world about Uzbekistan. Most recently, the world heard about it, because of the violent Government crackdown in the city of Andijan. Human rights groups say more than a thousand people died in clashes there last month. Danil Kislov's website is one of the few independent media outlets with contacts in Andijan and firsthand reports about the shooting. It's registered with the Russian authorities, but if the Security Service pushes ahead with its bid to control the internet, Danil Kislov worries his website will be shut down. �If such attempts will be successful," he says, "if the Security Service will really carry out actions to control the internet, to block unfavourable internet sources, this will set Russia back many years in the sense of civil society." Russia's already been widely criticised for winding back on democracy. The Kremlin controls most broadcast media, the Judiciary and the Parliament. Controlling the internet would be another sign that those in power won't brook any challenges. This is Emma Griffiths in Moscow for PM. You are a subscribed member of the infowarrior list. Visit www.infowarrior.org for list information or to unsubscribe. This message may be redistributed freely in its entirety. Any and all copyrights appearing in list messages are maintained by their respective owners.
