When most people think about Internet censorship, the usual suspects immediately come to mind : Communist China and repressive Islamic countries. Unfortunately, Westerners have an embarrassment all their own : Australia’s net censorship law, established in 2000.
Freedom House, a non-profit U.S. organization dedicated to spreading human rights and freedom, undertakes regular surveys on press freedom and censorship. Last year’s survey found that out of 186 countries, 69 had a free press, 51 had a partly-free press, and 66 countries had no press freedom. Freedom House suggested that only 21% of the world’s population enjoy access to a truly free press.
Some nations control Internet access through government servers that censor incoming news and information, and in China “cyber dissidents” have been imprisoned. Censorship is justified by claims that Western democratic practices are disruptive to the social values propagated by the local regime, or that society must be protected from corruption by outside influences. One Saudi spokesman for business interests commented that Saudi Arabia’s limited opening to the Internet was delayed...