UK government to force Internet content blocking

The British government is trying to force search engines and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block content and websites

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

The claim by Whitehall that it is predominately aimed at porn sites and especially child porn to prevent also and especially children accessing such materials does not hold water as, first of all, accessing child porn is a crime and secondly that no one can believe anymore what they say.

The “for the good of the children” claim has become a mantra under which the freedoms of the individual are being eroded by increments, in the UK and the USA. Blocking porn is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

So-called extremist websites are also in the cross hairs of the government's gun sight and we can take a sure bet that many survivalist sites and such like will also be considered and affected. And, no doubt, alternative media sites such as Russia Today and many others.

In the end we will only be allowed, for our own protection and that of the children, obviously, to access such sites only as are approved by the powers-that-be.

The British and American governments keep harping on about freedom and scream blue murder when the Internet and social media are being censored and restricted by China, in Arab countries, and so on while, at the same time, they are aiming to do the very same at home. The term “double standards” does not even come close to conveying it properly.

While they insist that the Internet must not be censored – and it should not be – as far as what they class repressive regimes such as China, Iran, etc., are concerned a different set of rules are applied to their own citizens. What are they afraid of?

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German Internet users will HAVE to buy government approved modem

All other modems will no longer be legal to be used...

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Welcome to the new fascist Europe, for once Germany starts this it will be forced upon the rest of the EU...

The Deutsche Telekom can due to a new legal position force all Internet users (in Germany) to buy a Telekom modem. This modem is Made in China (which one is not, though, I'd like to know) and the old models will have to be thrown away.

The German government apparently, as the Deutsche Telekom is a government agency, hopes for a huge income this way and the total control of the Internet via a state business.

Independent providers are, obviously, very concerned about this move and are ringing the alarm bells as it would appear that the Deutsche Telekom is hellbent to take over all accesses to the Internet. The freedom of the Internet is coming under serious attack here for, I am sure, everyone with just a little foresight can see where this is leading.

While no one has said this as yet it is quite feasible that monitoring devices will be integrated in this modem that everyone will have to use to control entirely which sites someone can visit. The Stasi had nothing on those guys.

It would appear that, aside from wanting to get extra income, the Germany government with this move is intent on controlling the in formation that citizens can access on the Web. This is scary in the extreme and a censorship beyond anything ever envisaged. When re we going to burn books again in Germany? It can't be very long now.

Readers who can understand German I like to direct to the following two articles:

http://deutsche-wirtschafts-nachrichten.de/2013/04/27/internet-kontrolle-jeder-haushalt-muss-modem-der-deutschen-telekom-kaufen/

http://deutsche-wirtschafts-nachrichten.de/2013/04/24/telekom-baut-sperre-ein-freiheit-des-internets-geht-zu-ende/

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Internet Freedom

The Internet and Internet Freedom as a human right

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

When the oppressed people's only means of raising awareness to their plight is found online then the freedom of the Internet is not a technological, political or social issue; it is a human rights issue.

Recently the Bundesgerichtshof, the highest German Federal Court, has ruled that Internet access is a necessity of life and thus has come down in its ruling almost to stating that it is, indeed, a human right.

Having said that, however, they are still, in Germany, playing with data storage of people's activities on the Net, in the same way as in the UK and other EU member states, almost forced upon the countries by the European Commission.

On the other hand Slovenia is one country where this has been totally ruled illegal and where, so the government says, it cannot and will not be implemented.

Someone give that country a big round of applause and force our countries to be as strong as little Slovenia and do the right thing.

It is amazing always when the countries in the so-called Free World, who now want to restrict their citizen's activities on the Internet and keep a data trail of each and every email, web search, website visit, etc., tell others, such as China, Iran and such like, how bad they are for restricting the Internet and the access to it. As in so many things it is a case of “do as we tell you and don't do as we do”.

It is the same in regards to torture, but that is just a “by the way” here, when the Free World tries to tell everyone else that it is a no, no, while the CIA and others happily carry on with the practice, often outsourcing the service.

With the double standard that the so-called Free World applies it is no wonder that the rest of the world mistrusts the “West”. Using drones to kill people also could have something to do with that as could regime change so that the big guys can get their hands on the countries' wealth, be it oil in Iraq, or minerals in Afghanistan, etc.

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