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| (Photo:flickr/bas-boerman) |
Internet
applications such as facebook and Twitter played a large role in the Arab
spring uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. The hardware and software used by the
regimes to monitor communications between protestors played an equally
important role.
Internet
applications such as facebook and Twitter played an important role in the
recent Arab spring uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia. Equally important was the
use of hardware and software to monitor and block those same Internet
applications. The European Parliament has called for the export of
eavesdropping and censorship software to be strictly controlled.
China,
Iran, Syria; just three of the many countries that censor internet use. In the
United States, legal proceedings are taking place against Cisco systems for
complicity in Internet censorship and the oppression of dissidents and members
of the Fallon Gong by the Chinese government. Earlier, the activities of other
companies, including Google and Yahoo, were deemed controversial.
But there
are numerous other companies that facilitate censorship through the export of
the necessary hard-and software.
EU
parliamentarian (MEP) Judith Sargentini: “Nokia Siemens has supplied Iran with
various items of hardware and software. A British company supplied Egypt's Mubarak
regime with the equipment necessary to monitor facebook and Twitter, and the
Dutch Fox-it company tried to market a number of products in Tehran and other
Arab countries."
Stricter
control
The
European Parliament is currently tightening up regulations governing the export
of hardware and software that can be used for censorship or repression.
Christian Democrat MEP Lambert van Nistelrooij is in favour of tougher export
regulations:
“What we
need to do is create a list with certain products. Companies proposing to do
business with countries that have questionable records when it comes to freedom
of speech and freedom of expression, can consult the list and know exactly
where they stand.”
Double-edged
sword
MEP
Sargentini says the experiences of Fox-it show that certain technologies can be
used for good as well as evil:
“It’s two
sides of the same coin; here in the Netherlands, Fox-it protects Dutch
consumers and has recently helped the government to get out of trouble with the
security certificates issue. However, the same company also makes eavesdropping
devices.”
RNW
contacted Fox-it and the company confirmed (in writing) that police and
security services can tap and analyse internet traffic using its FoxReplay software. The company refused to comment on any of its clients but says it
conforms to all current export laws and regulations.
In an
interview with a Dutch weekly magazine earlier this year Ronald Prins said,
“It has
certainly happened that the authorities in a country where there has suddenly
been a great deal of commotion have contacted us and attempted to purchase our
products. And then I have been very clear and said that that is something that
we do not do”.
It's not
clear how the proposed EU export regulations on censorship technology will be
applied. It is possible that companies will have to apply for export licences.
This could be regulated by putting controversial technology on an existing dual-use the list that controls the export of items that can be used for
civilian as well as militarily ends.
The Dutch
government is in favour of requiring export licences; however, other EU member
states and some MEPs are in favour of regulating exports after the fact.
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