CCIA Requests Details On Human Rights Ratings

File Under: News

Mar 13, 2008

Washington -- As the State Department releases its 2007 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, a group advocating freedom on the Internet is questioning how much weight that issue was given in the calculation of human rights ratings.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association is concerned when governments censor access to the Internet or use it for surveillance against those who disagree with their policies.

“The Internet enables widespread dissemination of ideas that have the power to pierce control and bring the building blocks of democracy. Yet countries like China have increasingly censored the Internet to maintain control over information,” said Ed Black President & CEO of CCIA. “This needs to be a key consideration in evaluating a nation’s human rights record.”

The latest State Department report shows China has been removed from the list of the most systematic human rights offenders and is now listed separately as an authoritarian country experiencing rapid social change without democratic political reform.  

CCIA is sending a letter to the State Department to ask how much weight was given to issues of Internet freedom in making this list. Copies will also be sent to members of Congress.

 Click here to see letter