Policy Matters: Internet freedom depends on where you live

Interviewed By Ben Johnson

A Vietnamese woman sells coconuts and waits for business outside a local internet cafe in Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam has just passed a new law aimed at internet censorship.

We think of the internet as an endless expanse of data and interaction with big, bright points of focus, and a million dark corners. But more and more, your view of the web's vast spectrum depends a lot on where you live. In Vietnam, there's an extreme example of censorship. A new law there will make it illegal to post news or quote "general information" on the internet. What the heck does that mean? Hard to know, and that's on purpose, says Madeline Earp, of the advocacy group Freedom House. Earp has been working on a big report out next month called Freedom of the Net. She says Vietnam is a country that is going the China route in internet policy.

Source Marketplace Tech for Wednesday, August 7, 2013