Censorship Update

Most importantly, sign the petition that Joel wrote and set up! It doesn't matter where you're from or where you live now, just support freedom of speech and free access to information in this quasi-democratic country!

Since the internet block began I've done something everyday to try to get the news out. Yesterday I posted on Mikerowesoft (yes, that's spelled correctly) and got several hits here from that. Today I went to the GOP site because I read on one of the other blogs that it can't be accessed from Asia because that site doesn't want people from here bothering them. I used a proxy server to access the site, and then emailed them and explained the problem here, and asked if it was the Korean government or their site doing the censorship. I got a short response:

I am not sure but realise the importance of your concern. I am
forwarding your question to Network and Online services.

Sincerely,
RNC

In doing more searches on online censorship, I came across the ACLU website. In the past I've always seen them as the enemy, but suddenly they're looking pretty good! On their site they have a link to the Global Internet Liberty Campaign, which also has info on Korea's censorship in the past.

An article in the Asia Times Online, South Korea's post-mortem politics, talks about the wide-spread censorship and how some Korean sites are encouraging people to crash sites they don't like (that's what it comes down to, anyway).

This report tells about how various countries are regulating the Internet; there's a paragraph on Korea. One of the nasty organizations, the ICEC (Information & Communication Ethics Office), was established in 1995. Nine years of protecting the people from the internet!

Finally, this article from 2600 NEWS tells about Korean censorship occurring in 2002. It says,

If Korea can continue to block the websites of anarchists and homosexuals yet still be termed a "vibrant democracy," one wonders what President Bush has in mind for the United States. It is important that we oppose censorship in all countries, before similar occurrences happen here.