UN defends removal of poster critical of censorship in China at Internet conference
By Tarek El-tablawy, APMonday, November 16, 2009
UN defends removal of China poster at Net event
SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt — The United Nations is defending the removal of a poster criticizing China’s censorship of the Web at an Internet conference.
Free speech advocates from the OpenNet Initiative had placed a poster at the Internet Governance Forum decrying what they called China’s Great Firewall. An unnamed delegation complained, and the group was asked to take it down.
A video on YouTube showed a U.N. guard picking the poster up off the floor and folding it.
Markus Kummer, U.N. official heading the forum, says the United Nations has a policy against commercial sponsorship and has a “no poster policy.”
He said Monday the OpenNet Initiative was asked to take it down to comply with that policy.
OpenNet was not available for comment.
Tags: Africa, Asia, China, Communication Technology, Computing And Information Technology, East Asia, Egypt, Greater China, Internet Technology, Middle East, North Africa, Sharm El-sheik, Software
