Internet giants Google, Yahoo and Microsoft have been asked not to censor search engines for one day this week as part of a protest against digital censorship.
The World Day Against Cyber Censorship, on 12 March, is a protest against filtering of the web. Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) wrote a letter to the companies asking them to join the protest.
“World Day Against Cyber Censorship is a day to advance and celebrate a free internet as an open window to the world and denounce the attacks made on the free flow of information online,” the companies said.
“In the spirit of fostering freedom of expression, we are asking that you do not censor any of your search engines or blog platforms anywhere around the world on this day,” they said.
“Your assistance allows states, such as China, to outright ban access to information on ‘human rights,’ ‘dalai lama,’ ‘Charter 08’ or ‘democracy,’ as well as to respected human rights websites.
“We urge you, on March 12th, to champion the vision of the internet as a free space for everyone, regardless of nationality or geographic location, and fulfill the idea of a truly worldwide web – even if just for one day.”
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
