Caught in the Net: Zimbabwe
China censors the Internet effectively, and it appears to be exporting that expertise to other dictatorships. Beijing recently sent engineers trained in phone tapping to Zimbabwe. It also arranged to send computer equipment designed for filtering — or spying — on the Internet. In 2004, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s state-owned telecom, TelOne, made Internet service ...
China censors the Internet effectively, and it appears to be exporting that expertise to other dictatorships. Beijing recently sent engineers trained in phone tapping to Zimbabwe. It also arranged to send computer equipment designed for filtering -- or spying -- on the Internet. In 2004, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's state-owned telecom, TelOne, made Internet service providers sign contracts allowing it to monitor and censor illegal material. The Chinese hardware could make this job much easier. Mugabe "has realized that the opposition has turned to the Internet...," says a spokeswoman for Reporters Without Borders. "That's why [these shipments] are worrying."
China censors the Internet effectively, and it appears to be exporting that expertise to other dictatorships. Beijing recently sent engineers trained in phone tapping to Zimbabwe. It also arranged to send computer equipment designed for filtering — or spying — on the Internet. In 2004, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s state-owned telecom, TelOne, made Internet service providers sign contracts allowing it to monitor and censor illegal material. The Chinese hardware could make this job much easier. Mugabe "has realized that the opposition has turned to the Internet…," says a spokeswoman for Reporters Without Borders. "That’s why [these shipments] are worrying."
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