UN slated for stifling net debate

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    Date: 
    16 November 2009

    The UN has been criticised for stifling debate about net censorship after it disrupted a meeting of free-speech advocates in Egypt.

    UN security demanded the removal of a poster promoting a book by the OpenNet Initiative (ONI) during a session at the Internet Governance Forum in Egypt.

    The poster mentioned internet censorship and China's Great Firewall.

    The UN has said that it had received complaints about the poster and that it had not been "pre-approved".

    "If we are not allowed to discuss topics such as internet censorship, surveillance and privacy at a forum on internet governance, then what is the point of the IGF?" Ron Deibert, co-founder of the OpenNet Initiative told BBC News.