[governance] England and shutting off Twitter & Blackberry access

[Fouad Bajwa]

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

The following petition message from Access Now raises an important
concern and shows the double edged nature of Internet Access and the
need for sustainable operations of various services and applications
in the current crisis that the country is facing. It also raises the
issue of access to Internet and communications as a fundamental right.

Accordingly, "The UK social networks are where the people have
organized clean-ups after the riots, how family members informed each
other they were safe, and helped the community look for perpetrators
of violence. Shut this off, and you not only facilitate the danger,
you endanger our fundamental right to freedom of speech. Violence
should be punished where the law has been broken, but not at the
expense of our fundamental rights."

Kindly read through the message and share your concern in the petition:

---------- Message ----------
From: Brett Solomon <brett at accessnow.org>
Date: Fri, Aug 12, 2011 at 8:43 AM
Subject: Tell PM Cameron NO WAY to shutting off Twitter & Blackberry
To:


Hi friends,
Pls sign (and forward) the Access petition below or tweet this:
Tell @Number10gov NO! to shut #Twitter & #BlackBerry bc of #ukriots.
#freedomofspeech comes 1st. Sign name @accessnow at
http://bit.ly/ob67Nv
Brett
--------------
Dear friends,
Has England gone completely mad? And we're not just talking about the
rioters -- the British government is considering shutting off
Blackberry and Twitter during times of social unrest. Prime Minister
Cameron, this is NOT Egypt, Syria, or Bahrain!

The Prime Minister says it would only be for those inciting violence
or organising the riots, but on what basis is he going to decide that,
using what intelligence, and according to whom? This proposal makes a
mockery of the UK, and it must be halted before it goes any further.

The UK social networks are where the people have organized clean-ups
after the riots, how family members informed each other they were
safe, and helped the community look for perpetrators of violence. Shut
this off, and you not only facilitate the danger, you endanger our
fundamental right to freedom of speech. Violence should be punished
where the law has been broken, but not at the expense of our
fundamental rights.

Click here to tell the UK government NO to the shut down, and we will
deliver your petition to the Prime Minister before the Parliament gets
to discuss this proposal any further. Together we've stood proud as we
fought for open communications across the Middle East and around the
world, now let's ensure England, in this time of struggle, stands firm
for what is right. Add your name here:

https://www.accessnow.org/tell-cameron-no-way

With hope,
The Access Team

-----
PS We’ve also been working with our network of Latin American
activists to stop what very well be the most draconian intellectual
property enforcement law in the world. This “two strikes” law would
cut a Colombian citizen off from the internet after the second alleged
instance of copyright infringement. If we stop this law, it will be a
watershed event in the fight for digital freedom. Here’s the link, pls
forward: https://www.accessnow.org/rights-not-copyrights or in Spanish
at: https://www.accessnow.org/derechos-antes-que-permisos


-- 
Regards.
--------------------------
Fouad
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