Internet freedom

The Internet has proven a powerful force for policy makers, both good and bad. Barack Obama leveraged America’s Internet freedom to persuade U.S. voters to elect him last year. China’s leadership, on the other hand, keeps the Internet tightly censored to suppress dissent in their one-party state.

So the launch of Freedom House’s first study of online freedom last week is welcome. The survey, conducted between Jan. 1, 2007 and Dec. 31 2008, measures “access to relevant technology” and “the free flow of information through it without fear of repercussions.” Freedom House selected 15 countries and ranked them on a scale from 0 to 100, with higher numbers representing less freedom. (See the nearby chart.)

The initial findings set a good benchmark for future studies. And in many countries, the relative freedom of the Internet has already had a positive impact on political change: Take Malaysia, where online news portals and blogs have breathed life into the opposition. Or Kenya, where bloggers chronicled the violence after the December 2007 election — a period when live reporting on TV or radio was entirely banned.

Freedom House warns that these gains aren’t assured. In many countries with a “partly free” Internet, online censorship is likely to increase as governments implement more sophisticated systems of control. The study singles out Egypt, Kenya, Georgia, Malaysia and Russia as particularly vulnerable.

And the world’s most restrictive countries aren’t likely to change tack soon. The three most restrictive regimes surveyed — Cuba, Tunisia and China — also happen to be authoritarian states whose survival depends on information control. China, home to the world’s largest Internet-using population, also has the most sophisticated methods of content control: online monitors filter Web pages, block online posts and interfere with online chats. Chinese Web sites are also required to monitor their own content — part of a trend of increasing privatization of censorship.

Yet even in this environment, the Internet can still be used as a force for positive political change. The price of these actions is sometimes very high: China had 49 bloggers and online journalists in jail as of mid-2008, according to Reporters Without Borders. But the longer the Internet is in China and other repressive countries, the more sophisticated users become, too.

As governments catch up with technology and introduce more sophisticated censorship programs, protecting online speech will only become more important. The Internet can be a powerful avenue for free speech — or for propaganda. The Freedom House study is a good first step in understanding what makes the difference.

Kenya upset South Africa to top pool

(AFP) — Kenya upset series leaders South Africa as New Zealand, Fiji and Australia went unbeaten into the playoff rounds of the IRB Adelaide Sevens here on Saturday.

The sixth-ranked Kenyans caused the surprise of the tournament with a fighting 15-14 over favourites South Africa to top Pool D and line up a Cup quarter-final against World Cup Sevens champions Wales on Sunday.

The Springboks, who ended New Zealand’s 47-match unbeaten run to clinch the Adelaide title last year, finished second in the group and have an intriguing matchup wth New Zealand in their Sunday quarter-final.

Kenya led 10-7 at halftime after Sidney Ashioya and Gibson Weru responded to Frankie Horne’s early try.

South Africa were down to five men at one point but cleverly retained possession and Ryno Benjamin put them back ahead, only for Victor Oduor to clinch victory for Kenya with a fine try late on.

New Zealand recorded two big wins over Tonga (33-0) and United States (27-5) to finish top of Pool C ahead of Wales, who downed USA 24-17 but relinquished a 19-0 halftime lead to go down to Tonga 26-19.

Hong Kong Sevens champions Fiji accounted for France (21-10) and Argentina (26-21) to top Pool B and and set up a Cup quarter-final against England on Sunday.

Argentina finished ahead of France in the group after beating Scotland 12-7 on Sunday and the South Americans will take on Australia in the quarter-finals.

The Australians followed up their last gasp win over England on Friday’s opening day to register their first victory against Samoa for four years, fighting back after trailing 12-0 to win 26-19.

The tournament hosts finished unbeaten in Pool A with a 31-5 win over Portugal.

England needed a 24-24 draw against Samoa to go through on points difference in Pool A.

Quarter-final lineup

Australia v Argentina

Kenya v Wales

New Zealand v South Africa

Fiji v England