Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
Technology
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Internet
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Internet censorship seen liable to WTO challenge
Fri Nov 6, 2009 10:41am EST
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Jonathan Lynn
GENEVA (Reuters) - Censorship of the Internet is open to challenge at the World Trade Organization as it can restrict trade in services delivered online, a forthcoming study says.
A censorship case at the WTO could raise sovereignty issues, given the clear right of member states to restrict trade on moral grounds -- for example, by blocking access to child pornography websites.
But a WTO ruling could set limits on blanket censorship and compel states instead to use more selective filtering, according to the study, to be published on Thursday by think-tank ECIPE.
"Censorship is the most important non-tariff barrier to the provision of online services, and a case might clarify the circumstances in which different forms of censorship are WTO-consistent," said the study by Brian Hindley and Hosuk Lee-Makiyama.
"Many WTO member states are legally obliged to permit an unrestricted supply of cross-border Internet services," they wrote in their report, obtained in advance by Reuters.
Many countries censor the Internet for political or moral reasons. China has developed one of the most pervasive systems, in Cuba all unauthorized surfing is illegal, and many Western countries limit access to child porn sites.
Internet use is particularly strong in Asia. China, with 298 million people online, overtook the United States in numbers of Internet users in 2008, the study said.
BUSINESS IMPACT
Internet censorship can have a serious impact on businesses, it said, noting how local search engine Baidu, which follows official rules on censorship, has overtaken global leader Google in the Chinese market.
There have even been reports that the authorities rerouted requests for Google.com and other international search engines to Baidu's site.
In the third quarter of 2009 Baidu had 64 percent of the 2 billion yuan ($293 million) Internet search market in China, while Google had 31.3 percent.
Back in 2002, Baidu had 3 percent and Google 24 percent, the study said.
In Japan, where Google might face similar linguistic entry barriers to China, foreign-owned search engines have more than 90 percent of the market.
A challenge at the WTO by Antigua to U.S. laws restricting online gambling showed that a member's commitment -- once made -- to opening up in a sector takes precedence over subsequent bans and restrictions, even if they do not discriminate between domestic and foreign suppliers, the study noted.
And a WTO panel ruled against Chinese restrictions on imports of audio-visual entertainment, including the use of domestic distributors to control access to the material, in response to a U.S. challenge. China is appealing against that ruling. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Oil falls more than $2 on U.S. jobless data
Also On Reuters
Full Coverage: The Route to Recovery
Central banks lead subtle shift away from dollar
Common office experiences can destroy brainpower
More Technology News
Microsoft CEO sees Yahoo partnership outside U.S.
Beatles remasters heading to USB
U.S. regulators mull changes to phone access rules
Intel in talks with India's ITI for jv: report
Verizon to sell HTC Android phone for $99.99
More Technology News...
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Death toll hits 13 in Fort Hood shooting spree | Video
Flu shots for Wall Street stirs ire in New York
Senate panel approves Democratic climate bill
Underdog role no concern for Cotto against Pacquiao
Business Books: The human brain in the workplace
Pakistani forces enter Taliban headquarters
Hollywood calls on Clooney for holiday movie cheer
Death toll from U.S. base shooting up to 13
U.S. jobless rate hits 10.2 percent
Central banks lead subtle shift away from dollar
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Shooting rampage at Texas army base
Video shows Fort Hood aftermath
Shooting rampage at Texas army base
Fort Hood shooter alive, named
Japan's high-tech cemeteries
Mongolia eyes horse meat amid H1N1
Unemployed in West Virginia
Healthcare fight heats up
EU offers file-sharers protection
China pushes peaceful military
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Labs |
Journalism Handbook |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.