A United Nations report said Friday that disconnecting people from the internet is a human rights violation and against international law.
The report railed against France and the United Kingdom, which have passed laws to remove accused copyright scofflaws from the internet. It also protested blocking internet access to quell political unrest (.pdf).
The report continues:
The report, by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, comes the same day an internet-monitoring firm detected that two thirds of Syria's internet access has abruptly gone dark, in what is likely a government response to unrest in that country.
See Also:
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- Egypt Returns to the Internet
- Egypt's Last-Standing ISP Goes Dark
- Tweeting Tyrants Out of Tunisia: Global Internet at Its Best
- Appeals Court Rules No Privacy Interest in IP Addresses