In a shocking display of bravado, the Pakistani government has put an ad in their national papers asking for companies to help them build a national Chinese-style censorship firewall. This would censor 20 million internet users in one go!
Since the ad was published, we've worked with our friends in Pakistan calling on the Prime Minister to put an end to this madness. As part of a growing international coalition, we're going a step further by urging international and local corporations to publicly denounce the project and vow not to submit proposals to build this massive censorship system.
At least four western IT companies have already said they won't participate (Websense, Cisco, Verizon, and Sandvine). Now we need you to help persuade other firms to urgently follow suit before the bidding deadline this Friday. Add your name here calling upon Bluecoat, Huawei, McAfee, Netsweeper, ZTE, and all other local bidders to refuse to play a role in putting up the walls of censorship.
https://www.accessnow.org/20-million-silenced
We have already won a battle like this before, when you helped convince four Western companies to withdraw from building a new surveillance system in Syria. The people of Pakistan have a hard fight ahead of them and they are asking for our help, including stopping local groups from bidding.
As we acknowledge World Day Against Cyber-Censorship on March 12, and recognize that one-third of all internet users do not have access to an unrestricted internet, we need assurances from all of these companies that they won't participate in censorship. We need their word, so let's ask them for it. Sign the petition below and we'll target each corporation before the deadline:
https://www.accessnow.org/20-million-silenced
With determination,
The Access Team
SOURCES
Bytes for All: Locking up the Cyberspace in Pakistan
Bolo Bhi: Filtering Content on the Internet
Business Human Resource Centre
