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Human Rights- Julian Assange, Wikileaks exposes and Amazon
Human Rights First Seeks Answers From Amazon in Wake of
Wikileaks Drop
Source humanrightsfirst.org
02/12/10 15:13 from Human Rights - http://www.humanrightsfirst.org
New York Times (blog) Human Rights First Seeks Answers From
Amazon in Wake of Wikileaks Drop Human Rights First Washington,
DC – Human Rights First today urged Amazon to make clear the
decision making process that led to the dropping of Wi..
Human Rights First Seeks Answers From Amazon in Wake of
Wikileaks Drop
December 2, 2010
Washington, DC – Human Rights First today urged Amazon to make
clear the decision making process that led to the dropping of
Wikileaks from its servers and to share with the public which
parts of the United States government contacted Amazon with the
request to halt service. In a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos,
Human Rights First President and CEO Elisa Massimino warned that
failure to publicly disclose the company’s process for
determining how and whether to comply with government demands to
control access to information and online speech could negatively
affect efforts to defend those rights around the world.
News reports have stated that Amazon’s decision to drop
Wikileaks came in the wake of questions from congressional staff
employed by Senator Joseph Lieberman, who later stated, “The
company’s decision to cut off WikiLeaks now is the right
decision and should set the standard for other companies
WikiLeaks is using to distribute its illegally seized material.”
He also indicated that he plans to ask Amazon additional
questions about the affair.
In her letter to Bezos, Massimino noted, “Recently, Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton championed Internet freedom as a ‘Fifth
Freedom,’ as important to the struggle for human rights as
freedom of expression, freedom of worship and freedom from want
and fear. But just as repressive regimes violated their
citizens’ rights of free speech and expression in FDR’s day,
today they restrict access to information online.”
She continued, “Amazon may very well have complied with its own
terms of service in dropping Wikileaks. And reasonable people
can disagree about whether Wikileaks has violated the law by
publishing classified information. But, the stakes are too high
for companies to act with anything but the utmost concern for
due process and transparency in making crucial decisions about
how and whether to comply with government demands to control
access to information and online speech. So that these concerns
can be adequately considered by all of us who have a stake in
defending freedom of expression, I urge you to make clear the
decision making process that led the dropping of Wikileaks from
Amazon’s servers and to share with the public which parts of the
United States government contacted Amazon with the request to
halt service.”
In making her case, Massimino noted that on Wed., Dec. 1, the
Chinese government blocked access to the Wikileaks documents
with its firewall. Similarly, Egypt restricted access to new
technology in the lead up to this Sunday’s flawed parliamentary
elections, and Iran is notorious for its restrictions on its
citizens’ online speech and association. She stated that these
examples, and the many more like them, demonstrate the urgent
need for companies to recognize that their decisions and
responses to government requests have consequences around the
globe.
“With the holiday gift giving season approaching, undoubtedly
the last thing Amazon wants to see is customers concerned by
talk of boycotts, possible legal issues, and political uproar.
However, like information technology companies the world over
facing government requests to censor or restrict online
activity, your company’s actions affect the rights of millions
of individuals today and will help determine whether the
Internet of tomorrow lives up to its promise to provide people
with greater freedom to express themselves and organize or,
instead, becomes simply another forum where governments exercise
unjust control over the rights of their citizens. … I urge you
to recognize that the policies Amazon adopts with respect to
decisions to in the United States will have consequences all
over the world.”
For more information, please read the full text of Massimino’s
letter. To arrange an interview with a member of Human Rights
First’s team, please Brenda Bowser Soder at 202-370-3323.
-30-
December 2, 2010
Mr. Jeff Bezos, CEO
Amazon
1200 12th Ave. South, Ste. 1200
Seattle, WA 98144-2734
Dear Mr. Bezos:
Amazon’s decision to cease hosting Wikileaks on its servers
raises serious concerns about Internet freedom that I urge you
to consider before responding to Senator Joseph Lieberman’s
demand for information about how Amazon facilitates the
distribution of material online. In particular, I urge you to
make clear the decision making process that led Amazon to drop
Wikileaks from its servers and to share with the public which
parts of the United States government contacted Amazon to
request that it do so.
Concern for human rights activists prompted me to write to Mr.
Julian Assange on November 28th to urge him to exercise caution
and not release the names or identities of human rights
defenders who might be persecuted by their governments for
having received assistance from the United States. The same
concern for the rights of activists compels me to write to you
today.
Recently, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton championed Internet
freedom as a “Fifth Freedom,” as important to the struggle for
human rights as freedom of expression, freedom of worship and
freedom from want and fear. But just as repressive regimes
violated their citizens’ rights of free speech and expression in
FDR’s day, today they restrict access to information online.
It is sad, but not surprising, that the Chinese government
yesterday blocked access to the Wikileaks documents with its
great firewall. That is the censorship we have come to expect
from China. Similarly, Egypt restricted access to new technology
in the lead up to this Sunday’s flawed parliamentary elections.
Iran is notorious for its restrictions on its citizens’ online
speech and association. The examples go on.
The United States has been a leader in the global struggle for
human rights, and freedom of expression in particular; because
of that leadership, what it does has consequences for human
rights around the world. And while there are many good reasons
for diplomats to engage in candid, private — and sometimes
classified — communications, Americans are rightfully concerned
over the Wikileaks documented revelations that our government
exerted pressure on Germany to quash a torture prosecution or
that officials tried to silence discussion of an ally’s
extrajudicial killings.
Amazon may very well have complied with its own terms of service
in dropping Wikileaks. And reasonable people can disagree about
whether Wikileaks has violated the law by publishing classified
information. But, the stakes are too high for companies to act
with anything but the utmost concern for due process and
transparency in making crucial decisions about how and whether
to comply with government demands to control access to
information and online speech. So that these concerns can be
adequately considered by all of us who have a stake in defending
freedom of expression, I urge you to make clear the decision
making process that led the dropping of Wikileaks from Amazon’s
servers and to share with the public which parts of the United
States government contacted Amazon with the request to halt
service.
With the holiday gift giving season approaching, undoubtedly the
last thing Amazon wants to see is customers concerned by talk of
boycotts, possible legal issues, and political uproar. However,
like information technology companies the world over facing
government requests to censor or restrict online activity, your
company’s actions affect the rights of millions of individuals
today and will help determine whether the Internet of tomorrow
lives up to its promise to provide people with greater freedom
to express themselves and organize or, instead, becomes simply
another forum where governments exercise unjust control over the
rights of their citizens.
Iryna Vidanyava, an activist fighting for free speech in her
native Belarus, has called information technology companies “the
last resort of freedom,” and urged them to consider that, for
human rights activists, Internet freedom is not just about
business, it’s about life. I urge you to recognize that the
policies Amazon adopts with respect to decisions in the United
States will have consequences all over the world.
Sincerely,President and CEO
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Rights- Julian Assange, Wikileaks exposes and Amazon
Human Rights First Seeks Answers From Amazon in Wake of Wikileaks
Drop...humanrightsfirst.org
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Human Rights First Seeks Answers From Amazon in Wake of Wikileaks
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