Imagine you are a keen blogger with ideas and expression but unable to blog freely. Bloggers are at the vanguard of the information revolution, and their numbers are expanding rapidly. But some evil governments are quickly learning how to turn technology against bloggers by censoring and filtering the Internet, restricting online access and mining personal data. When all else fails, the authorities simply jail a few bloggers to intimidate the rest of the online community into silence or self-censorship. Yes friend, this still happen in some places in this world.
Top 10 Worst Places to be a blogger:
1. Burma -- also known as Myanmar -- is the worst place in the world to be a blogger. A military government restricts Web access and throws people into jail for posting critical material. Burmese authorities have the capability to monitor e-mail and other communication methods and can block users from viewing the Web sites of political opposition parties.
2. Iran, whose authorities, the group says, regularly detain and harass bloggers who dare to criticize religious or political figures, the Islamic revolution or its symbols.
3. Third is the Syrian government, which detains bloggers for posting content deemed detrimental to "national unity."
4. Cuba is next on the "dishonor roll." Its government now hold in jail 21 writers who led online journalism in the early part of the decade.
5. In Saudi Arabia an estimated 400,000 sites are blocked.
6. In Vietnam the Orwellian-sounding Ministry of Information and Communication has created an agency tasked with monitoring the Internet.
7. Tunisia -- where the Internet is heavily restricted, also find a place on the list.
8. Bloggers from Turkmenistan suffered the same fate as their fellow bloggers from Tunisia.
9. China, which maintains the most comprehensive online censorship program in the world. Chinese authorities rely on service providers to filter searches, block critical Web sites, delete objectionable content and monitor e-mail traffic. At least 24 online writers are in prison in the country.
10. Egypt rounds out the list at number 10. Local press freedom groups in the country documented the detention of more than 100 bloggers in 2008 alone. Most reported mistreatment, and a number were tortured.
The governments on the list are trying to roll back the information revolution, and, for now, they are having success. Freedom of expression groups, concerned governments, the online community, and technology companies need to come together to defend the rights of bloggers around the world. Source: Burma tops list of worst places to be a blogger
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