Venezuela's Chavez To Limit Internet Freedom

terets1 writes "Reuters reports that Venezuela's leader, Hugo Chavez, issued a call on Saturday for 'internet controls' to prevent rumors and inaccurate reporting from spreading. He specifically cited a case in which a website incorrectly reported that a senior minister had been assassinated and kept the story up for two days. Many of Venezuela's opposition movements use social networking sites to communicate. It is not apparent at this time exactly what kind of controls Chavez has in mind or whether those controls will be similar to the controls in Iran that have been used to silence opposition movements. Chavez said, 'The Internet cannot be something open where anything is said and done. Every country has to apply its own rules and norms.'"

Comments

Re:Way to go

[dskzero]

I'd like to note that the one tv station that was closed was one of two which openly expressed opposite opinions to the government. The other one is on the verge of not having its licence renewed. It's not a belief: It's a fact. THe rest of the tv stations are simply silent to Chavez abuse of power. Regardless of your opinion, the abuse of power is a fact, whether you think it's for a good or a bad thing. He also closed down several radio stations out of the weird justification that they were all part of a large network. The thing to learn in Venezuela is that you can't really be too successful.

Re:The same kind of policies...

[Attila Dimedici]

Three words for you: free speech zones.

You make a good point. Fortunately, on those occasions when University free speech zones (the setting in which they are most commonly applied) have been challenged in court, they have usually been ruled unconstitutional.
That being said, it is interesting that the people who implement these "free speech zones" are those who claim to be the strongest proponents of unfettered free speech. They are, also, from whom many of the members of the Obama Administration have been drawn.