development, job opportunities, enhancement of
all-sector production rates and eradication of
poverty.” 13 As a result of the Strategy, Sudatel’s
monopoly over mobile telephony ended in 2002
and competitive operators—including several
ISPs—in telecommunications were licensed. 14
Legal and regulatory frameworks
Article 39 of the 2005 interim national constitution
of the Republic of Sudan states that “[e]very citizen shall have an unrestricted right to the freedoms of expression, reception and dissemination of information, publication, and access to the
press without prejudice to order, safety or public
morals as determined by law.” 15 The same article
also states that the “state shall guarantee the
freedom of the press and other media as shall be
regulated by law in a democratic society.” 16
However, in practice, these rights have been
severely restricted.
17
Since emergency laws
(which had provided for official censorship) were
lifted on July 9th, 2005, the government has continued to censor print media. 18 In 2006, the New
York–based Committee to Protect Journalists
(CPJ) voiced alarm over “increasing censorship
of opposition and independent newspapers in
Sudan.” 19 Additionally, fear of reprisals has led to
self-censorship among journalists.
20
The 2001 National Strategy for Building the
Information Industry called for filtering Internet
content that is “morally offensive and in violation
of public ethics and order, [and] that may promote corruption and deface traditional identity.” 21
The NTC declares that, although it targets several categories, “[t]he most important is the pornographic material, which accounts for over 95 percent of the total volume of the censored materials. Other categories include pages related to
narcotics, explosives, alcohols, sacrilege, blasphemy, and gambling.” 22 Interestingly, the NTC
uses Western peer-reviewed research to support
its decision to block these materials in defense of
the public good. The NTC states that “[t]here is
no political site among the list of blocked sites,”
and admits that “some translation sites were
blocked as they were used to circumvent filtering.” 23
The NTC has set up a special filtering unit to
screen Internet media before it reaches users in
Sudan. The NTC asserts that sites are filtered
based on their contents rather than their names,
and that filtering is needed “to preserve noble
values and... safeguard the society against
evil.” 24 According to the NTC, the Internet Service
Control Unit receives daily requests to add Web
sites to, or remove them from, the blacklist. The
NTC makes available on its Web site an e-mail
address for such requests. 25
ONI testing results
Testing was conducted on two ISPs in Sudan,
Sudanet and Zina Net. Their blocking behavior
was identical.
Pornography was extensively filtered.
However, some online discussion groups that
facilitate the exchange of Arabic sex materials
were found to be accessible. There was also
some blocking of gay and lesbian, dating, and
provocative-attire Web sites. Those dating Web
sites that were blocked were those likely to host
sexually explicit (for example, www.adultfriend
finder.com) or gay and lesbian (www.gay
romeo.com) content. Other blocked gay and
lesbian Web sites included a site addressing
domestic violence (www.lesbians-against-violence.
com) and a search portal (www.bglad.com),
which were filtered due to being miscategorized
as pornography by the commercial software
Smart Filter.
Also blocked were health-related sites
pertaining to the alteration of body parts, such
as www.circumcision.org and www.breast
enlargementmagazine.com. Similarly, most of
the miscellaneous sites blocked—such as
www.collegehumor.com, www.metacafe.com,
and www.bootyologist.com—probably contain
sexually explicit content.
Country Summaries
377
all-sector production rates and eradication of
poverty.” 13 As a result of the Strategy, Sudatel’s
monopoly over mobile telephony ended in 2002
and competitive operators—including several
ISPs—in telecommunications were licensed. 14
Legal and regulatory frameworks
Article 39 of the 2005 interim national constitution
of the Republic of Sudan states that “[e]very citizen shall have an unrestricted right to the freedoms of expression, reception and dissemination of information, publication, and access to the
press without prejudice to order, safety or public
morals as determined by law.” 15 The same article
also states that the “state shall guarantee the
freedom of the press and other media as shall be
regulated by law in a democratic society.” 16
However, in practice, these rights have been
severely restricted.
17
Since emergency laws
(which had provided for official censorship) were
lifted on July 9th, 2005, the government has continued to censor print media. 18 In 2006, the New
York–based Committee to Protect Journalists
(CPJ) voiced alarm over “increasing censorship
of opposition and independent newspapers in
Sudan.” 19 Additionally, fear of reprisals has led to
self-censorship among journalists.
20
The 2001 National Strategy for Building the
Information Industry called for filtering Internet
content that is “morally offensive and in violation
of public ethics and order, [and] that may promote corruption and deface traditional identity.” 21
The NTC declares that, although it targets several categories, “[t]he most important is the pornographic material, which accounts for over 95 percent of the total volume of the censored materials. Other categories include pages related to
narcotics, explosives, alcohols, sacrilege, blasphemy, and gambling.” 22 Interestingly, the NTC
uses Western peer-reviewed research to support
its decision to block these materials in defense of
the public good. The NTC states that “[t]here is
no political site among the list of blocked sites,”
and admits that “some translation sites were
blocked as they were used to circumvent filtering.” 23
The NTC has set up a special filtering unit to
screen Internet media before it reaches users in
Sudan. The NTC asserts that sites are filtered
based on their contents rather than their names,
and that filtering is needed “to preserve noble
values and... safeguard the society against
evil.” 24 According to the NTC, the Internet Service
Control Unit receives daily requests to add Web
sites to, or remove them from, the blacklist. The
NTC makes available on its Web site an e-mail
address for such requests. 25
ONI testing results
Testing was conducted on two ISPs in Sudan,
Sudanet and Zina Net. Their blocking behavior
was identical.
Pornography was extensively filtered.
However, some online discussion groups that
facilitate the exchange of Arabic sex materials
were found to be accessible. There was also
some blocking of gay and lesbian, dating, and
provocative-attire Web sites. Those dating Web
sites that were blocked were those likely to host
sexually explicit (for example, www.adultfriend
finder.com) or gay and lesbian (www.gay
romeo.com) content. Other blocked gay and
lesbian Web sites included a site addressing
domestic violence (www.lesbians-against-violence.
com) and a search portal (www.bglad.com),
which were filtered due to being miscategorized
as pornography by the commercial software
Smart Filter.
Also blocked were health-related sites
pertaining to the alteration of body parts, such
as www.circumcision.org and www.breast
enlargementmagazine.com. Similarly, most of
the miscellaneous sites blocked—such as
www.collegehumor.com, www.metacafe.com,
and www.bootyologist.com—probably contain
sexually explicit content.
Country Summaries
377