news portal www.elaph.com, the Kuwaiti newspaper Al Seyassah (www.alseyassah.com), the
U.S.-based Web site of the Arab Times
(www.arabtimes.com), and the Islamically oriented news and information portal www.islam
online.net. These publications frequently run articles critical of the Syrian government.
Web sites of human rights organizations
were generally available. Sites associated with
the London-based Syrian Human Rights
Committee (SHRC) marked an important exception; all URLs on the www.shrc.org.uk domain
were found blocked in this round of testing. As
indicated above, some blogs that criticize the
human rights record of Syria were also blocked.
Only three Web sites of the Web sites tested
with pornographic content were blocked:
www.playboy.com, www.sex.com, and www.net
arabic.com/vb (this last is a message board with
pornographic content).
Web sites that focus on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered issues were generally
available. One site, www.gaywired.com, was an
exception.
Unfortunately, an insufficient number of
Israeli Web sites were tested to confirm whether
or not Syria blocks the entire “.il” domain, as past
reports have suggested. 32 However, the fact that
the Institute for Counter Terrorism’s Israeli Web
site (www.ict.org.il) was blocked—while the
Institute’s alternate URL (www.institutefor
counterterrorism.org), lacking the “.il” suffix, was
not—lends credence to such reports. Furthermore,
the Web site for the World Zionist organization
(www.wzo.org.il) was blocked.
Conclusion
The Web sites blocked in Syria span a range of
categories, with the most substantial filtering
occurring among sites that criticize government
policies and actions or espouse oppositional
political views. Repressive legislation and the
imprisonment of journalists and online writers for
their activities online have led many Syrians to
engage in self-censorship. Meanwhile, the government continues to promote the growth of the
Internet throughout the country.
NOTES
1. Human Rights Watch, False Freedom: Online
Censorship in the Middle East and North Africa:
Syria, November 2005, http://hrw.org/reports/
2005/mena1105/.
2. Guy Taylor, “After the Damascus spring: Syrians
search for freedom online,” Reason Online: Free
Minds and Free Markets, February 2007,
http://www.reason.com/news/show/118380.html.
3. U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on
Human Rights Practices 2005: Syria, March 8, 2006,
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61699.htm.
4. See, for example, Syrian Human Rights Committee,
Annual Report on Human Rights Situation in Syria
2006 (Covering the period from June 2005 to May
2006), June 2006, http://www.shrc.org.uk/data/pdf/
ANNUALREPORT2006.pdf.
5. Reporters Without Borders, “List of the 13 Internet
enemies 2006,” November 7, 2006,
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=19603.
6. Guy Taylor, “Syrians search for online freedom,”
podcast audio of interview with Amr Salem, World
Politics Watch, January 13, 2007. Excerpts available
at http://www.worldpoliticswatch.com/blog/
blog.aspx?id=470.
7. Guy Taylor, “After the Damascus spring: Syrians
search for freedom online,” Reason Online: Free
Minds and Free Markets, February 2007,
http://www.reason.com/news/show/118380.html.
8. Ibid.
9. World Bank, “Syrian Arab Republic Data Profile
2004,” World Development Indicators database (April
2006), http://devdata.worldbank.org/external/
cpprofile.asp?ccode=syr&ptype=cp.
10. OneWorld.net, OneWorld Country Guide: Syria,
http://us.oneworld.net/guides/syria/development#
top.
11. The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information,
“Syria Internet under siege,” The Internet in the Arab
World: A New Space of Repression? June 2004,
http://www.hrinfo.net/en/reports/net2004/syria.shtml.
12. International Telecommunication Union, World
Telecommunication Indicators 2006.
13. The Initiative for an Open Arab Internet, Implacable
Adversaries: Arab Governments and the Internet:
Syria, December 2006, http://www.openarab.net/en/
reports/net2006/syria.shtml.
Country Summaries
383
U.S.-based Web site of the Arab Times
(www.arabtimes.com), and the Islamically oriented news and information portal www.islam
online.net. These publications frequently run articles critical of the Syrian government.
Web sites of human rights organizations
were generally available. Sites associated with
the London-based Syrian Human Rights
Committee (SHRC) marked an important exception; all URLs on the www.shrc.org.uk domain
were found blocked in this round of testing. As
indicated above, some blogs that criticize the
human rights record of Syria were also blocked.
Only three Web sites of the Web sites tested
with pornographic content were blocked:
www.playboy.com, www.sex.com, and www.net
arabic.com/vb (this last is a message board with
pornographic content).
Web sites that focus on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered issues were generally
available. One site, www.gaywired.com, was an
exception.
Unfortunately, an insufficient number of
Israeli Web sites were tested to confirm whether
or not Syria blocks the entire “.il” domain, as past
reports have suggested. 32 However, the fact that
the Institute for Counter Terrorism’s Israeli Web
site (www.ict.org.il) was blocked—while the
Institute’s alternate URL (www.institutefor
counterterrorism.org), lacking the “.il” suffix, was
not—lends credence to such reports. Furthermore,
the Web site for the World Zionist organization
(www.wzo.org.il) was blocked.
Conclusion
The Web sites blocked in Syria span a range of
categories, with the most substantial filtering
occurring among sites that criticize government
policies and actions or espouse oppositional
political views. Repressive legislation and the
imprisonment of journalists and online writers for
their activities online have led many Syrians to
engage in self-censorship. Meanwhile, the government continues to promote the growth of the
Internet throughout the country.
NOTES
1. Human Rights Watch, False Freedom: Online
Censorship in the Middle East and North Africa:
Syria, November 2005, http://hrw.org/reports/
2005/mena1105/.
2. Guy Taylor, “After the Damascus spring: Syrians
search for freedom online,” Reason Online: Free
Minds and Free Markets, February 2007,
http://www.reason.com/news/show/118380.html.
3. U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on
Human Rights Practices 2005: Syria, March 8, 2006,
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61699.htm.
4. See, for example, Syrian Human Rights Committee,
Annual Report on Human Rights Situation in Syria
2006 (Covering the period from June 2005 to May
2006), June 2006, http://www.shrc.org.uk/data/pdf/
ANNUALREPORT2006.pdf.
5. Reporters Without Borders, “List of the 13 Internet
enemies 2006,” November 7, 2006,
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=19603.
6. Guy Taylor, “Syrians search for online freedom,”
podcast audio of interview with Amr Salem, World
Politics Watch, January 13, 2007. Excerpts available
at http://www.worldpoliticswatch.com/blog/
blog.aspx?id=470.
7. Guy Taylor, “After the Damascus spring: Syrians
search for freedom online,” Reason Online: Free
Minds and Free Markets, February 2007,
http://www.reason.com/news/show/118380.html.
8. Ibid.
9. World Bank, “Syrian Arab Republic Data Profile
2004,” World Development Indicators database (April
2006), http://devdata.worldbank.org/external/
cpprofile.asp?ccode=syr&ptype=cp.
10. OneWorld.net, OneWorld Country Guide: Syria,
http://us.oneworld.net/guides/syria/development#
top.
11. The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information,
“Syria Internet under siege,” The Internet in the Arab
World: A New Space of Repression? June 2004,
http://www.hrinfo.net/en/reports/net2004/syria.shtml.
12. International Telecommunication Union, World
Telecommunication Indicators 2006.
13. The Initiative for an Open Arab Internet, Implacable
Adversaries: Arab Governments and the Internet:
Syria, December 2006, http://www.openarab.net/en/
reports/net2006/syria.shtml.
Country Summaries
383