THE GUARDIAN: America funding technology to break web censorship in repressive regimes, such as China and IranThe United States is playing a game of "cat and mouse" on the web, funding new technology aimed at breaking internet censorship in repressive regimes including China and Iran, officials have said.
Michael Posner, the US assistant secretary of state for human rights, said projects being funded by the US government included technology that acts as a "slingshot" – identifying censored material and throwing it back on to the web for users to find. The project is part of a $30m (£18m) state department project to encourage civil liberty online.
"We're responding with new tools. This is a cat-and-mouse game. We're trying to stay one step ahead of the cat," Posner said. Censored information would be redirected to email, blogs and other online sources, he said. He would not identify the recipients of funding for "reasons of security".
The comments are part of an overall US strategy to raise the importance of cyberspace in foreign affairs. The Pentagon is preparing to unveil an "international strategy for cyberspace" that will make online security an official domain of warfare like land, sea and air. » | Dominic Rushe in New York | Thursday, May 12, 2011
