U.S. tests technology to break foreign Web censorship

          
          U.S. tests techmlogy to break forei Web censorship Reuters.com http://www.reuters.conilarticlePrint?article ld=USTRE57D14R20090814
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          U.S. tests technology to break foreign Web
          censorship
          Fri Aug 14, 2009 3:36am EDT
          By Jim Finkle
          BOSTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government is covertly testing technology in
          China and Iran that lets residents break through screens set up by their
          governments to limit access to news on the Internet.
          The “feed over email” (FOE) system delivers news, podcasts and data via
          technology that evades web-screening protocols of restrictive regimes, said
          Ken Berman, head of IT at the U.S. government's Broadcasting Board of
          Governors, which is testing the system.
          The news feeds are sent through email accounts including those operated
          by Google Inc, Microsoft Corp's Hotmail and Yahoo Inc.
          “We have people testing it in China and Iran,” said Berman, whose agency
          runs Voice of America. He provided few details on the new system, which is
          in the early stages of testing. He said some secrecy was important to avoid
          detection by the two governments.
          The Internet has become a powerful tool for citizens in countries where
          governments regularly censor news media, enabling them to learn about
          and react to major social and political events.
          Young Iranians used social networking services Facebook and Twifter as
          well as mobile phones to coordinate protests and report on demonstrations
          in the wake of the country's disputed presidential election in June.
          In May, ahead of the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown,
          the Chinese government blocked access to Twitter and Hotmail.
          Sho Ho, who helped develop FOE, said in an email that the system could be
          tweaked easily to work on most types of mobile phones.
          The U.S. government also offers a free service that allows overseas users
          to access virtually any site on the Internet, including those opposing the
          United States.
          “We don't make any political statement about what people visit,” Berman
          said. “We are trying to impart the value: ‘The more you know, the better.'
          People can look for themselves.”
          In addition to China and Iran, targets for the FOE technology include
          Myanmar, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam, he said.
          Berman, however, said there would be modest filtering of pornography on
          the system. “There is a limit to how much (U.S.) taxpayers should have to
          pay for,” he said.
          (Reporting by Jim Finkle, editing by Matthew Bigg and Paul Simao)
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