House Subcommittee Approves Bill to Prohibit Export of Censorship Technology to Certain Countries

On March 27, 2012, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Human Rights approved for full committee consideration the Global Online Freedom Act of 2011, which would prohibit export of telecommunications equipment that would help countries to censor and track its citizens. If passed, H.R. 3605 would result in a list of countries that restrict Internet use. Those countries would then be prohibited from import censorship technology from the U.S. The specific countries and technologies aren't yet identified.