The Five Worst Countries for Surfing the Web ... Pg. 59

China, North Korea, Burma, Iran, and Cuba are the worst countries to surf the web mostly for the following reasons:

• Government controls peoples access and filters many foreign sites

• Not enough internet access to people which results in no web to "surf"

• Government arrests people who criticize government actions

For example, the chinese government imprisoned a human rights activist, Lui Xiaobo, for posting his views on the web. Then the government also blocked the news Web sites the honored him at a Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.

Do you think people should be able to view any website they wish?
OR what is what the government doing a viable reason to protect their citizens?

In my view, an individual over the age of 18 - or whichever legal age limit the country abides by - should be able to view whichever sites he/she desires. It is their choice to make. The government shouldn't worry about adults viewing certain websites; they are mature and old enough to rationally view these websites and not take any of the stuff some sites may suggest too literally. Where the government should intervene is the prohibition of individuals under the legal age to view certain 'corrupting' sites. Some particular individuals this age perhaps may not have the rational capacity nor the maturity to view a site and not be influenced negatively to some extent. The government should allow the parents to view these sites, but also ensure that their children do not

I believe the government don't want their citizens to see foreign sites because it could possibliy show how thos countries are better in many ways. Economy, freedoms, etc. So countries who don't want their people to see that they could have better lives in a different place, cause if those citizens found out they would leave. I don't think those countries care about the age of the people who view the sites, but more about the sites they view. And the government in those countries really despise the people who conflict the ways of the government... it really shows how these governments are really extreme in their actions. I do agree with Taylor in which the people of those countries should be allowed to view any site available on the internet, but the governments have always been filtering what the peopel know and what people see since we can remember...

I believe that these countries whould be changed and should be more about the people and not the collective society.

i really wasnt surprised that these were the countries that are worst for internet. there are all very extremist governments and they control their people thusly. to comment on what taylor said, people everywhere should have the ability to access everything on the net, but that is simply not the world we live in. until every corrupt government in the world goes "egyptian" theres always going to be these powers in office. also, in a way, maybe we shouldnt be able to see everythong on the internet. many websites are harmful to your computer and some websites are just plain wrong.

Even if those countries were to go "Egyptian" , Who would stop those evil and harmful sites from reaching young children and people who don't need to see that kind of stuff. That's why I believe that if those countries were to not control there people so justly, and let them use the internet freely, there should be some sort of bann on specific disturbing sites people put up. Like most people don't want to see that.

unfortunately simrit, theres a market out there for those disturbing sites, and if there's money to be made then there are always going to be kickin around

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I believe the government don't want their citizens to see foreign sites because it could possibliy show how thos countries are better in many ways. Economy, freedoms, etc. So countries who don't want their people to see that they could have better lives in a different place, cause if those citizens found out they would leave.

Thats a great point. If people in a communist society begin to see light of a free economy in which you can do anything, perhaps they will want change. I agree fully with this statement. The goverment is taking the right precautions in doing this, but a question as to whether or not this is right can be asked. I dont think it is right, people should have the right to the knowledge of information, but surely the government could care less.
Also, respected that there are some very disturbing sites, it is ultimatly it comes down to the individuals choice to view this site in the first place. Some very twisted people could enjoy these sites, and they have a right to access it if they please. Having freedom to any sites is fine, assuming that we make the right decisions when it comes to which sites we view.

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Also, respected that there are some very disturbing sites, it is ultimatly it comes down to the individuals choice to view this site in the first place. Some very twisted people could enjoy these sites, and they have a right to access it if they please. Having freedom to any sites is fine, assuming that we make the right decisions when it comes to which sites we view.

I agree that we should have the freedom to choose what we view and that those twisted people can access those disturbing sites sites, BUT what about our younger siblings, other people's children....
Who's gonna stop them from accessing these sites?... They don't fully know the difference between good and bad.
I believe these countries have a good moral idea, but they took it too far..
We should some how let specific age groups view specific sites, and younger indiviuals view sites appropriatt to their age groups, so then younger people could't access those sites.

Exactly. As i mentioned before, the government should have control over who views the sites to a certain extent. I think they should have the right to restrict kids under an appropiate age to view these sites; but at the same time, the government should have no say in what an adult chooses to view and not view. The adults can make that decision for themselves. But as Mark said, the government in those places does not think like this, and could care less if the people dont have the accessibility to view certain sites.

Those govts don't understand wehat those sites areactually doing to their younger generations! Those countries only believe in controlling their people into thinking their country isthe allmighty, and no country is better to live in. ( Even though Canada Rules )
I believe these countries should adopt our western ways and actually understand trhe real reason ffor having a government in a country, to maintain structure by the ways of the peole, to be all for the people and not for the collectivE!

I believe the less control the government has, the better. The government should not have ANY control over what it's people view on the internet. By limiting internet access, a liberty is lost. Websites should be responsible for keeping youth off of their sites if they aren't "child friendly", not the government.

How can websites keep young people off their sites? Like how do they know it's not a youth or an adult?

I very much agree with Taylor that as a government you should have the right to restrict children and under aged citizens from viewing inappropriate materials on the web, but once you become an adult and are able to make your own decisions in society you should be able to view the internet freely. Although the government does not want you seeing alternative ways of life in some cases I believe that by having the internet as a tool to explore is a great benefit to society, and that it helps individuals to learn and expand their knowledge of the world around them. If as a government you truly believe your governing system and way of life is the best for your country, you shouldn’t have any hesitations about your citizens viewing the web and experiencing and learning about other ways of life because you should be confident you are giving them the best life possible.

All those governments are trying to isolate the country from the outside world so the people don't get ideas and go on riots against the government. if you go on the web you already know the things you can find about government types and freedom of the people in different countries so the government of Cuba Iran etc all just want to prevent themselves from being overrun that's the reasoning behind why they conceal the internet from the people of that country by only showing positives about the country the citizens won get any ideas and riot which is needed to have a stable environment for the government to continue on. i obviously don't agree with those government officials but i do understand where there coming from they just want to stay in control commys these days....

In 2006, Reporters without Borders published a list of the 13 enemies of the Internet The organization classifies a country as an enemy of the internet because all of these countries mark themselves out not just for their capacity to censor news and information online but also for their almost systematic repression of Internet users the list is updated annually and now includes 12 countries in 2009
* Burma
* China
* Cuba
* Egypt
* Iran
* North Korea
* Saudi Arabia
* Syria
* Tunisia
* Turkmenistan
* Uzbekistan
* Vietnam
wow i wouldnt want to be on facebook here hahaha

Simrit Birdi wrote:

How can websites keep young people off their sites? Like how do they know it's not a youth or an adult?

I'm not saying they'll be able to keep youth off 100% of the time, but an age verification ("enter your birth date) is enough to keep the really young kids off of the site. Besides, by the time a kid is smart enough to get around this system, they probably already know a thing or two about what they're searching.

Lol this actually a funny but quite sad article to read because yes whatever reasons these countries have of controlling what sites there citizens are surfing on the internet, who are they really to judge what's better really for a grown man/woman in there country. Many leaders in these countries say it's for the better good of the whole country but what good is in violating the freedom of another human being. Nevertheless, countries should find ways of educating parents on how to protect their kids on what they do on the internet. Many kid's are corrupted and some wounded for life on what they surf on the computer and this is one of biggest causes of problems in society because some of these kids might end up violent, some creeps (lol ). But this control can only come from parents, all the government can do is inspire these parents in protecting there kids.

i totally i agree but you know some parents don't even know themselves what is on the internet like if the government steps in which they do sometimes with the warning entry signs it will help prevent at least some kids from ruining there mind not all of course but nothings perfect and i respect them for trying however completely taking away the rights of the citizens int the freedom on what to search is very wrong even in a communist based country!

I think that people should be able to view whatever site they want to view. Even though in the minds of dictators this could create unrest with its people once they find out what "else" is out there. It just comes downs to peoples rights, whatever amount of freedom people have in their everyday lives will usually be relatively equal to the amount of freedoms they have on the internet. Even though it might not seem right to "hide" things from people, that' just the way it is in some countries.

"How can websites keep young people off their sites? Like how do they know it's not a youth or an adult?"

It should definitely just be up to parents, not the websites themselves, to keep young people off their sites. If parents of older people are that concerned with what young people can see on the internet, they can simply put security settings on their computers so young people can't view certain sites. Or just simply monitor their kids when their on the computer.

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Even though in the minds of dictators this could create unrest with its people once they find out what "else" is out there. It just comes downs to peoples rights,

Usually a dictator in a communist society will put the country before the rights and desires of an individual. The governemnt wont care about the loss of right and freedom to view website, they will only care that they have potentially prevented a revolution for stirring up

yeah Taylor is exactly right in a dictatorship to be more specific Nazism and fascism the world collective takes a big part for example if we look at Stalin he took away farmland to make one big farm taking away freedom and although he used fear to control the country he puts the whole country above any one man.

yess true and that's one aspect i don't really mind about dictatorship. These dictators put the needs and general well being of the whole country before every thing an everyone else. Nevertheless, these dictators should come to a point were they realise that people are not like robots, you cannot determine what they watch, hear, do or whatever. Human beings are born with the capacity to make their own decisions and also the responsibility to reap the consequences for their actions, that's a principle. So the controlling of internet surfing might have good intentions behind them but at the same time is violating principles.

I think people should be able to view whatever they like online. however, is it really necessary? or should there be some limitations on somethings? since children and adults can access the internet where anything could be available, i think for the sake of the children, we as a community should censor somethings. children should be limited on some information about this world until they are mature enough to handle it. with the internet, they are exposed to many things people like our grandparents were not exposed to until later in life. censorship, if used properly, can help protect the child from potential danger thats lingering around the corner. afterall, there are a lot of crazy people in the world. who knows what they would do online and they might be able to convert a perfectly normal child to some lunatic.

maybe in the future someone would develop some sort of technology that can help solve this problem . the web in my opinion isn't at its full potential yet as there are LOTS of things that can still be improved on. its still very young...


the government in a way is sort of protecting his own citizens from "potential danger" or assimilation. history does repeat itself, and countries like china may only want to conserve their traditions and culture. from the article, the countries listed are not the wealthiest countries, but quite poor and their history and culture may be what is the only true valuables they own.
however, the censorship is used to an extreme point where people are harmed and it maybe because of a selfish reason/viewpoint. again with china, their case with Liu Xiaobo was undeniably a very selfish and senseless thing done on an innocent individual who was only there to voice out his own opinion about china.

from an environmental point of view, less people using technology means less people using electricity. when less electricity is used, less pollution is produced than what could have been produced, and earth is benefiting somewhat, right?

Simrit Birdi wrote:

How can websites keep young people off their sites? Like how do they know it's not a youth or an adult?

man they never really will know. its not that hard to take a credit card or lie about your age. the way i see it is it should be up to the individual to view that and if they are underage then it should be the responsibility of the parents or care givers to tell them what is right or wrong. they have the power to restrict the internet they go on and they also have the power to view anything. the thing is is that illegal things and stuff of that nature (ie. porn) should be blockd from those kids. its up to the parents. but for a government to restrict the people from knowledge of the world and what is going on around them is just wrong. people should be free to explore and expand their minds.

Do you really think every kid has someone who cares enough about them to literally stop them from goign on those sites? And even if they do Most kids can just go on any other computer thats not at there house and access any site they want...

It's mere impossible to say that a kids parents are who should be stopping them, cause alot of parent dont give a dam