Amnesty launch digital rights campaign

Amnesty International and the Observer have launched a campaign to defend freedom of expression on the Net.

"The campaign, which Amnesty has called irrepressible.info, demands freedom of expression over the internet. People are continuing to be persecuted - sometimes thrown in prison for years on end - for having a political opinion. But this time the method of communication is online. The campaign calls for governments to stop censoring websites, blocking emails and shutting down blogs - and for big corporations to stop helping them.

In an article to launch the campaign, Kate Allen, UK director of Amnesty International, criticises technology companies for allowing censorship and providing information to governments used to convict political dissidents."