By Ghassan Karam, Special to Ya Libnan
At a time when many countries are working on introducing G4 technology for fast and reliable telecommunications that is becoming increasingly video oriented Lebanon has the distinction of having one of the least sophisticated telecommunications infra structure in the world and the most expensive in the region, I might add.
Yet out 128 clowns and what passes for a cabinet are doing their best to drag us back into the stone age and to take away one of the very few windows of fresh air that we have. Whether you live in Lebanon or whether you live abroad but maintain close connection to friends and family the law that is to be voted upon tomorrow will affect you and in a rather negative way.
If the law passes and the government has its say then all VOIP will become effectively illegal and are to be banned including Skype. But that is not enough. The government is planning on giving itself a carte blanche to have access to all your internet communications and to have the right to confiscate hard drives and to sue those that are critical of the government and its feudal landlords. For an excellent discussion in Arabic go to tella.org a Lebanese blog.
If you care about internet neutrality, personal freedom, efficient technology and competitive environment then please contact any of the parliamentary members that you can to impress upon them the need to defeat this draconian intrusive law which has very few counterparts besides Egypt, Algeria and Turkey, non of whom is exactly a hotbed of creativity, democracy and personal liberty. Just ask them to keep their hands off the internet.
If you want some more information then visit any of the following links:
SMEX says ACT NOW: Stop the E-transactions law.
Qifa Nabki’s Missed Call Nation.
Lebanon is stifling your freedom: Daily Star article.
Maya Zankoul nails another one.
A country is as good as its citizens. Let us show them that we care about democracy, modernity and freedom.
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