Brussels, 12/03/2014 (Agence Europe) - On world anti-cybercensorship day, 12 March, Reporters without Borders published an annual report on enemies of the internet, identifying countries that flout freedom of the internet, including the usual suspects (China, Iran, North Korea and Russia) and 31 “little-known” entities that are “often at the heart of surveillance and censorship systems in many countries”. The idea of including them is “to draw attention to the schizophrenic attitude towards online freedoms that prevails in some countries”. The institutions include three in democratic countries that claim to respect fundamental freedoms. One of these countries, the United Kingdom and its Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) is in Europe, another is the United States and its National Security Agency (NSA), and another is India, with its Centre for Telematic Development. The NSA and GCHQ are singled out for spying on the communications of millions of private individuals, including many reporters, and deliberately introducing security flaws in hardware used to transport requests online and pirating at the very heart of the internet using the Quantum Insert programme at NSA and the Tempora programme at GCHQ. Reporters without Borders explains that “the internet was a collective resource that the NSA and GCHQ turned into a weapon in the service of special interests, in the process of flouting freedom of information, freedom of expression and the right to privacy”. The report sheds light on many ways that censorship operates in the different countries - surveillance companies and collaboration among different countries (particularly Ethiopia, Russia and Belarus), territorial protection agencies (Saudi Arabia and Sudan), freedom-restricting laws (Vietnam, Gambia and Bangladesh) and requiring websites to be licensed (Singapore and Uzbekistan). At a time when the European Commission says it is keen to defend transparency on the web and an internet that serves fundamental freedoms and human rights (see EUROPE 11017), Reporters without Borders suggests the following action to protect precious freedom of information online: (1) taking action at international institution level to boost the legal framework governing internet surveillance, data protection and the export of IT surveillance equipment; (2) training people to protect their data and communications; and (3) continuing to report on surveillance and censorship. (IL)