(MENAFN- Jordan Times) The Jordan Open Source Association will launch a campaign soon to rally support for defending Internet freedom in the Kingdom.
The association, which is a not-for-profit organisation established last year with a view to support freedom of the web in Jordan, will launch a Facebook campaign soon and hold a series of meetings with officials and private sector representatives to defend Internet freedom.
"The campaign we will launch seeks to educate the public about the dangerous consequences of the government blocking certain websites in Jordan," Issa Mahasneh, the association's president, told The Jordan Times on Sunday.
"The campaign entails using social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to rally public support to protect Internet freedom," he said, slamming a recent decision by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology asking Internet service providers to block pornographic websites.
The campaign, he said, will be held in cooperation with several IT sector representatives, civil society organisations and youth groups.
"Blocking pornographic sites is the first step towards blocking other sites and limiting freedom of using the web. This is a blow to the IT sector in Jordan," he added.
In late July, the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology made software that enables Internet users to block pornographic content available on its website.
The ministry also urged providers to block pornographic sites after repeated demands by a group of anti-pornography activists who started a campaign on Facebook in February, which now has over 34,000 fans.
"We seek to raise awareness among people that giving the government the green light to block porn sites can be used as a pretext to block other sites," said Mahasneh.
"It is everyone's basic human right to have free access to the Internet and those who wish to protect their children from watching pornographic sites can easily ask their Internet providers to block these sites," he said.
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