Internet activists, entrepreneurs warn G-8 leaders against restricting Web freedom

Internet activists and digital entrepreneurs warned that if global leaders attempt to limit access to the Web, their restrictions will be bypassed and they will become irrelevant.

The stark message adds to growing resistance — from big name companies like Google and Twitter to anonymous Internet vigilantes who have attacked government censorship networks — against creeping laws that might one day restrict services many users now take for granted. The leaders of the Group of Eight most powerful countries begin meeting in France on Thursday to discuss issues of global concern in the wake of the Arab uprising that have been described as the first Internet-enabled revolutions. “G-8 governments should say very clearly for once that Internet access is a fundamental human right,” said Jean-Francois Julliard, who heads free speech group Reporters without Borders. Julliard said more than 60 countries now have some form of Internet censorship in place, and that number is growing. Tony Wang, Twitter’s general manager for Europe, said attempts to crack down on free expression are self-defeating.