Letter to President Biden: sanctions and internet access in Russia and Belarus
Free Press Unlimited, together with 39 organisations, has undersigned a letter to President Biden to carefully consider the impact of restricting the Russian public's access to the internet.
The statement sets out to deplore Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and condemns the grave violations committed by Russian forces there.
It goes on to applaud the efforts by the Biden Administration and other governments to respond with strong and targeted sanctions.
However, the letter expresses concerns about growing calls to stop the Russian public from being able to access the internet, arguing that this might result in further repression by the Russian government.
The letter finishes with a set of recommendations for the US and like-minded governments to consider.
Read the full letter here:
Signatories:
Access Now
ARTICLE 19
Azerbaijan Internet Watch
Beam Reports
Center for Democracy & Technology
Committee to Protect Journalists
Dangerous Speech Project/Christchurch Call Advisory Network
Digital Impact and Governance Initiative (DIGI) @ New America
Digital Rights Kashmir
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
Free Belarus Coalition
Freedom House
Free Press Unlimited
Friends of Angola
Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD)
Guernica 37 Group
Harvard Law School Cyberlaw Clinic at the Berkman Klein Center
Human Rights First
Human Rights Foundation
Human Rights Watch
Index on Censorship
International Senior Lawyers Project (ISLP)
Internet Society
Paradigm Initiative (PIN)
Project Expedite Justice
Manushya Foundation
Mass Media Defence Centre
Media Diversity Institute - Armenia
Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)
Miaan Group
Net Freedoms Project
Ranking Digital Rights
RFK Human Rights
RosKomSvoboda
Teplitsa. Technologies for Social Good
US Ukrainian Activists
Wikimedia Foundation
Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET)
World Wide Web Foundation
Xnet - Spain
Photo by Paul Enkelaar/Maidan, Ukraine.
