Cyberwarfare

“In the wake of a recent speech by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemning countries that censor the internet and engage in hacking, China has lobbed a return volley and accused the United States of hypocrisy and initiating cyberwarfare against Iran. An editorial in the People’s Daily — the primary mouthpiece for China’s Communist Party — accused the United States of doublespeak and of using ‘online warfare’ to instigate violent unrest in Iran with Twitter and YouTube following that country’s national elections in June. ‘We’re afraid that in the eyes of American politicians, only information controlled by America is free information, only news acknowledged by America is free news, only speech approved by America is free speech, and only information flow that suits American interests is free information flow,’ said the Sunday editorial, according to the Guardian newspaper. The editorial was taking aim at a speech by Clinton last Thursday in which she said that access to information, and the internet, is a basic human right. She said that countries around the world were erecting virtual walls in place of the physical walls that generally characterize oppressive regimes.”