So, Google is out of China and according to reports from Business Week and CNN, Venezuela might be the next casualty of online censorship. While the biggest shock might be that Venezuelans actually have access to social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, there is fear that President Hugo Chavez might be planning to pull the plug or drastically censor such sites.
According to Chavez himself on his weekly TV show Alo Presidente, he is calling for internet regulations, which among other cyber maladies, will tackle false news stories. Under current Venezuelan law, owners and contributors of media outlets can be jailed for publishing incorrect information.
The encroaching regulations will enforce accountability for these false news stories, which on Facebook adds up to just a bit over 100,000,000 million people worldwide!
Social sites pose a direct threat to Chavez’s government because they are vital tools used by opponents. Unlike in the States where Facebook is the place to get the latest on who’s hatched what egg on who’s farm, Venezuelans organize protests and voice alternative political views on social sites.
Perhaps no one has friend-requested Chevaz and he is beginning to get a different picture of the here and now of his country? Anyone have a spare olive branch to push the mouse and add him as friend?
OJO, Mark Zuckerberg! If the disenfranchised.politically-savvy youth of Venezuela stage a coup d’état, you might be in for it!