Ukraine seeks to 'own' the internet

The Ukrainian government is attempting to obtain ownership of the Ukrainian domain, .ua, according to press freedom campaign group Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF).

In a statement released this week, RSF secretary general Robert Ménard said the internet had become a key target for the Ukraine’s secret police who already closely monitor the country's media.

"The government’s bid to take over management of the national domain name, and its proposal that parliament legalise email monitoring, will allow it to effectively gag online activity," he said.

The .ua domain is currently owned by private company Hostmaster. On 22 July, the Ukrainian government took Hostmaster to court to try to win control of the domain, and also contacted the US-based Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) seeking approval for the transfer.

RSF says ICANN has not yet responded.

Robert Shaw, web and information officer at the International Federation of Journalists, told dotJournalism that the case of Gyorgy Gongadze proves that freedom of the press is a difficult issue in the Ukraine.

Web journalist Mr Gongadze was investigating government corruption for Ukrainian Pravda when he was abducted and murdered three years ago. His killers have still not been caught.

"In the Ukraine, private papers are largely controlled and most of the media is state owned," said Mr Shaw.

"It is much harder to control the internet and it seems that the government is going after the last open access to information.

"This has very worrying implications for press freedom groups within the Ukraine."

See also:
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=8359
http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/story721.html
http://www2.pravda.com.ua/en

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