AMMAN, JORDAN ¨C The Internet has proved to be a powerful tool for overcoming media restrictions and censorship worldwide. But new restrictions on Web-based news media, such as those in Jordan, threaten to reverse the progress that the Internet has enabled.
For example, the tendency of Arab countries¡¯ media to discuss issues concerning other countries more freely than those affecting their own has long impeded citizens¡¯ ability to keep abreast of domestic affairs. Amin.org ¡ª the Arab world¡¯s first censorship-free website, which I established in 1996 ¡ª addressed the problem by giving people access to information and commentary from foreign publications about domestic issues and events.
Four years later, at a time when Jordanians could access primarily government-owned radio stations, plus a few foreign stations, I launched AmmamNet.net, an Internet radio station that broadcast news and commentary from Jordan to the rest of the world. While Jordan later loosened official restrictions on audio-visual media, AmmanNet continued to deliver high-quality independent news and commentary.
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