Aiding repression, or just doing business?

The Guelph Mercury newspaper reports that a Guelph-based tech firm called Netsweeper, which is known for making tools to control information abroad, is tightening communications at home. After giving several media interviews during its rapid rise in the burgeoning internet security sector, Netsweeper now not only refuses to speak to reporters, but also recently rejected a meeting request by Guelph MP Frank Valeriote.

Their silence follows allegations that the company provides censorship software to Middle Eastern clients, who actively suppress free speech and access to information. According to researchers from the Citizen Lab, “Netsweeper currently provides filtering tools to state-owned telecommunications companies in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.” The Lab first blogged about Netsweeper here.

For the full article, see here.