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Look who is helping block the web in the Middle East

Perhaps not really surprising, but American companies are assisting regimes in the Middle East to block use of the internet. But doesn't that fly in the face of US foreign policy?

"As Middle East regimes try to stifle dissent by censoring the Internet, the U.S. faces an uncomfortable reality: American companies provide much of the technology used to block websites."

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"According to a forthcoming report from OpenNet, ISPs in at least nine Middle East and North African countries have used "Western-made tools for the purpose of blocking social and political content, effectively blocking a total of over 20 million Internet users from accessing such websites."

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