U.S. tests system to break foreign Web censorship

BOSTON, (Reuters) – The U.S. government is covertly  testing technology in China and Iran that lets residents break  through screens set up by their governments to limit access to  news on the Internet.

The “feed over email” (FOE) system delivers news, podcasts  and data via technology that evades web-screening protocols of  restrictive regimes, said Ken Berman, head of IT at the U.S.  government’s Broadcasting Board of Governors, which is testing  the system.

The news feeds are sent through email accounts including  those operated by Google Inc, Microsoft Corp’s Hotmail and  Yahoo Inc.
“We have people testing it in China and Iran,” said Berman,  whose agency runs Voice of America.  He provided few details on  the new system, which is in the early stages of testing. He  said some secrecy was important to avoid detection by the two  governments.

The Internet has become a powerful tool for citizens in  countries where governments regularly censor news media,  enabling them to learn about and react to major social and  political events.

Young Iranians used social networking services Facebook and  Twitter as well as mobile phones to coordinate protests and  report on demonstrations in the wake of the country’s disputed  presidential election in June.

In May, ahead of the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen  Square crackdown, the Chinese government blocked access to  Twitter and Hotmail.
Sho Ho, who helped develop FOE, said in an email that the  system could be tweaked easily to work on most types of mobile  phones.
The U.S. government also offers a free service that allows  overseas users to access virtually any site on the Internet,  including those opposing the United States.
“We don’t make any political statement about what people  visit,” Berman said. “We are trying to impart the value: ‘The  more you know, the better.’ People can look for themselves.”

In addition to China and Iran, targets for the FOE  technology include Myanmar, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam,  he said.
Berman, however, said there would be modest filtering of  pornography on the system. “There is a limit to how much (U.S.)  taxpayers should have to pay for,” he said.