Julien of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) mentioned in the comments that the RSF did send its petition to European authorities as well as US ones, and that the concentration on US companies is due to the fact that they have a higher visibility. As that is the reason AP has a Cisco logo in his left-hand sidebar, instead of one by Alcatel, the point is well taken.

In other RSF news, China climbed a few notches in the most recent Press Freedom Index, Running Dog reports.:

Beijing. January 16. Xinhuanet: China has now overtaken Libya in the annual press freedom index compiled by the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders organization, marking the growing opportunities for open media enquiry in the country.

Since 2002, China has also moved above Burma, Turkmenistan, Nepal, Iran, Eritrea and Cuba, signifying the progress China has made in protecting journalism and developing the harmonious society.

“We’re not as bad as those North Koreans, make no mistake,” said Xiao Huang, a former editorial assistant with The Beijing News.

Meanwhile, the US has plummeted more than 20 places since last year, and Japanese press freedom has also fallen in the last three years, according to the index.

“That Koizumi bloke should stop visiting that shrine, the bastard,” said Xiao Huang, who now drives a cab.

Given the Beijing News incident, AP expects the country will drop a couple of notches in the 2006 index.

Technorati Tags: asia, censorship, china, east asia, northeast asia