Mugabe urges developing nations to regulate information

President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe told a summit of developing nations on Wednesday that the information age should be regulated so that the Internet does not “poison societies”, news reports said.

Mugabe, speaking at the summit of the Group of 15 developing countries in Indonesia, said that globalisation was “extending the economic dominance that the United States and Europe have enjoyed over the world since the days of colonialism and slavery”. Mugabe added that “undesirable” information should be regulated, including pornography, disinformation, popularisation of crime and the “character assassination of public office holders and governments”.

“The toll-free and regulation-free information highways and the Internet threaten the very being and essence of our nations and communities,” Mugabe said. Information providers had a “heavy responsibility” over their content, he said. The summit is expected to issue a declaration urging a united stand to bridge the gap in information technology with rich countries. Many leaders called the gap a handicap preventing the poor from benefiting from globalisation.