Press Release
After Outcry, ASU Lifts Blocking of Change.org
Contact: Timothy Karr, 201-533-8838
On Friday night, Arizona State University (ASU) responded to thousands of complaints from ASU students and Free Press activists and stopped blocking student access to the popular petition website Change.org.
“The university acknowledges and understands the expression of concern from some members of the community who desire access to Change.org from university computing resources,” said a statement from the school. “The university has removed the restriction against site access from university computing resources.”
Free Press Internet Campaign Director Josh Levy made the following statement:
“Arizona State administrators ultimately made the right decision in restoring access to Change.org. We hope ASU understands that the free speech rights of its students are paramount. Free Press urges the university to scrutinize its Internet-use policies to be sure they don’t censor free speech or interfere with students' ability to petition the administration or the government for redress of grievances.
"The university needs to stop indiscriminately blocking sites and to find ways to differentiate spam from legitimate and lawful sites. This kind of problem likely isn't limited to ASU. As Internet censorship becomes a growing problem in the United States and abroad, America’s educational institutions should be setting an example by defending the open Internet and the First Amendment.”
“The university acknowledges and understands the expression of concern from some members of the community who desire access to Change.org from university computing resources,” said a statement from the school. “The university has removed the restriction against site access from university computing resources.”
Free Press Internet Campaign Director Josh Levy made the following statement:
“Arizona State administrators ultimately made the right decision in restoring access to Change.org. We hope ASU understands that the free speech rights of its students are paramount. Free Press urges the university to scrutinize its Internet-use policies to be sure they don’t censor free speech or interfere with students' ability to petition the administration or the government for redress of grievances.
"The university needs to stop indiscriminately blocking sites and to find ways to differentiate spam from legitimate and lawful sites. This kind of problem likely isn't limited to ASU. As Internet censorship becomes a growing problem in the United States and abroad, America’s educational institutions should be setting an example by defending the open Internet and the First Amendment.”
