U.S. Targets Tech’s Role in Oppression
President Barack Obama has signed an executive order targeting people and companies facilitating human-rights abuses with technology, part of a broader push by the White House to combat mass atrocities at a time of heightened concern over civilian massacres in places like Syria.
The order authorizes sanctions and visa bans against people using information technology who commit or facilitate grave human-rights abuses related to “Syrian and Iranian regime brutality,” the White House said. The order would also allow the U.S. to target companies that enable human-rights abuses with technology.
