IOC looks to wipe hands clean of net censorship dustup

The governing body for the Olympic games wants to make sure that nobody thinks it allowed the Chinese government to impose Web access restrictions.

International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge made the comments at a Saturday press conference where reporters grilled him on the subject. Rogge has stayed generally silent on the matter, although his press chief has not.

Kevan Gosper told Reuters last week that Committee members had reached an agreement with China to allow government officials to block sites. Rogge took this claim head on, telling the BBC "there has been no deal whatsoever to accept restrictions."

He also admitted that the IOC may have been a little naive with respect to the issue of Web censorship in China, saying "idealism is linked with some naivety."

News reports indicate that most of the blocks are now gone. However, the Associated Press noted that the typical sensitive sites are inaccessible, with the blocks changing almost daily.

China is widely considered one of the strictest countries in blocking Internet access, regularly cutting off or redirecting access to sites outside the country, especially when the government perceives their content to be subversive or inappropriate. As part of its agreement to hold the Olympic Games back in 2001, China had agreed to give international press freedom to report from the games.

Nevertheless, restrictions have been placed on broadcasting from Tienanmen Square, and also on the movement of cameras and reporters. However, the IOC continues to maintain that organizers have pledged to not interfere with coverage.