Europeans Outlaw Net Hate Speech

NewLight2

http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,56294,00.html

By Julia Scheeres

02:00 AM Nov. 09, 2002 PT

The Council of Europe has adopted a measure that would criminalize Internet
hate speech, including hyperlinks to pages that contain offensive content.

The provision, which was passed by the council's decision-making body (the
Committee of Ministers), updates the European Convention on Cybercrime.

Specifically, the amendment bans "any written material, any image or any
other representation of ideas or theories, which advocates, promotes or incites
hatred, discrimination or violence, against any individual or group of
individuals, based on race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin, as well
as religion if used as pretext for any of these factors."

It also obliquely refers to the Holocaust, outlawing sites that deny, minimize,
approve or justify crimes against humanity, particularly those that occurred
during World War II.

"The emergence of international communication networks like the Internet
provide certain persons with modern and powerful means to support racism
and xenophobia and enables them to disseminate easily and widely expressions
containing such ideas," the council's report on the amendment states. "In order
to investigate and prosecute such persons, international cooperation is vital."

Many European countries have existing laws outlawing Internet racism, which
is generally protected as free speech in the United States. The council cited a
report finding that 2,500 out of 4,000 racist sites were created in the United
States.

Critics say that the measure may push hate groups to set up virtual shop in the
United States, pointing to a decision last year by a U.S. judge who ruled that
Yahoo did not have to block French citizens' access to online sales of Nazi
memorabilia, which are illegal in that country. The judge determined that U.S.
websites are only subject to American law.

"This could lead to a clash of cultures," said Cedric Laurant, a Belgian lawyer
and staff counsel with the Electronic Privacy and Information Center. "What
will happen if the French police start asking local U.S. police to give them
information about the people running a site?"

European countries may decide to censor U.S. content themselves, as Spain has
done, suggested Carlos Snchez Almeida, a cybercrime lawyer located in
Barcelona.

Spain recently passed legislation authorizing judges to shut down Spanish sites
and block access to U.S. Web pages that don't comply with national laws.

"If European countries adopt the (anti-racism) amendment of the European
Council in their legislatures, they'll also be able to block websites from the
U.S.A., despite the First Amendment."

Representatives of the 44 European countries on the European Council must
decide whether to adopt or reject the measure during the next Parliamentary
Assembly session in January. Countries who support the amendment will then
need to ratify it in their national legislatures before making it law.

Wired News:

Copyright 2002, Lycos, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Francois

This is dangerous.

No sooner we get the most incredible advance in communication since the smoke signal and the bleedin' politicians have just GOT to get their damn hands on it and screw it up beyond recognition.

I hope you folks across the pond will fight this.

Edited by - francois on 10 November 2002 20:41:10

seawolf

ok my first response went to that digital graveyard in the sky

here is the quick version of it since I don't feel like retyping it

I basically said it'll be here in the US before long, although I hope not. Hopefully all of this stuff gets shotdown here.

Pentagon Plans a Computer System That Would Peek at Personal Data of Americans

As the director of the effort, Vice Adm. John M. Poindexter, has described the system in Pentagon documents and in speeches, it will provide intelligence analysts and law enforcement officials with instant access to information from Internet mail and calling records to credit card and banking transactions and travel documents, without a search warrant.
Historically, military and intelligence agencies have not been permitted to spy on Americans without extraordinary legal authorization. But Admiral Poindexter, the former national security adviser in the Reagan administration, has argued that the government needs broad new powers to process, store and mine billions of minute details of electronic life in the United States.
Admiral Poindexter, who has described the plan in public documents and speeches but declined to be interviewed, has said that the government needs to "break down the stovepipes" that separate commercial and government databases, allowing teams of intelligence agency analysts to hunt for hidden patterns of activity with powerful computers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/09/politics/09COMP.html?ex=1037509200&en=873ff5626a3c666e&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE

Edited by - seawolf on 10 November 2002 21:16:2

Kenneson

I'm glad to see that Europeans are taking a stand against all this hate-inciting rhetoric that tries to hide behind freedom of speech.

Satanus

If this flies, then europeans will be blocked from access to this site, as some holo-nono's have been discussed here. This is scary legislation.

SS

Kenneson

SS,

I rather doubt it. This site is not operated by nor devoted exclusively to holo-nonos.

Kenneson

As a matter of fact, it would be more accurate to say that this site is not at all devoted to holo-nonos, although holo-nonos have been mentioned in passing.

DanTheMan

Specifically, the amendment bans "any written material, any image or any
other representation of ideas or theories, which advocates, promotes or incites
hatred, discrimination or violence, against any individual or group of
individuals, based on race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin, as well
as religion if used as pretext for any of these factors."

It seems to me that, if this were taken to an extreme degree, that this website, and any anti-JW website, could fall into this category.

It seems like that the more you try to censor people, the more radical they become. I think that the holocaust-denier crowd will only be boosted by something like this. Europeans, you aren't using your noggin on this one!

Kenneson

If this site were to be shut down, who would be responsible? There are certainly enough of us who have disapproved of revisionist thinking!

FrankRaven

it's getting there even in this country.Washington D. C. considers this type of writings as part of the Press.Therefore D.C.,at this time and place,will do nothing against the internet.Of course the U.S.P.S.,Phone Communications,have been trying to get their finger,$$$$,in the internet.

Europeans Outlaw Net Hate Speech

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