Last month Reporters Without Borders issued 6 Recommendations for Protecting Freedom of Speech on the Internet. Since we posted them on Global Voices, bloggers have translated them into Chinese and Arabic. Here's the English, on this independence day:
Full text of the Declaration :
1. Any law about the flow of information online must be anchored in the right to freedom of expression as defined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
2. In a democratic and open society it is up to the citizens to decide what they wish to access and view on the Internet. Filtering or rating of online content by governments is unacceptable. Filters should only be installed by Internet users themselves. Any policy of filtering, be it at a national or local level, conflicts with the principle of free flow of information.
3. Any requirement to register websites with governmental authorities is not acceptable. Unlike licensing scarce resources such as broadcasting frequencies, an abundant infrastructure like the Internet does not justify official assignment of licenses. On the contrary, mandatory registration of online publications might stifle the free exchange of ideas, opinions, and information on the Internet.
4. A technical service provider must not be held responsible for the mere conduit or hosting of content unless the hosting provider refuses to obey a court ruling. A decision on whether a website is legal or illegal can only be taken by a judge, not by a service provider. Such proceedings should guarantee transparency, accountability and the right to appeal.
5. All Internet content should be subject to the legislation of the country of its origin ("upload rule") and not to the legislation of the country where it is downloaded.
6. The Internet combines various types of media, and new publishing tools such as blogging are developing. Internet writers and online journalists should be legally protected under the basic principle of the right to freedom of expression and the complementary rights of privacy and protection of sources.
No Need to Click Here - I'm just claiming my feed at Feedster
Sorry this is not directly linked to the post above but its been something that has been bugging me since I started reading this blog. I guess, an American lecturing on freedom and democracy is an uneasy concept these days (as normally all these are simply justifications for war). Anyway, the other reason is that to non Americans, it does appear that press freedom is somewhat curtailed in the USA these days. Even if most of the censorship is self imposed. Anyway, I was prompted to write this following reading this today:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4654969.stm
But other examples follow:
One being George Galloway's remarkable senate testimony which disappeared from senate records afterwards:
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0528-27.htm
The fact that what Galloway said to the senate shocked everyone so much was as a result of the self censorship culture in America. His truths had never been heard before.
More censorship info here:
Not to mention:
http://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/mediamix/2003-09-14-media-mix_x.htm
http://www.opednews.com/rockRap%20victims_of_a_republican_plot.htm
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2003/11/06/middle_east/index_np.html
Posted by: omih | July 06, 2005 at 11:04 PM
Thanks for the comment, Omih. I understand your concerns. I agree we have a problem of self-censorship in the U.S. too. In fact, that's the main reason why I quit CNN.
Posted by: Rebecca MacKinnon | July 07, 2005 at 09:33 AM
Well, freedom of internet... in general, I agree with the text of Declaration. But in some way, i think... what should we do with porno sites, for example? Are they going to possess this freedom?
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