An Age Old Issue…The European Commission is considering the issue of age verification for child internet users

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See article from bbc.com

The European Commission is considering setting up an age-based authentication system that limits where children can visit online. It says children are in danger of finding inappropriate material because ways to control where they can go are fragmented. The system is part of a series of proposals Brussels has put forward to make the net safer for children. In its draft proposals, the commission warns that neglecting protections for children could have a profound impact on European societies. Current child safety measures taken by member states covering parental controls, rating content and reporting illegal content are insufficient, according to the report. Many controls, such as filters for web pages, only work well for English, it says, and in some sectors – such as mobile apps – rating, filtering and control systems are almost non-existent. The report also says there is a dearth of sites specifically aimed at children where they can go to learn and play, or ones which stimulate creativity and critical thinking. More details of the proposals are expected to be published on the 30th of May.

Iranian Propaganda Channel Closed Down in Europe…Germany initiates shut down of the satellite channel, Press TV

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See article from advanced-television.com

Under pressure from the German government, media censors at BLM have initaiated an action to remove Iran’s international English Channel, Press TV, from SES Astra. In an email sent to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting officials, Vice President of the SES Platforms Services, Stephane Goebel, noted that the BLM has asked Press TV be immediately removed from the platform. The authority has claimed that Iran’s English-speaking channel does not have a license for broadcast in Europe. Goebel added that his company will be no longer able to keep the Press TV signal on air and will need to shut down the service without further notice. The channel was turned of on 3rd April. Press TV has responded that the decision to remove Press TV is a flagrant breach of regulations and a disproportionate act. The channel has said that it will be demanding compensation unless transmissions are restored by April 5.

Copyright vs Free Expression…EU asks the European Court of Justice to examine the ACTA treaty

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See article from bbc.co.u

The European Union’s highest court has been asked to rule on the legality of a controversial anti-piracy agreement. The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (Acta) has been criticised by rights campaigners who argue it could stifle free expression on the internet. EU trade head Karel De Gucht said the court will be asked to clarify whether the treaty complied with the EU’s fundamental rights and freedoms. The European Commission said it decided today to ask the European Court of Justice for a legal opinion to clarify that the Acta agreement and its implementation must be fully compatible with freedom of expression and freedom of the internet. Several key countries, including Germany and Denmark, have backed away from the treaty amid protests in several European cities. Acta is set to be debated by the European Parliament in June.

Dishing Out Rights…European Court supports the right of Swedish tenants to install a satellite dish against the wishes of their landlord

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See article from dailymail.co.uk

The European Court of Human Rights has backed two Swedish tenants who wanted a satellite dish against the wishes of their landlord. In an important ruling, lawmakers in Strasbourg have warned that banning dishes on listed buildings, social housing and even private homes could breach the right to freedom of expression by preventing people from practicing religion. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), Britain’s discrimination watchdog, has now published new guidance warning that landlords could be at risk of being sued if they try to stop their tenants putting up a satellite dish. Housing Minister Grant Shapps whinged that the ruling, under the Human Rights Act, threatened to drive a horse and cart through planning laws. The European Court of Human Rights made the judgement after a Swedish couple were evicted for refusing to take down a dish The judges ruled that the Swedish government had failed in its obligation to protect the couple’s right to receive information. It found that satellite dishes come under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The European Commission’s Internal Market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein said: The right to use a satellite dish [is] one of the many concrete benefits for European consumers of the free movement of goods and services within the internal market. Satellite dishes are an increasingly popular tool for receiving multiple services via satellite: they facilitate mutual exchanges between our various cultures by overcoming national borders, and familiarise the general public with the new remote communications technologies. Their use must therefore be free from any unjustified obstacle.’

Except for Filesharers?…OSCE calls for a human right to internet access

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Based on article from digitaltrends.com

A new report from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) says Internet access should be a fundamental human right, like freedom of expression.The study also argues that Internet blocking and content filtering mandates and technologies are, in most cases, cannot be reconciled with the free flow of information and freedom of expression, both of which are basic commitments made by the 56 members of the OSCE. Everyone should have a right to participate in the information society and states have a responsibility to ensure citizens access to the Internet is guaranteed,’ the report reads. The study, authored by Istabul Bilgi University’s Yaman Akdeniz and commissions by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic’ examines the level of Internet content regulation in the OSCE region and evaluations how member states’ laws embody their OSCE commitments and international standards. Legislation in many countries does not recognize that freedom of expression and freedom of the media equally apply to Internet as a modern means of exercising these rights, said Representative Mijatovic’, in a statement. In some of our states, ‘extremism, terrorist propaganda, harmful content, and hate speech are vaguely defined and may be widely interpreted to ban speech types that Internet users may not deem illegal.’ The report also noted that many countries permit the complete suspension of Internet access and services during a declared state of emergency, war, or in response to other security threats. Foreign Office to discuss UK policy on freedom of expression on the internet Based on article from computing.co.uk The Foreign and Commonwealth Office will host a multidisciplinary meeting next week exploring the UK’s policy towards freedom of expression on the internet. The first meeting, which will be led by Jeremy Browne, minister for state at the FCO, takes place on 20 July. It will include representatives from human rights campaigners. No doubt the meeting will discuss how Britain’s three strikes and your cut off from the internet stacks up with the call for a human right to internet access.

Half Hearted…Euro Human Rights Commissioner doesn’t believe in internet censorship…BUT…porn should be blocked

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See article from theinquirer.net

Thomas Hammarberg, the commissioner for human rights for the Council of Europe has said that freedom on the internet is a matter for the United Nations (UN) to decide because it is an international concern. He said the UN should look at the differences between privacy and freedom of expression on the internet and added that politicians need to become more involved in the discussion. He criticised the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for not taking responsibility for this, as he felt this was the relevant body in charge of this area. He said a balance needs to be struck between regulation, which would filter out pornography, incitement to war and hatred, and the right to freedom of expression. He said that some countries are imposing restrictions, while others are letting the web run wild. He said the UN should appoint a special commission to work on this issue and that there has to be an international dimension to regulations since so many web sites are run by private companies, according to the Guardian. Hammarberg also criticised the use of super injunctions in UK courts, like the recent one relating to footballer Ryan Giggs and Twitter. He said that it means people are not allowed to even mention that there is a court case, which is a violation of the right to free expression. ?

Hidden Agenda…EU proposal to create a Great Firewall of Europe

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See article from telegraph.co.uk

Broadband providers have voiced alarm over an EU proposal to create a Great Firewall of Europe by blocking illicit web material at the borders of the bloc. The proposal emerged an obscure meeting of the Council of the European Union’s Law Enforcement Work Party (LEWP), a forum for cooperation on issues such as counter terrorism, customs and fraud. The minutes from the meeting state: The Presidency of the LEWP presented its intention to propose concrete measures towards creating a single secure European cyberspace with a certain virtual Schengen border and virtual access points whereby the Internet Service Providers (ISP) would block illicit contents on the basis of the EU black-list. Delegations were also informed that a conference on cyber-crime would be held in Budapest on 12-13 April 2011. Malcolm Hutty, head of public affairs at LINX, a cooperative of British ISPs, said the plan appeared ill thought-out and confused. We take the view that network level filtering of the type proposed has been proven ineffective. Broadband providers say that illegal content should be removed at the source by cooperation between police and web hosting firms because network blocking can easily be circumvented.

The Right to be Forgotten…EU announces a new form of censorship

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Based on article from guardian.co.uk

“Maybe you’ve been at a party, up until four in the morning and you or someone you know posts photos of you. Well, it’s a harmless bit of fun, but being unable to erase this can threaten your job or access to future employment.” The European Union is to enshrine a right to be forgotten online to ensure that, among other things, prospective employers cannot find old Facebook party photos of someone wearing nothing but a lampshade. In a speech to the European parliament, the EU justice commissioner, Viviane Reding, warned companies such as Facebook that: A US-based social network company that has millions of active users in Europe needs to comply with EU rules. In a package of proposals to be unveiled before the summer, the commissioner intends to force Facebook and other social networking sites to make high standards of data privacy the default setting and give control over data back to the user. The package will also include the right to opt out of advertising and personalisation data being collected via website cookies. I want to explicitly clarify that people shall have the right — and not only the possibility — to withdraw their consent to data processing, Reding said. The burden of proof should be on data controllers — those who process your personal data. They must prove that they need to keep the data, rather than individuals having to prove that collecting their data is not necessary. Reding’s spokesman, Matthew Newman, said that the laws would make the EU the first jurisdiction to deliver a right to be forgotten. Maybe you’ve been at a party, up until four in the morning and you or someone you know posts photos of you. Well, it’s a harmless bit of fun, but being unable to erase this can threaten your job or access to future employment. The rules would give consumers a specific right to withdraw their consent to sharing their data: And after you have withdrawn your consent, there shouldn’t even be a ghost of your data left in some server somewhere. It’s your data and it should be gone for good.

Necessary and Proportionate…EU Parliament committee backs EU wide website blocking proposal

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See article from bbc.co.uk

The EU has taken a step towards common rules against those who sexually abuse children and post images of the abuse on the internet. A committee of Euro MPs backed an EU draft directive calling for child abuse images to be removed at source. Where removal is impossible – for example, because web pages are hosted outside the EU – then the abuse images may be blocked by national authorities. MEPs aim to adopt the new rules later this year, after further negotiations. MEPs insisted that any moves to block access to images on the web must be accompanied by transparent procedures and provide adequate safeguards so that the restriction is limited to what is necessary and proportionate. The safeguards would include informing users of the reason for the block and informing content providers and users of their right to appeal.

The Victim Mafia…Italian Euro MP tries to get the video game Mafia II banned

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Based on article from gamepolitics.com

Euro MP Sonia Alfano lost her father to the mob in 1993. She is also the president of Italy’s association for the families of Mafia victims. She has now come out against the video game Mafia II, claiming that it trivializes the violence and murder committed by organized crime. She is fighting to get the game banned in Europe. Last week she asked the European Commission to consider banning the game. Alfano recently said in an interview: It really, really hurts. We can’t allow this to happen, our wounds are still too fresh. These games transform the Mafia, a reality of death and destruction, into a thrilling and hands-on virtual pastime. Even if momentarily, players identify with brutal killers and for us who have experienced violence firsthand, it’s appalling. Take Two defends the game and compares it to other entertainment based on organized time. Alan Lewis, Take-Two’s vice president for corporate communications and public affairs said: Mafia II tells a compelling story about organized crime in America — a subject that for decades has been featured in award-winning movies, television shows and novels such as The Godfather and The Sopranos.  We fully and completely stand behind our creative teams and products, including Mafia II.