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U.N. CONFERENCE DEBATES LIMITS ON INTERNET SPEECH
Internet racism graphic November 11, 1997 Web posted at: 9:14 p.m. EST (0214 GMT)
GENEVA (AP) -- Concerned at the growing use of the Internet for racist propaganda, international experts are debating how -- and whether -- to combat the spread of computerized hate messages.
Binding global controls on the Internet are unlikely, officials said Tuesday, since the technology is changing faster than rules can be made, and because of free speech protection in the United States.
The United Nations is sponsoring a week-long meeting of human rights activists, government officials and Internet service providers as part of efforts to ensure compliance with an international treaty banning racial discrimination. It ends Friday with a list of recommendations.
"There are 148 countries who have accepted this convention and they are under obligation to enact measures to implement it," said Agha Shahi of Pakistan, a member of the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
"Are we going to say the Internet should be exempt from any kind of compliance with the rules of international behavior?" he asked.
It is widely agreed that the Internet offers an open platform for racists and white supremacists, although nothing has proved this leads to a related rise in racist incidents.
Much of the problem stems from the United States, where groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, the Aryan Nations and skinheads base their Web sites.
Under the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees free speech, these groups are permitted to post their views on the Internet, which can be accessed by people in other countries.
Although European countries like Sweden have moved toward making Internet service providers responsible for the content they supply, such restrictions are unlikely in the United States, and hence, internationally.
"In our tradition, it is only through the clash of views in vigorous debate, and not through government censorship, that equality is well served," Philip Reitinger of the U.S. Department of Justice said at the U.N. meeting. "That principle -- one which accords freedom of expression the highest respect -- applies with equal force to the Internet."
While the U.S. computer industry is voluntarily working on ways to ensure that computer smut isn't accessible to minors, Eric Lee, of the Internet service provider Commercial Internet eXchange, said it was "not feasible and not desirable" for Internet providers to act as censors.
"It's difficult if not impossible to suppress content on the Web because there are so many ways to evade controls," Lee said. "Which does not mean that one should not take steps to limit behavior, but coming up with foolproof controls is virtually impossible."
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