_________________________________________________________________ webslingerZ _________________________________________________________________ EU TO ACT AGAINST INTERNET CHILD EXPLOITATION __________________________________________________________________________ Copyright © 1996 Nando.net Copyright © 1996 Reuter Information Service

BRUSSELS (Sep 29, 1996 00:12 a.m. EDT) - European Union telecommunications ministers, reacting to a child-sex scandal in Belgium, pledged Friday to consider ways to keep illegal material that could harm children off the Internet.

Belgian Telecommunications Minister Elio Di Rupo announced that his government planned to implement new measures requiring Internet access providers to monitor and report material featuring sexual abuse or exploitation of children.

He asked his colleagues to join forces with him.

"Today a big legal vacuum exists, for legislation is falling behind technological evolution," he said, according to a speaking note that was distributed to reporters.

"There is a big risk that it will create an enormous market of children fed on by criminals."

Market? Wider distribution of such pictures will lead to _decreased_ production, for the simple reason that the producers won't be able to go to courts for stopping copyright violations, so they can't make any money.

The ministers agreed to expand a working party that has already been set up to look at the question of illegal material on the Internet and asked it to come up with concrete proposals before they meet again in November.

The group will include representatives of the 15 EU telecoms ministries and of companies that provide access to online services or prepare the content, a statement adopted by the ministers said.

[...]

But some of the telecoms ministers, including those from Britain and Sweden, warned that the EU could not wander into censorship and had to focus on fighting truly illegal material.

British Science and Technology Minister Ian Taylor advocated a self-regulatory system that was announced in his country earlier this week.

Two British trade associations announced that an independent body, the Safety Net Foundation, would be established to rate material carried on the Internet and to set up a "hotline" service to receive complaints about illegal material.

They said Internet service providers would also adopt policies for removing illegal material and reducing the scope for subscribers to act with untraceable anonymity.

I suspect that any anonymous remailers operating in Britain may want to look out for ISP interruptions...

Swedish Communications Minister Ines Uusmann told reporters that EU countries needed to exchange ideas and to speak with one voice in tackling a global problem.

[...]

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