More on European Censorship

[E. Allen Smith]

>     _________________________________________________________________
>   webslingerZ
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>                 EU TO ACT AGAINST INTERNET CHILD EXPLOITATION
>   __________________________________________________________________________
>      Copyright &copy 1996 Nando.net
>      Copyright &copy 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.
   
[...]

>    Copyright &copy 1996 Nando.net