|
Peter Myers: What protection for freedom to
investigate?
Which genocides & holocausts is it criminal to scrutinise, and
which not?
Do courts decide History?
This law seems targeted at 'Holocaust Sceptics'; yet those who deny
or
minimise the death toll of Lenin & Trotsky are, it seems,
unaffected.
Europeans Outlaw Net Hate
Speech
By Julia Scheeres
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,56294,00.html
02:00 AM Nov. 09, 2002 PT
The Council of Europe has adopted a measure that would
criminalize
Internet hate speech, including hyperlinks to pages that contain
offensive content.
The provision, which was passed by the council's decision-making
body
(the Committee of Ministers), updates the European Convention on
Cybercrime. ===
{2-line URL follows: copy & paste to browser, then delete
character
between the 2 lines. Alternatively, access it via the URL above}
http://www.coe.int/T/E/Communication_and_Research/Press/
Events/3.-Committee_of_ministers_Sessions/2002-11_Strasbourg/CP_554.asp#TopOfPage
Committee of Ministers session - Strasbourg, 6 - 7 November 2002
Back to Press Releases
The Council of Europe fights against racism and xenophobia on the
Internet
Strasbourg, 07.11.2002 - The Council of Europe's Committee of
Ministers
today adopted the Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime.
The Protocol requires States to criminalise the dissemination of
racist
and xenophobic material through computer systems, as well as racist
and
xenophobic-motivated threat and insult including the denial,
gross
minimisation, approval or justification of genocide or crimes
against
humanity, particularly those that occurred during the period 1940-45.
It
also defines the notion of this category of material and establishes
the
extent to which its dissemination violates the rights of others
and
criminalises certain conduct accordingly.
The scope of this Protocol is twofold : - to harmonise
substantive
criminal law in the fight against racism and xenophobia on the
Internet,
- to improve international co-operation in this area, while
respecting
the right to freedom of expression enshrined, more than 50 years ago,
in
the European Convention on Human Rights.
All the offences recognised by the Protocol must be committed
"intentionally" for criminal liability to apply. For example, under
this
provision a service-provider will not be held criminally liable
for
having served as a conduit for, or having hosted, a website or
newsroom
containing such material, unless the intentional nature of the
dissemination of racist and xenophobic material can be established
under
domestic law in each given case.
Global threats and challenges needing global responses, the
negotiation
process of this Protocol, as for the Convention on Cybercime,
also
involved Council of Europe non-member States: the USA, Canada,
Japan,
Mexico and South Africa - the Protocol is also open to signature
by
them.
The Committee of Ministers decided to open the Additional Protocol
for
signature on the occasion of the next Parliamentary Assembly
session
(27-31 January 2003).
Further information on the Council of Europe's fight against
cybercrime
can be found in our special file.
Press Contact Council of Europe Spokesperson and Press Division Tel.
+33
3 88 41 25 60 - Fax. +33 3 88 41 39 11 E-mail: PressUnit@coe.int
--
Peter Myers
21 Blair St
Watson ACT 2602
Australia
http://users.cyberone.com.au/myers
ph +61 2 6247 5187
|
