The five recommendations of Reporters Without Borders about freedom of expression on the Internet:
- Any
law about the flow of information online must be anchored in freedom of
expression as defined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights
- Internet
users alone must decide what material they can and wish to access
online. Automatic filtering of online content, by governments or
private firms, is unacceptable. Filters must only be installed by
Internet users themselves and only on their personal connection. Any
policy of higher-level (national or even local) filtering conflicts
with the principle of the free flow of information.
- A
decision to shut down a website, even an illegal one, must not in any
circumstances be taken by the site’s host or any other technical
provider of Internet services. Only a judge can ban an online
publication. A technical service provider cannot therefore be held
criminally or civilly responsible for any illegal material posted on a
hosted website unless the service provider refuses to obey a ruling by
an impartial and independent court.
- A
government’s civil or criminal powers are limited to content hosted on
its territory or specifically aimed at the country’s Internet users.
- The
editors of online publications, including bloggers and those running
personal sites, must have the same protection and be shown the same
consideration as professional journalists since, like them, they
exercise a basic freedom, that of freedom of expression.
(via Rebecca Mackinnon)
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Internet Users Bill of Rights - Down with E-Thugs!
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