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UK ISP censorship - There is no space for dissent



Das Problem scheint sich zu verdichten. Nicht etwa 
direkte staatliche Restriktion wird zum Problem. Nein, 
die Machthaber in unseren Systemen haben gelernt. 
So werden die Provider so lange unter Druck gesetzt, bis 
das gewünschte Ergebnis zu einer Marktbedingung wird. 

Rigo


>Date: Fri, 19 Sep 1997 14:49:22 GMT0BST
>From: "Yaman Akdeniz" <lawya@lucs-01.novell.leeds.ac.uk>
>Subject: UK ISP censorship - There is no space for dissent
>To: gilc-plan@privacy.org
>Reply-To: gilc-plan@gilc.org
>
>Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties (UK)
><http://www.leeds.ac.uk/law/pgs/yaman/yaman.htm>
>
>UK ISP censorship - There is no space for dissent
>
>Immediate Release - 19 September 1997
>
>Following the recent stories that the Internet Service Providers start
>to censor web sites involving political speech, Cyber-Rights &
>Cyber-Liberties (UK) believes that it is wrong for the ISPs to act as
>moral crusaders for Internet content which involves political speech
>and especially the activities of an Internet based civil liberties
>organisation such as Internet Freedom UK.
>
>This is like an ISP removing the web sites of the US based Electronic
>Frontier Foundation and EPIC because of their political activities and
>views, in most cases opposing the government proposals for Internet
>related regulation issues. This cannot be acceptable in the US or
>anywhere else including the UK.
>
>`This is not a self-regulatory solution' stated Yaman Akdeniz, head of
>the UK based Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties group. `This is an act of
>privatised censorship where there is no space for dissent for the
>content providers'. `It is a take it or leave it situation where the
>activities of a civil liberties organisation is axed for the content
>they provide'.
>
>The current situation at the UK does not represent a self-regulatory
>solution as suggested by the UK Government. It is a form of
>censorship, a privatised and industry based one where there is no
>space for dissent as it will be done by the use of private
>organisations, rating systems and at the entry level by putting
>pressure on the UK Internet Service Providers. One can only recall the
>events which took place in the summer of 1996 and how the ISPs were
>pressured by the Metropolitan police to remove around 130 newsgroups
>from their servers.
>
>Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties (UK) stated many times that the prime
>responsibility for content lies with authors and content providers and
>not service providers. ISP contracts with the online user normally
>tend to exclude the liability of the ISP and try to make it clear that
>it is the users' responsibility and not the ISP's. Therefore, there is
>no need to act as moral crusaders.
>
>Together with the Global Internet Liberty campaign we defend the ISPs
>in difficult circumstances such as the orchestrated campaign to shut
>down IGC services because one Web site they hosted was promoting
>Basque independence. Now it is Easynet UK who is annoyed because of
>Internet Freedom UK's decision to mirror the Euskal Herria Journal.
>
>Notes for the Media
>
>Internet Freedom US sites are available at
><http://www.easynet.co.uk/cam/censorship/> a mirror of their web site
>appear also at <http://www.netfreedom.org>
>
>Global Internet Liberty Campaign is available at <http://www.gilc.org>
>
>Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties (UK) 
><http://www.leeds.ac.uk/law/pgs/yaman/yaman.htm>
>
>Mr Yaman Akdeniz
>Address: Centre For Criminal Justice Studies, University of Leeds, LS2
>9JT. Telephone: 0113-2335033 Fax: 0113- 2335056 E-mail:
>lawya@leeds.ac.uk Url: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/law/pgs/yaman/yaman.htm
>
>Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties (UK) is a non-profit civil liberties
>organisation founded on January 10, 1997. Its main purpose is to
>promote free speech and privacy on the Internet and raise public
>awareness of these important issues. The Web pages have been online
>since July 1996. Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties (UK) started to become
>involved with national Internet-related civil liberties issues
>following the release of the DTI white paper on encryption in June
>1996 and the Metropolitan Police action to censor around 130
>newsgroups in August 1996. Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties (UK)
>recently criticised the attempts of the Nottinghamshire County Council
>to suppress the availability of the JET Report on the Internet.
>
>Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties (UK) covers such important issues as
>the regulation of child pornography on the Internet and UK
>Government's encryption policy. The organisation provides up-to-date
>information related to free speech and privacy on the Internet.
>Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties (UK) is a member of various action
>groups on the Internet and also a member of the Global Internet
>Liberty Campaign (see <http://www.gilc.org>) which has over 30 member
>organisations worldwide.
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>Yaman Akdeniz <lawya@leeds.ac.uk>
>Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties (UK) at:
>http://www.leeds.ac.uk/law/pgs/yaman/yaman.htm
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>