[IP] Europeans Outlaw Net Hate Speech

[Dave Farber <dave@farber.net>]

Europeans Outlaw Net Hate Speech  By Julia Scheeres

Story location: 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.
Specifically, the amendment bans "any written material, any image or any
other representation of ideas or theories, which advocates, promotes or
incites hatred, discrimination or violence, against any individual or group
of individuals, based on race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin,
as well as religion if used as pretext for any of these factors."
It also obliquely refers to the Holocaust, outlawing sites that deny,
minimize, approve or justify crimes against humanity, particularly those
that occurred during World War II.
"The emergence of international communication networks like the Internet
provide certain persons with modern and powerful means to support racism and
xenophobia and enables them to disseminate easily and widely expressions
containing such ideas," the council's report on the amendment states. "In
order to investigate and prosecute such persons, international cooperation
is vital." 
Many European countries have existing laws outlawing Internet racism, which
is generally protected as free speech in the United States. The council
cited a report finding that 2,500 out of 4,000 racist sites were created in
the United States. 
Critics say that the measure may push hate groups to set up virtual shop in
the United States, pointing to a decision last year by a U.S. judge who
ruled that Yahoo did not have to block French citizens' access to online
sales of Nazi memorabilia, which are illegal in that country. The judge
determined that U.S. websites are only subject to American law.
"This could lead to a clash of cultures," said Cedric Laurant, a Belgian
lawyer and staff counsel with the Electronic Privacy and Information Center.
"What will happen if the French police start asking local U.S. police to
give them information about the people running a site?"
European countries may decide to censor U.S. content themselves, as Spain
has done, suggested Carlos Sánchez Almeida, a cybercrime lawyer located in
Barcelona. 
Spain recently passed legislation authorizing judges to shut down Spanish
sites and block access to U.S. Web pages that don't comply with national
laws. 
"If European countries adopt the (anti-racism) amendment of the European
Council in their legislatures, they'll also be able to block websites from
the U.S.A., despite the First Amendment."
Representatives of the 44 European countries on the European Council must
decide whether to adopt or reject the measure during the next Parliamentary
Assembly session in January. Countries who support the amendment will then
need to ratify it in their national legislatures before making it law. 

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