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Computer underground Digest Thu Dec 19, 1996 Volume 8 : Issue 90
ISSN 1004-042X
Editor: Jim Thomas (cudigest@sun.soci.niu.edu)
News Editor: Gordon Meyer (gmeyer@sun.soci.niu.edu)
Archivist: Brendan Kehoe
Shadow Master: Stanton McCandlish
Field Agent Extraordinaire: David Smith
Shadow-Archivists: Dan Carosone / Paul Southworth
Ralph Sims / Jyrki Kuoppala
Ian Dickinson
Cu Digest Homepage: http://www.soci.niu.edu/~cudigest
CONTENTS, #8.90 (Thu, Dec 19, 1996)
File 1--NetAction Notes No. 9
File 2--Report of working party on illegal/harmful Net Content (fwd)
File 3--Cu Digest Header Info (unchanged since 13 Dec, 1996)
CuD ADMINISTRATIVE, EDITORIAL, AND SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION ApPEARS IN
THE CONCLUDING FILE AT THE END OF EACH ISSUE.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 5 Dec 1996 02:39:25 -0800 (PST)
From: Audrie Krause <akrause@igc.apc.org>
Subject: File 1--NetAction Notes No. 9
NetAction Notes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Published by NetAction Issue No. 9 December 5, 1996
Repost where appropriate. Copyright and subscription info at end of message.
* * * * * * *
IN THIS ISSUE:
Resources for Virtual Activists
How to Help NetAction
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Resources for Virtual Activists
There are many useful resources available for Virtual Activists, and the
number and variety of these resources is growing constantly. This issue of
NetAction Notes focuses on some that I consider particularly useful. I
welcome feedback from readers about other online resources for political
activism, and will pass along information about your favorites in future
issues of NetAction Notes. There is also an extensive listing of activist
resources on the NetAction Web site at: <http://www.netaction.org>.
This sampler includes a Web site for contacting Congress, a few good books
on the subject of Internet and grassroots activism, upcoming conferences on
the role of the Internet in politics and the potential for fundraising
online, and an innovative online training in civil disobedience.
Since all of these resources are aimed primarily at activists in the U.S., I
hope that readers outside the U.S. will share information about similar
online resources elsewhere.
Congress Online ==========
Two consulting firms recently announced a new interactive information
service that makes it possible for organizations to more easily mobilize
grassroots political activism. One of the services is available without
cost on the Internet, and is an excellent tool for activists to bookmark and
non-profit organizations with Web sites to link to. The Web site provides
contact information and background on members of Congress.
The Web site is called Congress.org <http://www.congress.org>. There is
also a fee-based service, aimed at corporations and trade associations, that
customizes the information for the customer's own Web sites for their
members and other users. Volunteers with technical skills might want to
consider helping non-profit groups in their community develop similar
resources, since grassroots groups are seldom able to pay for these services.
The Congress.org Web site includes a comprehensive database of
Representatives and Senators, their committee assignments, and a list of key
people on their staffs. The information has been updated for the new 105th
Congress, which will convene on Jan. 7, 1997. The site also includes a
feature that enables visitors to find their own members of Congress by
typing in the nine-digit ZIP code. The developers say this is a more
accurate system than Web sites that use the five-digit ZIP code. The
individual listings have a wealth of background information, and the site
includes a primer on the legislative process, and tips on lobbying.
The site is a joint project of Issue Dynamics Inc. (IDI) <http://idi.net>
and Capitol Advantage (CA) <http://congress.nw.dc.us/>.
A Few Good Books ==========
The Activist's Handbook by Randy Shaw, and NetActivism: How Citizens Use the
Internet, (ADD URL) by Ed Schwartz, are two great resources for longtime
activists and those who are just getting started. And to help pay the
bills, Fundraising on the Internet, by Nick Allen, Mal Warwick, and Michael
Stein, provides practical information on how non-profit organizations can
use the Internet to communicate with members and raise funds to support
activist work.
Randy Shaw is Director and Supervising Attorney for the Tenderloin Housing
Clinic in San Francisco, and a longtime activist on urban issues. A primer
on effective organizing strategies, The Activist's Handbook explains how to
inspire "fear and loathing" in politicians, how to build diverse coalitions,
and how to harness the media, the courts, and the electoral process to
achieve one's goals. The pro-active strategies discussed in the book are
useful whether the goal is to improve housing for the urban poor, preserve a
natural resource, or expose a corporate abuse.
The Activist's Handbook Web site also has links to The Activist's Angle:
Analysis, Advice, and Strategy, which is a monthly column that elaborates on
the strategies and tactics described in The Activist's Handbook. The column
is currently available on the Web, but when I spoke with Randy earlier this
week he indicated that he may soon be distributing it via E-mail.
Information on how to purchase The Activist's Handbook by mail-order or fax
is available on the Web at <http://www.igc.org/activist/>.
Ed Schwartz is a longtime activist and political leader in Philadelphia and
heads the Institute for the Study of Civic Values,
<http://libertynet.org/~edcivic/iscvhome.html>. He was one of the first
activists to recognize the potential of the Internet as a tool for
grassroots political organizing. NetActivism is an excellent non-partisan
primer on using the Internet for organizing, outreach, and
coalition-building around political issues. The book is useful both to
longtime activists who are new to the Internet and longtime computer users
who are new to activism.
On a more personal note, I had the honor of meeting Ed earlier this fall
when he agreed to make a brief detour to San Francisco to meet with Bay Area
Internet activists while on the West Coast to speak in Portland, OR. As a
result of the seeds he planted during that visit, one of the individuals who
attended his talk is now volunteering technical support to set up a
community network in San Francisco's Sunset District. Information on the
neighborhood network that Ed helped establish in Philadelphia is available
at <http://libertynet.org/community/phila/natl.html>.
NetActivism may be purchased directly via the Web at
<http://www.netaction.org>. O'Reilly & Associates, Inc., has agreed to
donate a portion of each sale made via NetAction's Web page to NetAction.
Fundraising on the Internet explains how non-profit organizations are
beginning to use E-mail and the Web to communicate with existing members,
attract new members, and raise funds to support their mission. Nick Allen
and Mal Warwick are consultants at Mal Warwick & Associates, a direct mail
fundraising and marketing consulting firm that assists non-profits with
membership-building and fundraising. Michael Stein is the outreach and
special projects manager at the Institute for Global Communication (IGC).
Fundraising on the Internet includes a chapter I wrote about incorporating
E-mail outreach into the organizing of a special event, as well as numerous
examples of innovative and successful Internet fundraising strategies.
The book also explains how traditional direct mail strategies can be
transferred to the Internet.
This book is available by calling a toll-free number, 1-800-217-7377. In
the interest of full disclosure, I should add that I do *not* receive
royalties for the chapter I contributed, which was based on my experience in
organizing a successful fundraising dinner for Computer Professionals for
Social Responsibility (CPSR).
Activist Conferences ==========
For activists in the San Francisco Bay Area -- or those who'd like a good
excuse to visit -- two upcoming conferences are of interest. I have a
limited number of discount registration forms for those might be interested.
The all-day Politics Online Conference will take place Thursday, Dec. 12, in
the South San Francisco. Organizers planned this event for political,
public affairs, public relations, media and technology professionals
interested in learning in a non-partisan environment how best to deploy
online communication technologies. Topics include pioneering online efforts
of the '96 campaigns, and examples of Internet activism.
Information is available by E-mail at answer@flyingkite.com, or on the Web
at <http://www.flyingkite.com/main/caconfer.htm>. The first Politics Online
Conference was first held in April in Washington, D.C., and transcripts from
that event are at <http://www.flyingkite.com/main/politics-online.htm>.
A second conference scheduled for Friday, January 17, 1997, in San
Francisco, will focus on Fundraising on the Internet. I attended the first
of these events last July, and found it to be a very useful introduction to
how non-profit organizations can use the Internet to communicate with and
motivate their members and use the Web and E-mail as fundraising tools.
For registration information, send E-mail to mwosi@malwarwick.com, or phone
Mwosi Swenson at 510-843-8888. Participants will also receive a copy of
Fundraising on the Internet.
Civil Disobedience Online ==========
ACT UP/NY (The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), Free Speech TV, and DIVA TV
(Damned Interfering Video Activists) recently teamed up to produce a
30-minute civil disobedience training over the Internet. This innovative
effort was one of the first attempts to use the Internet's video and audio
capabilities to train political activists.
Video and audio versions of this training are available on the Web sites of
Free Speech TV at <http://www.freespeech.org> and ACT UP at
<http://www.actupny.org>.
You will need a sound card, and the RealAudio player (available for
free at <http://www.realaudio.com> or the VDOLive player (available for free
at <http://www.vdo.net/download/> to access the site.
ACT UP, which is well known for AIDS awareness campaigns directed at
government inaction and drug company profiteering AIDS, is generally
credited with reviving disobedience tactics in the U.S. after a period in
which the tactic was not widely used by progressive activists. The
30-minute online training is distilled from the five-hour sessions that ACT
UP regularly hosts. It explains how and why activists use civil
disobedience and describes the steps that need to be taken to ensure that a
civil disobedience campaign is both safe and successful.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How to Help NetAction
Membership in NetAction supports continued publication of NetAction Notes,
as well as a wide range of organizing and training activities. NetAction
projects include helping grassroots organizations harness the power of the
Internet as a tool for outreach and advocacy; helping activists who are
already using the Internet do a more effective job of building a base of
grassroots support for technology-based social and political issues; and
promoting more widespread access to information technology by organizing
hands-on demonstrations of the Internet.
Please join NetAction today by sending a check payable to NetAction/Tides
Center to: NetAction, 601 Van Ness Ave. #631, San Francisco, CA 94102.
Regular membership is $50 per year; student/senior/low-income membership is
$25 per year; sustaining membership is $100 per year; non-profit
organization membership is $125 per year; and corporate membership is $250
per year.
NetAction brochures are available for distribution at conferences and other
events. If you would like a supply of brochures to distribute, send email to:
akrause@igc.org, and include your name and the mailing address where you
would like the brochures sent.
Thanks for your support!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copyright 1996 by NetAction/The Tides Center. All rights reserved.
Material may be reposted or reproduced for non-commercial use provided
NetAction is cited as the source.
NetAction is a project of The Tides Center, a 501(c)(3) non-profit
organization. NetAction is dedicated to promoting effective grassroots
citizen action campaigns by creating coalitions that link online activists
with grassroots organizations, providing training to online activists in
effective organizing strategies, and educating the public, policymakers and
the media about technology-based social and political issues.
To subscribe to NetAction Notes, send a message to: <majordomo@manymedia.com>.
The body of the message should state: <subscribe netaction>
To unsubscribe at any time, send a message to: <majordomo@manymedia.com>
The body of the message should state: <unsubscribe netaction>
For more information about NetAction, contact Audrie Krause:
E-mail: akrause@igc.org * Phone: (415) 775-8674 * Web: http://www.netaction.org
Or write to: NetAction 601 Van Ness Ave., No. 631 San Francisco, CA 94102
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 4 Dec 1996 14:31:22 +0100 (NFT)
From: "Ulf [ISO-8859-1] M=F6ller" <um@c2.net>
Subject: File 2--Report of working party on illegal/harmful Net Content (fwd)
Source - fight-censorship@vorlon.mit.edu
http://www2.echo.lu/legal/en/internet/content/wpen.html
WORKING PARTY
ON ILLEGAL AND HARMFUL CONTENT
ON THE INTERNET
Report
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Introduction
At the informal Council meeting held in Bologna on 24 April 1996,
European Telecommunications Ministers and Culture Ministers identified
the issue of illegal and harmful content on the Internet as an urgent
priority for analysis and action. While it was recognised that
existing national laws apply to the Internet, agreement in a wider
context appeared necessary to address the challenges raised by the
specific nature of the Internet. The Commission was therefore asked to
produce an analysis of the problems and to assess in particular the
desirability of European or international regulation.
At the end of September 1996 different Councils discussed subjects
that were relevant for the request emerging from the Bologna Council.
The informal meeting of Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs (26-27
September 1996, Dublin) discussed further co-operation between Member
States to combat trade in human beings and sexual abuse of children,
and reached informal agreement on three action projects.
The Ministers of Culture and Audiovisual meeting in Galway on 25 and
26 September 1996 welcomed the fact that the issue of protection of
minors and human dignity, in particular on the Internet, was going to
be addressed in a Green Paper which would soon be submitted by the
Commission.
The Council of Telecommunications Ministers of 27 September 1996,
following on from the informal Bologna Council held a broad exchange
of views on the question of preventing the dissemination, via the
Internet or similar networks, of illegal material and in particular
material containing, or likely to lead to, violence against or sexual
exploitation of children.
It noted the transnational dimension of this problem and the
consequent need to address it at national, European as well as
international level.
The Council agreed to extend the working party established following
the Bologna informal meeting to include representatives of the
Ministers of Telecommunications as well as access and service
providers, content industries and users.
The Council requested the Working Party to present concrete proposals
for possible measures to combat the illegal use of Internet or similar
networks in time for the Telecommunications Council of 28 November.
The UK measures presented during the Council meeting should also be
taken into account.
The Industry Council of 8 October 1996 recognised the need for further
analysis of the issues underlying development of information society
policy internationally and the need for co-ordination between
initiatives relating to the subject. The German proposal to host an
international conference dedicated to this end to be prepared in close
co-operation with the Commission and Member States was welcomed.
The present report is a first response to the Council's request of 27
September 1996. It takes account of the two papers that were recently
published by the Commission: the Communication on illegal and harmful
content on the Internet and the Green Paper on the Protection of
Minors and Human Dignity in audiovisual and information services and
elaborates in practical terms some of the proposals.
2. Scope of the report
Illegal content in the context of this report means content which is
forbidden by national law. Although breaking the law may involve
different types of sanction (civil damages for breach of copyright,
for instance 1), the most serious types of illegal content are
forbidden by the criminal law, which is the type of illegal content
which this report refers to. Harmful content means both content which
is allowed but whose distribution is restricted (adults only, for
instance) and content which may offend certain users. This
distinction, which is not intended as a legal definition, is dealt
with in detail in the Communication on illegal and harmful content on
the Internet 2 and the Green Paper on the Protection of Minors and
Human Dignity in audiovisual and information services 3.
Given the terms of the conclusions of the 27 September
Telecommunication Council, and given the short time span available,
this report concentrates on how to combat illegal and harmful content
on the Internet. It recommends a number of measures that could be
taken by the Member States and the Commission in relation to this
subject. It indicates how the measures can be put into practice and
who should be the lead actors in this process.
At this stage the report does not pretend to give a full picture of
all relevant issues in relation to illegal and harmful content on the
Internet, nor does it deal with other on-line services. It focuses on
the most pressing issues and on the actions that can be initiated by
the actors concerned at short notice. It does not prejudice the more
extensive discussion due to take place on the Communication and the
Green Paper.
The report is based on the discussions in the Working Party meetings
that took place between 27 September and 28 October 1996. The first
full meeting of the extended working party took place on 10 October
1996 in Brussels. At the end of the meeting, participants were
requested to present their views on the various issues raised during
the meeting. Reaction from Member States' representatives were
requested in particular with regard to the specific legal situation
vis-=E0-vis the Internet in their country, as well as the possible
technical solutions envisaged. Industry representatives were asked to
react especially in relation to self regulation and possible technical
solutions.
A draft of this report was considered at a meeting on 28 October 1996
and the report was finalised on the basis of comments made at that
meeting and subsequently in writing. The report reflects the views of
all participants in the Working Party, be they Government
representatives, industry players or users. It does not necessarily
reflect the official views of the European Commission.
3. Some examples of initiatives at the level of the Member States
The remit of the Telecommunications Council to the Working Party
specifically mentioned the recent initiatives taken in the UK. During
the discussions of the Working Party, there was also reference to the
initiative in the Netherlands. The French delegation also presented
their initiative in the field of international co-operation. The
German delegation made a written contribution. All these initiatives
are briefly described below.
The UK initiative
The R3 Safety-Net initiative in the UK has been developed in
discussions facilitated by the Department of Trade and Industry
between service providers, the Metropolitan Police and the Home
Office. The immediate and particular focus of these proposals is on
child pornography, though the approach may also be applicable in the
future to other types of illegal material available in the Internet.
The R3 Safety-Net approach incorporate three key elements:
* Rating - a legality indicator for the "normal" content of each
news group, and assistance in rating activities (including
adoption and promotion of the Platform for Internet Content
Selection - PICS)
* Reporting - a hot-line for complaints about illegal material
accessible via automated telephone, mail, e-mail or fax
* Responsibility - content providers should take responsibility for
rating their own pages, and service providers should take
responsibility for removing content brought to their attention
which is persistently and deliberately misrated, or illegal.
The approach establishes an independent foundation to support the
adoption by Internet service providers and users of Responsible
policies based on Rating and Reporting of illegal material which will
provide the hotline for complaints.
The Netherlands
In May 1996, the Dutch Internet providers community established a
"hot-line" or central facility for the reporting of child pornography
on the Internet 4. The Minister of Justice fully supported this
initiative. It generated widely positive reactions, including from
Internet users. Until now, it has functioned very satisfactorily:
content providers (users, subscribers) of child pornography in The
Netherlands have removed their illegal material after the first
warning of notifying the police, making subsequent action by the
police unnecessary. In some cases, violations not reported to the hot
line but nevertheless having become known to the police, required
police action. The reporting facility operates on a voluntary basis
and is financed by Dutch Internet providers. The Dutch National
Criminal Intelligence Service has been involved. Presently, the
reporting facility and the police are further improving their
relations.
France
A proposal for an agreement on international co-operation with regard
to the Internet was presented to a working party of the OECD by France
at a meeting in Seoul on 22 and 23 October 1996. This proposal sets
out a series of principles relating to the applicable law and the
factors to be taken into account when determining liability. It
provides for signatories to set up national regulatory frameworks
including a Code of Conduct, with mutual exchange of information on
the regulations adopted and an agreement to co-operate in order to
approximate national practices with regard to the Internet. The
proposal also includes a section on judicial and police co-operation,
in particular relating to use of networks for the purpose of
terrorism, drug trafficking and organised international crime.
Germany
In November 1996, Germany made proposals to improve self-regulation of
Internet content by extending the existing self-regulatory system for
content in the press and broadcasting. Providers offering harmful
content are to be required to appoint commissioners for the protection
of young persons who are to act as points of contact and advisers for
users. Providers are also given support for setting up joint
self-regulatory facilities.
The initiative makes clear that the criminal law and the law on the
protection of minors apply to Internet content, even if it is only
stored in a volatile manner.
The Internet Content Task Force, to which the major Internet Service
Providers belong, has also announced a new initiative 5 including a
hot-line and co-ordinated technical measures for blocking access to
illegal content. Self-regulators will intervene on their own
initiative, after review by an appraiser, to remove or block access to
content considered as criminal internationally such as child
pornography. They will act at the request of the law-enforcement
authorities where content is contrary to a specific rule of German
law.
4. Proposals for further action
The Working Party has taken the Communication on illegal and harmful
content on the Internet as a basis for elaborating the following
proposals. These would need to be implemented according to the
respective competences of Community and Member States. Four important
points are central to the approach taken by the working party:
1. The Internet is a positive instrument, empowering citizens and
educators, lowering the barriers to the creation and distribution of
content and offering universal access to ever richer sources of
digital information. Any action taken to deal with atypical use for
illegal and harmful content should not have a disproportionate impact
on Internet users and industry as a whole.
2. Information on the Internet should be allowed the same free flow as
paper-based information. Any restrictions should respect fundamental
rights such as freedom of expression and the right to privacy.
3. Responsibility for prosecuting and punishing those responsible for
illegal content remains with the national law-enforcement authorities.
4. Industry has a responsibility to report illegal content and to
remove it from their systems, and can be assisted by self-regulatory
bodies. Users should also report illegal content to hot-lines..
Filtering software and rating systems can help users to avoid harmful
contents.
a) Self-regulation
Co-operation from the industry and a fully functioning system of
self-regulation are essential to limiting the flow of illegal content
on the Internet. The issue of self-regulation and liability (see
below) are closely connected and need to be examined together.
i. Internet service providers and users should establish
representative bodies in all Member States
Self-regulation implies participation by industry and users: in order
to do this, bodies need to exist which represent industry and users.
Users can be represented either by specific Internet user groups or by
consumer groups.
ii. Self-regulation must fulfil certain minimum requirements
* It must not hamper the ability to provide services freely within
the internal market and must respect competition rules.
Freedom to provide services must be ensured by any regulation of new
services, whether state regulation or self-regulation. The Commission
has proposed a transparency mechanism for state regulation of new
services.
* It should respect fundamental freedoms such as freedom of
expression and the right to privacy.
The self-regulation system should include
* a Code of Conduct for internet service providers (access
providers, host service providers and anonymous remailers)
* a hot-line for complaints from the public, with appropriate
safeguards against misuse
* an independent self-regulatory body, including representatives of
industry and users, to advise on whether or not a breach of the
Code of Conduct has occurred (without prejudice to the due
process of law)
Appropriate publicity should be given to the existence of Codes of
Conduct, hot-lines and self-regulatory bodies. Codes of Conduct should
take into account the views of user groups.
iii. Member States should encourage industry to set up a
self-regulation system, become members of it and respect its rules
The self-regulation system needs to be in compliance with and
supported by the legal system. Service providers are subject to the
law, but compliance with self-regulation could be used as evidence
that reasonable efforts have been used to remove or prevent access to
illegal content.
Member States have the power to take measures which could be used only
if a service provider failed to comply with the rules of the
self-regulation system, or if the self-regulation system ceased to
function effectively. They can also require that the Code of Conduct
be formally approved.
Observation of the Code of Conduct could also be made a condition of
contracts between network operators and service providers, provided
that network operators are not required to act as a regulatory body.
iv. The role of self-regulatory bodies
The role of self-regulators is to use their best efforts to restrict
the flow of illegal content on the Internet. Where self-regulators
become aware of illegal content, they should take steps to ensure its
removal by informing the host service providers. Where the content
emanates from abroad, they should pass information to the host
country's self-regulator. They should also if requested transmit
appropriate information to the police to allow them to fulfil their
tasks, or to exchange information with another police force.
The hot-line could be reinforced by "citizens' watch" groups set up by
user organisations who would pledge to report to the hot-line illegal
content found during their use of Internet.
If necessary, appropriate legislation should make clear that
possession of illegal material by those involved in self-regulation
for purposes of self-regulation is not illegal.
v. There should be European co-ordination of representative and
self-regulation bodies
The Commission should collaborate in establishing and contributing
towards the initial cost of co-ordination at European level of
industry, user and self-regulation bodies. This co-ordination should
include common standards for national Codes of Conduct. A European
network of hot-lines should be established.
b) Liability
i. Internet service providers should only be liable for illegal
content where they are themselves the content provider, or where they
have been informed and failed to take reasonable steps to remove
illegal content from a service which they offer.
It is important to identify accurately the chain of responsibilities
in order to place the liability for illegal content on those who
create it.
Service providers and network operators involved in storing,
transmitting or facilitating access to content should only be liable
to the extent that they have been informed of illegal content by the
appropriate law-enforcement body or self-regulatory body and can take
measures to remove such content from circulation. They should not be
required actively to seek out illegal material. If they become aware
of material which appears to be illegal, they should report it to the
self-regulatory body.
ii. Anonymous use of the Internet
Anonymous use of the Internet takes a number of forms: anonymous
browsing, anonymous publishing of content on the World Wide Web,
anonymous e-mail messages and anonymous posting of messages to
newsgroups.
In accordance with the principle of freedom of expression and the
right to privacy, use of anonymity is legal . Users may wish to access
data and browse anonymously so that their personal details cannot be
recorded and used without their knowledge. Content providers on the
Internet may wish to remain anonymous for legitimate purposes, such as
where a victim of a sexual offence or a person suffering from a
dependency such as alcohol or drugs, a disease or a disability wishes
to share experiences with others without revealing their identity, or
where a person wishes to report a crime without fear of retaliation. A
user should not be required to justify anonymous use.
Anonymity may however also be used by those engaged in illegal acts to
complicate the task of the police in identifying and apprehending the
person responsible. Further examination is required of the conditions
under which measures to identify criminals for law enforcement
purposes can be achieved in the same way as in the "off-line" world.
Precedents exist in laws establishing conditions and procedures for
tapping and listening into telephone calls. Anonymity should not be
used as a cloak to protect criminals.
c) Technical Measures
Filtering and rating
Use of filtering and rating is a means whereby Internet users are
enabled to select categories of content which they prefer to receive
or do not wish to receive, and to set parameters for use by children
for whom they are responsible. Use of such systems should be voluntary
and a matter for individual choice.
In particular, the PICS standard launched by the international World
Wide Web consortium with EC support should be vigorously promoted as
the means by which such ratings can be expressed and used to empower
parental filtering of material.
i. Content-providers should be encouraged to rate their documents.
In order to bring about a rapid acceptance of filtering and rating, a
wide coverage of sites should be obtained. This can most easily be
achieved if content providers participate fully in the rating process.
ii. The Commission should foster applied research especially into the
development of third-party rating systems to meet different needs and
take account of Europe's cultural and linguistic diversity.
Rating carried out by independent third parties ensures a standard
approach to content rating and deals with cases where the content
provider fails to rate properly. Other benefits for users include
rating systems which guarantee respect of their convictions or which
deal with specific needs not met by the content provider's rating
system.
Privacy-enhancing and tracing technologies
iii. The Commission should include improved privacy-enhancing and
tracing mechanisms as a priority in its research programme, and
results made available from existing programmes as soon as possible.
Users should be given the possibility to make the most of the enormous
potential of modern computing technology to protect their legitimate
right to privacy, while still allowing law-enforcement authorities to
carry out their duties.
Research into methods of providing users with increased levels of
discrimination and intelligent filtering will also be promoted as part
of the natural evolution of filtering and rating system. Users should
be given the possibility to screen out anonymous publishing on the
World Wide Web and to refuse to receive anonymous e-mails. Newsgroups,
whether actively moderated or not, should be able to declare a policy
of refusal of anonymous messages. Technical progress is needed to be
able to realise these objectives.
Tracing technologies
Since some anonymous services may continue to be offered in countries
where legal traceability is not guaranteed, urgent steps should also
be taken to improve means of identifying where and by whom illegal
content is distributed.
Attention should be paid to the process by which technical standards
for digital communication are adopted since the design of such
standards may affect the possibilities of law-enforcement bodies to
track criminal activities.
d) Further suggestions
The following are suggestions of the group which are an essential
complement to other measures proposed.
i. Criminal law and criminal procedure and the penalties for offences
should be appropriate
Member States should examine carefully whether the rules in force are
adequate to deal with illegal content transmitted by the Internet, in
particular with respect to offences against children, and see how to
ensure a more coherent treatment of child pornography in criminal law.
The issue of liability for criminal content should be addressed (see
above).
ii. Member States should train and equip police and the courts to deal
with illegal content and use of Internet for illegal purposes
The international nature and technical features of the Internet mean
that specialised training and equipment should be made available to
help the police and the courts in their tasks.
iii. Police should take advantage of advice and information from
self-regulation bodies
The police should use advice and information from self-regulation
bodies. A single liaison point between police and self-regulators in
each Member State should be set up.
iv. Member States should examine how to improve co-operation between
them in the context of the relevant areas of common interest set out
in article K1 of the Treaty on European Union.
e) International co-operation
The proposals described above should be implemented not only within
the European Union, but also internationally in an appropriate
framework. This applies particularly to police and judicial
co-operation and to dealing with liability for illegal content and
anonymous use of Internet. Any international agreement should be in
conformity with fundamental rights and European traditions of free
expression. At the operational level, co-operation between hot-line
operators and between operators of rating systems and shared research
into filtering software and tracing systems should be promoted.
f) Support measures
Awareness and parental education
Awareness activities should be encouraged so that users understand the
opportunities as well as the drawbacks of the Internet. Parents and
educators, in particular, should be sufficiently informed so as to be
able to take full advantage of parental control software and rating
systems. Industry, self-regulatory bodies and user groups could
collaborate in providing suitable material, including explanations,
illustrations and animation. This should be made available on the
Internet and to other media who should be encouraged to produce
articles or programmes aimed at the target groups of parents,
educators and young Internet users.
Web Site
The Web site on illegal and harmful content should include:
* Links to hot-lines and instructions on how and where to complain
about illegal material
* Advice to parents and teachers on how to use the Internet and
filtering and rating (multi-lingual)
* Links to filtering software and rating systems
* Information from self-regulation bodies, industry codes of
conduct
The proposed Web site should contain content from a variety of sources
so as to provide a platform and a meeting place for all concerned in
combating illegal content and providing means for dealing with harmful
content. It should include the possibility for feedback from users,
and links to other sites with neutral and reliable information for
consumers about the Internet.
5. Follow-up of the working party
The Working Party considers that it has been extremely useful, even in
the brief time available, to have met as a group including
representatives of Member States, industry (network operators,
hardware manufacturers, software suppliers, Internet service
providers, content providers) and users. A platform with a
representative group of all concerned should follow progress in
implementing proposals and continue to discuss outstanding issues.
Annex: List of participants
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Footnotes
1 Breach of copyright can also entail criminal sanctions
2 Communication to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic
and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions COM(96) 487
3 COM(96) 483
4 e-mail: meldpunt@xs4all.nl see also http://www.xs4all.nl/~meldpunt/
5 http://www.anwalt.de/ictf/s961104e.htm
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