Folks in the US sometimes take the First Amendment for granted. But, I’ll tell you folks, it’s that sort of thing that makes it — well, not impossible, but a lot more difficult to get crap like this happening here.
The Council of Europe has amended its cybercrime treaty to devise criminal penalties for those who dare to express unpopular ideas for public consumption with any manner of computer equipment. The measure specifically targets so-called ‘racist and xenophobic material’, and would apply to any controversial Web-site, or even a mean-spirited posting to a BBS or an e-mail newsletter. …
The venerable Eurocrats have decreed that, “‘racist and xenophobic material’ means 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.”
In other words, if the authorities decide that your electronically-expressed opinion expresses hatred toward others, it’s a crime. Well, it’s a crime if it’s hatred based on race, color, descent, nationality or ethnicity. It’s okay to hate someone based on religion, as long as it’s not a “pretext” for hating their ethnicity. It’s also presumably okay to express your hatred for someone based on their being left-handed, handicapped, gay, Republican, or being a Madonna fan. This year, at least.
Does this strike anyone as being the slightest bit — odd? Quixotic? Scary?
Special mention is made that part of this protocol is to nail folks who either deny or endorse the Holocaust. Unless, one presumes, the endorsement is based on condemnation of the Jewish religion, vs. Jewish ethnicity.
This stuff is, by the way, tucked into the “economic crimes” category, under “cybercrime.” The EU’s “chirpy press release” on this can be found here (where we find the US is welcomed to sign on to the protocol, never mind that irksome little 18th Century dross known as the US Constitution), and the actual new treaty protocols can be found here.
UPDATE: Well, I was busy all weekend, which is why I didn’t see the SDB commentary on this. As usual, much more thorough and much more thought-out a job than I could possibly manage.
Wow – all the propaganda and political cartoons against Hilter and Germany during WW II were wrong and should be illegal? Can Amazon.UK sell the Dr. Suess goes to war book? It is full of racist and xenophobic material.
Good questions.
And to give credit where credit is due, the Bushies say they won’t sign on to the additional protocol. Not that they legally could, mind you, but it’s nice to hear them say so.