OSCE conference in Paris on the relationship between racist, xenophobic and antisemitic propaganda on the Internet and hate crimes
Some articles in the press VIENNA, June 15 (AFP) - European and US officials and industry professionals will meet from Wednesday to discuss ways of tackling the proliferation of racist, xenophobic and anti-semitic materials via the Internet, blamed for a rising tide of hate-crimes both sides of the Atlantic.
Delegates at the two-day meeting in Paris, held at the initiative of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the French government, hope to find ways to trace the authors of racist propaganda, without reining in online freedoms.
Views on how best to respond differ sharply - with some Europeans, notably France, in favour of a crackdown on incitement to racial hatred, while the United States remains deeply attached to the principle of freedom of expression, enshrined in the US constitution.
"The problem is clearly there and it faces the whole world," said the US ambassador to the 55-member OSCE, Stephan M. Minikes, who agreed that there was a lack of consensus on the issue.
"Very broadly, the European Union and France look at the problem more from the point of view of regulating and prohibiting," he told AFP on Monday.
"While in some people's eyes (that approach) has merits, for us it is not a question of what has merits but of what is allowable under our constitution," he said.
Minikes explained that the US wishes to encourage self-regulation by the Internet industry: "We cannot regulate speech... Our government should not and cannot tell countries, companies what to do."
"The private sector are certainly smart enough in dealing with non-governmental organisations and others to decide on their own," he argued.As an example, the US version of the Google search engine (www.google.com) includes a disclaimer for results produced by a keyword search for "Jew" - and refers users to the website of the Jewish Anti-Defamation league.
For Suzette Bronkhost, a Dutch official of the International network against cyber hate (www.inach.net), even the US constitution should not allow the most extreme statements, by Holocaust deniers for example, or incitements to crime.
The Netherlands-based organisation Magenta received 1,242 complaints about web-based content in 2003, of which 477 concerned anti-semitic threats and 231 reported Islamophobic statements.
According to Bronkhost, who believes strict self-regulation is the most effective way to tackle the problem, "complaints are only the tip of the iceberg - there are millions of web pages, that cannot all be watched."
But self-regulation does not always work, as shown when a transatlantic row erupted in 2000 over a French court's competence to hear a case against the former boss of the US search engine Yahoo!, accused of illegally selling Nazi memorabilia over the Internet.
Timothy Koogle was brought to court by the Association of Auschwitz Deportees, which said he had broken French laws that ban the exhibition of Nazi uniforms and insignia.
He was acquitted in Feburary 2003, with an appeal hearing planned for later this year.
"States can resort to different legal tools, but all take very seriously threats that call for the death of Arabs and of Jews," said a French source.
France's key concern was to protect young people from harmful propaganda, but not to limit online freedom, the source added.
The Vienna-based OSCE is currently studying answers to a questionnaire sent to member states, concerning national legislation on racism and the Internet.
© AFP
From news reports AP, Reuters
Thursday, June 17, 2004
PARIS The Internet's role in fueling a surge of racism across Europe was examined at an international conference that began here on Wednesday, as delegates sought ways to balance state regulation with freedom of expression.
The two-day meeting, organized by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe gathered representatives from 55 countries, major Internet companies and nongovernmental organizations.
Solomon Passy, the chief of the security and cooperation agency, who is also Bulgaria's foreign minister, summed up the problem by saying: "We must not limit the freedom of expression. We must not over-regulate. But we must not let the door be opened to the abuses. Freedom does not mean an unrestricted right to spread hatred."
Delegates hope to find ways to track down the authors of racist, xenophobic and anti-Semitic material on the Web without restricting online freedoms.
The debate was likely to show up differences between the position of U.S. authorities, eager to see self-regulation play the key role, and European officials, who believe that governments and international law should take charge.
Officials in countries like France, which has experienced a surge in anti-Semitic violence in recent years, are pushing for tougher regulations. "We are at a particular hinge moment in our common fight against intolerance," Michel Barnier, the foreign minister of France, said at the conference opening.
"Our responsibility is to underline that by its own characteristics - notably, immediacy and anonymity - the Internet has seduced the networks of intolerance," he said. France has noted a "clear relationship" between racist, anti-Semitic and xenophobic propaganda and hate crime, he said. France and other European nations have strong laws against racist expressions.
Dan Bryant, an U.S. assistant attorney general, acknowledged the American approach differed from that of other countries. "We believe that government efforts to regulate bias-motivated speech on the Internet are fundamentally mistaken," Bryant said.
"At the same time, however, the United States has not stood and will not stand idly by, when individuals cross the line from protected speech to criminal conduct."
Experts noted that there were signs that the problem of online hate was getting worse. Barnier cited a report in Britain showing that the number of "violent and extremist sites" had ballooned by 300 percent in the last four years in 15 countries surveyed.
In Denmark, a computer virus tracking company said Friday that junk e-mail with right-wing slogans in German hit computer users in three countries claiming that foreigners were bilking social security and bankrupting public health services.
The meeting is one of three conferences on anti-Semitism and racism this year organized by the Organization for Security and Cooperation. Berlin was host to an anti-Semitism conference in April, and a meeting on racism is scheduled in Brussels in September.
Organizers said that the meeting was primarily intended to lay out alternatives for cooperation but that an agreement was not likely by Thursday's closing sessions.
(AFP, AP)
Thu Jun 17, 2004 11:58 AM ET
By Tom Heneghan
PARIS (Reuters) - A transatlantic gap over fighting Internet hate crime is
narrowing as the United States and France put aside differences to seek a
common strategy against Web Sites spreading racism and anti-Semitism,
experts said on Thursday.
The two countries, which clashed in recent years over sales of Nazi
memorabilia over the U.S.-based Yahoo portal, focused on practical ways to
fight Internet hate crime at a two-day Paris conference on the issue, the
experts from both states said.
The conference was part of a series of meetings run by the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to reach a broad agreement by
December on common policies among all 55 members in Europe, North America
and Central Asia.
U.S. Assistant Attorney General Daniel Bryant said the talks had helped
other countries understand Washington's strong legal guarantees on free
speech, which have frustrated European government and courts trying to shut
down U.S.-based hate sites.
"Even so, there is a great deal of opportunity to move in common with our
OSCE partners," he said after the end of the meeting at which delegates said
the U.S. and French sides had taken the lead in seeking common ground.
One French delegate said approvingly that Washington and Paris were now
holding "a sustained dialogue" on the issues.
"They thought countries would come here to criticize U.S. laws," he said on
condition of anonymity. "But we're not trying to change the First Amendment.
There is no hidden agenda."
The Anti-Defamation League, a U.S. Jewish group that actively monitors hate
sites on the Web, noted a growing consensus despite the contrasting
traditions of U.S. free speech and European intervention against
objectionable opinions.
"The Atlantic divide is bridgeable," said Brian Marcus, head of the
Anti-Defamation League's Internet monitoring project.
DID YAHOO CONDONE WAR CRIMES?
This is a far cry from the clash that broke out in 2000 when a French judge
ordered California-based Yahoo! Inc (YHOO.O: Quote, Profile, Research) to
block French users from accessing pages on which Nazi daggers and
concentration camp uniforms were being auctioned off.
Yahoo yanked Nazi gear from its auction sites but got a U.S. court ruling
saying it did not have to obey a French court.
In return, French Jewish anti-Semitism groups sued the ex-head of Yahoo for
condoning war crimes, a case they lost.
The retreat from confrontation has shifted the focus to ways that all OSCE
member countries can pressure Internet service providers (ISPs) to include
provisions against hate speech in their contracts and cut off Web Sites that
violate them.
"If this is part of the terms of service, there are no First Amendment
issues, just contract issues," explained Markham Erikson of the
Washington-based Net Coalition representing Internet service providers,
portals and search engines.
Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy, chairman of the OSCE meeting, said
delegations had also agreed to promote projects by non-governmental
organizations to monitor racist and anti-Semitic Web Sites and alert police
of any crimes.
This calmed U.S. concerns about having state authorities decide which sites
and what content to monitor, delegates said.
Alexander Acosta, another U.S. assistant attorney general, said the talks
had helped European officials to see the First Amendment did not stop U.S.
authorities from prosecuting cases where Web Sites carry threats or calls to
violence.
The OSCE-sponsored talks will continue in Warsaw in October and should wind
up with common guidelines at the OSCE annual meeting in Sofia in December.
© Copyright Reuters 2004.
LEMONDE.FR | 17.06.04
DivisÈs sur la nÈcessitÈ de lÈgifÈrer pour lutter contre le racisme sur Internet, les pays de l'OSCE, rÈunis mercredi et jeudi ý Paris, ont pariÈ sur la responsabilitÈ des internautes et sur le travail dÈjý engagÈ entre ONG et industriels pour faire le mÈnage sur la Toile.
A l'issue de deux jours de confÈrence, l'Organisation pour la sÈcuritÈ et la coopÈration en Europe (OSCE) a publiÈ un relevÈ de "conclusions" gÈnÈrales, mais pas de mesures concrËtes.
L'OSCE appelle notamment ý renforcer l'Èducation ý la tolÈrance des utilisateurs et ý promouvoir la coopÈration entre tous les acteurs, particuliËrement l'action des ONG et associations engagÈes dans le combat contre la diffusion de la propagande raciste, antisÈmite et xÈnophobe sur Internet.
Les deux jours de rÈunion ont ÈtÈ marquÈs par le dÈsaccord persistant entre les Etats-Unis, opposÈs ý toute rÈgulation au nom de la libertÈ d'expression, et les pays europÈens, plus favorables ý une politique de contrÙle et de sanctions.
Alors que le ministre franÁais de l'Èducation, FranÁois Fillon, estimait en clÙture de confÈrence que "le mythe d'Internet comme zone de non-droit a vÈcu", l'ambassadeur des Etats-Unis auprËs de l'OSCE, Stephan Minikes, rÈitÈrait l'opposition amÈricaine ý "ceux qui pensent que le discours de haine sur Internet doit Ítre supprimÈ" et prÙnait la "confrontation sur le marchÈ des idÈes" pour combattre le racisme.
A dÈfaut de s'entendre sur ce point, les participants ont cherchÈ des terrains d'entente plus gÈnÈraux et se sont fÈlicitÈs d'avoir au moins lancÈ une rÈflexion collective.
RESPONSABILITŠ DES ACTEURS DU NET FACE AU RACISME
"Nos discussions ont Ègalement rÈvÈlÈ de larges terrains de consensus", a dÈclarÈ M. Minikes, citant notamment le rÙle dÈvolu aux ONG et ý l'industrie du Net, dont des reprÈsentants participaient Ègalement ý la confÈrence. "Nous soutenons les efforts des organisations privÈes pour contrÙler et dÈcouvrir l'expression raciste, antisÈmite et xÈnophobe sur Internet", a-t-il dÈclarÈ.
Au-delý de la divergence thÈorique entre les pays, il y a certaines convergences de pratiques, a rappelÈ Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, prÈsidente du Forum des droits sur l'Internet. "De nombreux fournisseurs d'accËs amÈricains bannissent les contenus haineux, mÍme s'il n'y a pas de lÈgislation en ce sens", a-t-elle rappelÈ.
Une attitude pragmatique Ègalement soulignÈe par Marc Knobel, responsable de l'association "J'accuse". "MÍme s'il est clair que les Etats-Unis ne prendront pas de mesures coercitives, il y a une Èvolution depuis le dÈbut des annÈes 2000", a-t-il estimÈ, en citant notamment les efforts du premier moteur de recherche amÈricain, Google, pour rÈfÈrencer ses contenus.
Techniques de filtrage, codes de conduite entre ONG et fournisseurs d'accËs, lobbies d'internautes exigeant le respect des contrats de la part des industriels d'Internet : "L'ensemble des acteurs s'accorde sur l'idÈe d'une responsabilitÈ partagÈe pour lutter contre l'expression raciste sur Internet", a-t-elle dit.
Toutefois," cette responsabilitÈ ne doit pas empiÈter sur la libertÈ d'expression", a rappelÈ Suzette Bronkhorst, secrÈtaire gÈnÈrale de rÈseau international contre la cyber-haine (INACH). "Interdire des publications ou des expressions avant qu'elles aient ÈtÈ rendues publiques constitue un puissant outil d'oppression. Ainsi, les contenus devraient seulement Ítre ÈvaluÈs aprËs publication", a-t-elle indiquÈ en sÈance de clÙture.
© LE MONDE
CNN.COM
PARIS, France (AP) -- European neo-Nazis post online pictures of paint-smeared mosques. Web sites of Islamic radicals call for holy war on the West. Aliases like "Jew Killer" pop up on Internet game sites.
International experts met Wednesday in Paris to tackle the tricky task of fighting anti-Semitic, racist and xenophobic propaganda on the Internet -- seen as a chief factor in a rise in hate crime.
Purveyors of hate have found a potent tool in the Internet, spreading fear with such grisly images as the beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002.
The new technology has proven to be a boon for hatreds of old, many experts say.
"Our responsibility is to underline that by its own characteristics -- notably, immediacy and anonymity -- the Internet has seduced the networks of intolerance," French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said in opening remarks at the two-day conference.
France, which is spearheading the effort, has faced a surge in anti-Semitic violence in the last two years. Some fault the growth of Internet use among hate groups.
But differing views about the limits of free speech and the ease of public access to the nebulous, anonymous Web largely stymied officials hoping to find common ground in Wednesday's talks.
A sticking point was whether the United States, which has championed nearly unfettered free speech, would line up with European countries that have banned racist or anti-Semitic speech in public.
The dilemma is all the more acute because the Internet is global, easy to use and tough to regulate -- as shown by widespread sharing of music online, an illegal practice that has confounded record companies. Terror groups have also used the Internet to plot attacks.
American approach differs
There are no easy solutions, delegates said. Many urged more youth education, better cooperation between governments and Internet service providers, or new studies on links between Web racism and hate crimes.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, a 55-country body that promotes security and human rights, organized the conference with the backing of the French government. Six countries in the Middle East and North Africa also sent envoys. The meeting is one of three OSCE conferences on anti-Semitism and racism this year.
U.S. Assistant Attorney General Dan Bryant acknowledged the American approach differs from that of other countries.
"We believe that government efforts to regulate bias-motivated speech on the Internet are fundamentally mistaken," Bryant said. "At the same time, however, the United States has not stood and will not stand idly by, when individuals cross the line from protected speech to criminal conduct."
He said the United States believes the best way to reduce hate speech is to confront it, by promoting tolerance, understanding and other ideas that enlighten.
Robert Badinter, a former French justice minister, said that of 4,000 "racist sites" counted worldwide in 2002, some 2,500 were based in the United States.
Growing problem
There are signs that online hate is getting worse.
The French foreign minister cited a recent report in Britain that showed the number of "violent and extremist sites" had ballooned by 300 percent in the last four years in 15 OSCE countries surveyed.
France last year banned a Web site responsible for thousands of daily racist messages, one of which claimed responsibility for dousing mosques with paint in the colors of the French flag, the International Network Against Cyber Hate wrote in a report released Wednesday.
Christopher Wolf, chairman of the Internet Task Force of the U.S. Anti-Defamation League, pointed out how one student on a blog site at Brandeis University described playing an Internet video game against a rival who had nicknamed himself "Jew Killer."
In Egypt, some sites have shown pictures of American soldiers in Iraq to dredge up anti-U.S. feeling; one purportedly showed the June 8 killing of American civilian Robert Jacobs in Saudi Arabia.
Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights group based in Los Angeles, said one strategy is for Internet service providers in the United States to honor anti-racism language in their own contracts.
But even that won't stamp out Internet hate, he said.
"Will this put the (Ku Klux Klan) out of business? No. They will be able to find some way of getting their messages back online," he said. "But it will put a crimp in that subculture on the Internet."
Par CÈcile FEUILLATRE
PARIS, 17 juin 2004 (AFP) - DivisÈs sur la nÈcessitÈ de lÈgifÈrer pour
lutter contre le racisme sur internet, les pays de l'OSCE, rÈunis mercredi et
jeudi ý Paris, ont pariÈ sur la responsabilitÈ des internautes et sur le
travail dÈjý engagÈ entre ONG et industriels pour faire le mÈnage sur la Toile.
A l'issue de deux jours de confÈrence, l'Organisation pour la sÈcuritÈ et
la coopÈration en Europe (OSCE) a publiÈ un relevÈ de "conclusions" gÈnÈrales,
mais pas de mesures concrËtes.
L'OSCE appelle notamment ý renforcer l'Èducation ý la tolÈrance des
utilisateurs et ý promouvoir la coopÈration entre tous les acteurs,
particuliËrement l'action des ONG et associations engagÈes dans le combat
contre la diffusion de la propagande raciste, antisÈmite et xÈnophobe sur
internet.
Les deux jours de rÈunion ont ÈtÈ marquÈs par le dÈsaccord persistant entre
les Etats-Unis, opposÈs ý toute rÈgulation au nom de la libertÈ d'expression,
et les pays europÈens, plus favorables ý une politique de contrÙle et de
sanctions.
Alors que le ministre franÁais de l'Education FranÁois Fillon estimait en
clÙture de confÈrence que "le mythe d'internet comme zone de non-droit a
vÈcu", l'ambassadeur des Etats-Unis auprËs de l'OSCE, Stephan Minikes,
rÈitÈrait l'opposition amÈricaine ý "ceux qui pensent que le discours de haine
sur internet doit Ítre supprimÈ" et prÙnait la "confrontation sur le marchÈ
des idÈes" pour combattre le racisme.
A dÈfaut de s'entendre sur ce point, les participants ont cherchÈ des
terrains d'entente plus gÈnÈraux et se sont fÈlicitÈs d'avoir au moins lancÈ
une rÈflexion collective.
"Nos discussions ont Ègalement rÈvÈlÈ des larges terrains de consensus", a
dÈclarÈ M. Minikes, citant notamment le rÙle dÈvolu aux ONG et ý l'industrie
du net, dont des reprÈsentants participaient Ègalement ý la confÈrence.
"Nous soutenons les efforts des organisations privÈes pour contrÙler et
dÈcouvrir l'expression raciste, antisÈmite et xÈnophobe sur internet", a-t-il
dÈclarÈ.
Au-delý de la divergence thÈorique entre les pays, il y a certaines
convergences de pratiques, a rappelÈ Isabelle Falque Pierrotin, prÈsidente du
Forum des droits sur l'internet. "De nombreux fournisseurs d'accËs amÈricains
bannissent les contenus haineux mÍme s'il n'y a pas de lÈgislation en ce
sens", a-t-elle rappelÈ.
Une attitude pragmatique Ègalement soulignÈe par Marc Knobel, responsable
de l'association "J'accuse".
"MÍme s'il est clair que les Etats-Unis ne prendront pas de mesures
coercitives, il y a une Èvolution depuis le dÈbut des annÈes 2000", a-t-il
estimÈ, en citant notamment les efforts du premier moteur de recherche
amÈricain, Google, pour rÈfÈrencer ses contenus.
Techniques de filtrage, codes de conduite entre ONG et fournisseurs
d'accËs, lobbies d'internautes exigeant le respect des contrats aux
industriels d'internet: "l'ensemble des acteurs s'accorde sur l'idÈe d'une
responsabilitÈ partagÈe pour lutter contre l'expression raciste sur internet",
a-t-elle dit.
Toutefois, cette responsabilitÈ ne doit pas empiÈter sur la libertÈ
d'expression, a rappelÈ Suzette Bronkhorst, secrÈtaire gÈnÈrale de rÈseau
international contre la cyber haine (INACH). "Interdire des publications ou
des expressions avant qu'elles aient ÈtÈ rendues publiques constitue un
puissant outil d'oppression. Ainsi les contenus devraient seulement Ítre
ÈvaluÈs aprËs publication", a-t-elle indiquÈ en sÈance de clÙture.
© Liberation.
Par Martine NOUAILLE
PARIS, 17 juin 2004 (AFP) - "Le protocole des sages de Sion", cÈlËbre faux
antisÈmite censÈ dÈmontrer un "complot mondial juif", a servi de scÈnario ý
des sÈries diffusÈes par des tÈlÈvisions arabes, dont la confÈrence de l'OSCE
sur le racisme et l'antisÈmitisme sur internet a diffusÈ jeudi des extraits.
Gr’ce au satellite, ces tÈlÈvisions peuvent Ítre regardÈes en Europe et
alimenter les prÈjugÈs antisÈmites d'un jeune public d'origine arabe, ont
soulignÈ le CRIF (conseil reprÈsentatif des institutions juives) et le CEJI
(centre europÈen juif d'information), organisateurs de la projection.
Apparu au dÈbut du 20Ëme siËcle, et vraisemblablement forgÈ par la police
tsariste, "Le protocole des sages de Sion" attribue aux juifs un projet de
conquÍte du monde par tous les moyens.
Ce projet a ÈtÈ mis en oeuvre au Proche-Orient avec la crÈation de l'Etat
d'IsraÎl, selon la bande-annonce d'un feuilleton Ègyptien ý succËs, "Cavalier
sans monture". Lors de sa diffusion en novembre 2002, prËs de 200 artistes et
intellectuels Ègyptiens s'Ètaient mobilisÈs pour dÈfendre ce feuilleton dont
les Etats-Unis avaient demandÈ la dÈprogrammation.
"Diaspora", une autre saga diffusÈe par la chaÓne du Hezbollah libanais Al
Manar en novembre 2003, montre un Rothschild expliquant sur son lit de mort
que Dieu a commandÈ aux juifs "de diriger le monde par l'argent, la
connaissance, la politique, le meurtre, le sexe et tout autre moyen".
La mÍme saga met en scËne le meurtre rituel d'un "enfant chrÈtien" par des
religieux juifs qui recueillent son sang pour fabriquer du pain azyme (un
grand classique antisÈmite du Moyen-Age), et celui, tout aussi horrible, d'un
homme qui a eu le tort de ne pas respecter le shabbat.
Une chaÓne d'Etat iranienne a pour sa part diffusÈ un documentaire
affirmant que les juifs, bien que dÈnuÈs selon elle de toute crÈativitÈ
artistique, ont pris le contrÙle du cinÈma mondial pour y dÈvelopper leurs
thËses et corrompre les esprits.
Une tÈlÈvision d'Abou Dhabi a choisi l'humour en novembre 2001 pour mettre
en scËne un Ariel Sharon rapace et sanguinaire, inventeur d'une boisson
nouvelle ý succËs, le "Dra-cola" (en rÈfÈrence ý Dracula), fabriquÈ avec du
sang arabe rÈcoltÈ gr’ce aux tueries de l'armÈe israÈlienne...
Le CRIF et le CEJI demandent que l'ensemble des satellites europÈens
refusent de conventionner et donc de relayer les chaÓnes qui diffuseraient de
tels programmes.
Marc Knobel, reprÈsentant du CRIF, a prÈcisÈ que la loi sur les
communications Èlectroniques et audiovisuelles, votÈe par l'AssemblÈe
nationale le 12 fÈvrier 2004 et bientÙt promulguÈe, comprend un article visant
ý permettre au CSA de contrÙler la programmation des chaÓnes
extracommunautaires.
Marc Knobel prÈside "j'accuse", association contre le racisme sur internet,
associÈe au MRAP (Mouvement contre le racisme et l'amitiÈ entre les peuples)
pour un dossier de la Commission nationale consultative des droits de l'Homme
(CNCDH) sur les sites internet racistes et antisÈmites.
Ce dossier rendu public lors de la confÈrence de l'OSCE a notamment Ètabli
que les sites internet racistes ou antisÈmites francophones diffËrent des
sites anglophones en raison d'une lÈgislation pÈnale plus stricte en France.
Pour lutter contre les sites hÈbergÈs ý l'Ètranger, Marc Knobel et GÈrard
Kerforn (MRAP) ont exprimÈ leur volontÈ de participer au rÈseau associatif
INACH (International network against cyber hate, rÈseau international contre
la haine par internet).
© Liberation.
17. jun 2004
Hvor langt skal myndighederne g for at bekÊmpe racisme og hadske ytringer p internettet? Det diskuterer reprÊsentanter fra 60 lande i Frankrig. IsÊr USA og Frankrig er vildt uenige.
Af Sisse K. Ibsen
Hvor meget skal man gribe ind og regulere eller standse en hjemmeside med indhold, der sviner andre befolkningsgrupper til?
F¯r internettets tid har den slags kunne besluttes i de enkelte lande, men med fremvÊksten af et verdensomspÊndende net kan man have brug for fÊlles regler. Hvis man alts kan blive enige om dem.
Nogen enighed er der dog ikke umiddelbart udsigt til mellem de reprÊsentanter for de 60 lande, der i ¯jeblikket m¯des i Frankrig til storm¯de om, hvordan man bekÊmper netracisme.
Uenigheden er stor isÊr mellem Frankrig og USA.
Flere overgreb
Frankrig vil have flere regler og sanktionsmuligheder, fordi man mener at kunne pÂvise, at bÂde racisme og overgreb vokser som f¯lge af de gode kommunikationsmuligheder p nettet.
Omvendt vil USA ikke indf¯re restriktioner i ytringsfriheden.
ªVi mener, at regeringers indsats for at regulere indlÊg p internettet, der er motiveret af fordomme, basalt set er en fejltagelse´, siger den amerikanske vicestatsadvokat Dan Bryant if¯lge BBC Online.
Konflikter f¯r
Det to-dages-m¯de bliver holdt hos den europÊiske samarbejdsorganisation OSCE.
Det er ikke f¯rste gang, at Frankrigs og USAs forskellige syn p regulering af nettet giver gnister. De franske myndigheder har f.eks. ihÊrdigt fors¯gt at standse en netauktion hos det amerikanske firma Yahoo, hvor nazi-genstande blev sat til salg.
Julio Godoy
PARIS, Jun 18 (IPS) - The emails seemed inoffensive. The sender seemed to be a German official or a journalist with either the Der Spiegel weekly or the broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
The emails linked the receiving computer automatically to the neo-Nazi 'National Socialist Information Site' (NSINFO) seen by many Internet experts as among the most dangerous web addresses.
NSINFO, a Slovak site hosted by a Russian provider feeds right-wing extremists material on "the enemies of the white race" and calls for their elimination.
NSINFO is not alone. The U.S. Internet site Hoozajew (Who is a Jew) asks visitors to provide names, addresses and telephone numbers of people of Jewish origin.
The French site 'Collectif pour une information authentiquement juive' (collective for authentic Jewish information) identifies "traitors (Jews daring to criticise Israeli policies) who deserve death without process."
The virtual could be spilling over into the actual. "There exists a direct link between this propaganda on the one side, and racist, anti-Semitic crimes on the other," French foreign minister Michel Barnier told a conference on racism on the Internet held by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Paris this week.
The OSCE is the largest regional security organisation in the world with 55 participating states from Europe, Central Asia and North America. It is active in early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation.
Michael Wine, director of the Community Security Trust that seeks to protect British Jews said "we know that there has been an explosion of the number of sites encouraging hatred and racism on the Internet, and at the same we witness an alarming increase of tensions between religious and ethnical communities."
Wine said the riots across several cities in northern Britain in 2002 followed racist calls over the Internet by the far right groups the British National Party and the National Front. Members of the British Redwatch and the German Antifa (anti-fascist associations) groups were also attacked after neo-Nazi calls sent by email, Wine said.
The conference called to discuss a code for Internet providers to weed out racist messages revealed the extent of hatred on the web.
Up to 60,000 racist sites function across the world, Marc Knobel, founder of J'accuse (I accuse), a French association against racism on the Internet told the meeting. Barnier said that "between 2000 and 2004, the number of racist sites grew 300 percent."
But the conference attended by representatives of the 55 OSCE countries found legislative difficulties in the way of preventive action.
"The European Union wants to attack the problem (of violence in Internet) from the point of view of regulation," U.S. ambassador to the OSCE Stephan Minike told the conference. "For us in the United States the bottom line is what our constitution allows us to do."
Minikes said the U.S. government preferred a "voluntary approach" to block racism and hatred on the Internet. "The private sector is intelligent enough to deal with the problem," he said.
That has not worked so far. In November 2000 a French tribunal threatened to impose a heavy fine on the U.S. Internet search engine and web directory Yahoo! for hosting auctions of neo-Nazi memorabilia. French law forbids the exhibition and sale of such objects.
Yahoo! first argued that the auctions were compatible with the U.S. constitutional guarantee of free expression. It later accepted the French demand to stop hosting such sales, but also asked the U.S. judiciary to consider whether French laws were applicable outside France.
Beyond the legislative differences that Internet providers exploit, the OSCE conference highlighted ideological disagreements and technical difficulties in controlling racism and calls to violence on the web.
Activists said the non-binding code of good behaviour on the Internet agreed upon during the conference was "a soft law" inappropriate to fight back racism.
Non-governmental associations have been promoting such codes for years. In the Netherlands the International Network Against Cyber Hate (INACH) has identified 1,242 sites with anti-Semitic and anti-Islamic content.
"This is only the tip of the iceberg," said Suzette Bronkhost from INACH. "You cannot examine and filter the millions of addresses that exist on the Internet."
Meriem Marzouki who leads the French association IRIS ("Imaginons un rÈseau Internet solidaire, Imagine a harmonious Internet") told IPS "what we really need is strong sanctions at the international level, regardless of what national laws say."
The code of good behaviour the conference agreed upon amounts to "governments' lack of will to really fight back racism on the web. Instead of establishing clear rules, the governments agreed to give up their legislative authority, and to transfer their responsibility to technicians and powerless associations."
© IPS.