09. 09. 2008

CONFERENCE ON REGULATING THE FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION ON THE INTERNET

Daily "Danas" reports on the two-day Conference on the freedom of expression on the Internet

Day one, September 8, 2008

The main criterion of the freedom of speech on the Internet ought to be responsibility, decided the participants of yesterday’s Conference on regulating the freedom of speech on the Internet, held at the Faculty of Political Sciences, adding that it is necessary to introduce legal regulations in order to prevent the viewing of violent contents.

The Minister of Telecommunications and Information Society, Jasna Matić, claimed that the enhancement of the freedom of expression and the harmonization of the Serbian legal regulations with European ones were the priorities of the Serbian government.

- The freedom of speech has been breached many times in Serbia; in order to sustain it, we will rely on the Council of the European Union and the Council of Europe – Matić said.

The Ambassador of the Council of Europe in Serbia, Constantin Yerocostopoulos, stated that the freedom of speech on the Internet had to be respected and promoted, and not discriminated against. Nevertheless, he believed that all the countries had to implement the measures against such forms of expression as racism, cyber terrorism and child pornography.

Bill Longhurst from the British Embassy in Belgrade reminded the public that Great Britain had been one of the first countries to see the importance of the freedom of expression on the world computer network and pointed out that the regulation and self-regulation of the media were highly significant for the process of joining the EU.

The Deputy Minister of Telecommunication and Information Society, Jelena Sučurlija, highlighted that it was necessary to raise the awareness of the citizens as to how “powerful” the Internet could actually be. Furthermore, she said that the credibility of the information on the Internet and insulting content, “for example, hate speech, which was differently regulated in various countries”, ought to be legally regulated.

- In order for Serbia to come closer to the EU, it must devote more time to the issue of freedom of expression on the Internet. That should lead to the conformation of Serbian laws to European standards – Sučurlija explained.

David Goldberg from the Oxford University claimed that thousands of blogs (personal diaries on the Internet) were induced every day worldwide, and that at present there were approximately 150 million of them. He claimed that bloggers were primarily men, as well as that the ratio of Internet sites to blogs was 22:1. He added that in 39 US states 150 lawsuits against bloggers were conducted, resulting in more than half victories.

- That means that it is not necessary to pass new laws, because the existing ones are also satisfactory, but they must be upgraded – said Goldberg. In his opinion, a European association of bloggers should be formed.

Miroljub Radojković, a professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences, said that citizen journalism was not a new form of communication, but rather a mix of all the other methods of communication.

- Citizen journalism will contribute to the fact that individuals will increasingly write about events, i.e. create truth drafts instead of the mass media – Radojković stated.

In his speech on online reporting, Rade Veljanovski, also a professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences, said that news agencies could now directly communicate with the public, as well as that the freedom of expression on the Internet and journalism should remain „two mutually colaborating routes“.

Oxford University and the Faculty of Political Sciences Collaborate

The Deputy Minister of Telecommunication and Information Society, Jelena Sučurlija, stated that the Faculty of Political Sciences (FPN) would introduce a new subject named The right of the media and the new media as of next year, as well as that the aim of the Conference on regulating the freedom of speech on the Internet was to build collaboration between the Oxford University and the Belgrade University, and especially FPN. Milan Podunavac, the Dean of FPN, asserted that the Faculty wished to be a “modern school of democracy and political culture”, as well as that each society faced the issue of ensuring personal freedom. “That is why this Conference will considerably contribute to regulating this important segment”, said he.

Day two, September 9, 2008

The protection of children, personal data and the right to anonymity on the Internet were some of the subjects on the second day of the Conference on regulating the freedom of speech on the Internet, held on September 8 and 9 at FPN.

Inger Hoedt-Rasmussen, a Danish expert for the new media, pointed out that the education of children, as well as adults, was the best way to protect the little ones from the risk posed by the Internet. According to her, the problem is not in the existence of the world computer network, but rather in the upbringing.

- Are children who use the Internet endangered? I believe it is more dangerous when they play in the street. We need to trust them and not control them all the time – she explained and added that according to research, children are not drawn to net pornography.

Dirk Voorhoof from the Faculty of Political Sciences of the Gent University in Belgium claimed that the right to anonymity on the Internet was less frequently resorted to in democratic societies than in totalitarian ones. He said that the state had to respect the freedom of expression on the Internet; “however, if someone commits illegal actions, the government can breach the right to anonymity”.

Slobodan Kremenjak, a lawyer, reminded the participants that the Personal Data Protection Act had existed in Serbia for ten years, but that it had never been implemented.

- That is why Serbia needs to pass a new law, which would clearly define the range of the data to which it refers, clear and precise conditions for data handling, as well as data protection –Kremenjak stated.

He also highlighted that the Draft Personal Data Protection Act had been concluded, “but that we should be on the guard, since there was a trend of adjusting laws in parliamentary procedures in Serbia”.