US groups oppose internat'l effort to limit hate speech on Internet

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US groups oppose international effort to limit hate speech on the Internet

By Reuters

WASHINGTON - More than a dozen business and civil liberties groups said yesterday that a proposed amendment to an international computer-crime law could limit free speech and expose high-tech firms to legal liability.

Groups ranging from the American Civil Liberties Union to the US Chamber of Commerce said in a letter to Bush administration officials that they objected to a proposed amendment to the Council of Europe Convention on Cyber-Crime that seeks to place limits on racist or xenophobic speech.

''While we abhor both xenophobia and racism, this protocol raises a number of fundamental procedural and substantive concerns to US industry and public interest groups,'' the letter said.

South Africa, the United States, Canada, and Japan joined nearly 30 European countries in signing the agreement last fall to fight Internet-based crime, from hacking and child pornography to life-threatening felonies.

But negotiators failed to agree on hate-speech laws. Unlike the United States, which guarantees free speech under the First Amendment to the Constitution, many European countries have laws against inciting racial hatred.

Under a compromise, hate-speech provisions are being negotiated in a separate side agreement.

But even if the United States does not sign the agreement, US business and citizens could find their rights threatened online, the groups said.

US Internet users could find themselves forced to comply with the hate-speech laws of other countries, while Internet providers could be forced to monitor their customers for possible violations, the groups said.

The groups thanked Attorney General John Ashcroft and Secretary of State Colin Powell for raising their concerns previously and urged them to stay involved in the negotiations, which are not open to outside parties.

The French government and Internet portal Yahoo Inc. have clashed over whether Yahoo has the right to sell Nazi paraphernalia on its auction site.

A French judge ordered Yahoo in 2000 to block French citizens' access to the material, but in November 2001 a US judge said it did not need to comply with French laws limiting hate speech.

-- Anonymous, February 07, 2002


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