Should the Internet be regulated?

I was quite surprised, actually, to see this question answered with a hesitant yes in the Romanian blog Intelectual. Bloggers, especially young such, tend to safeguard the Internet as a non-regulated place vithout surveillance.

Intelectual points out what everybody already knows - that the internet is not only the place for intelectual discussions. It is also the place where child pornography is spread, political opponents are harrassed, and all the evils of the modern world are efficiently broadcasted . His text also makes a point that blogs in Romania often serve poitical interests, politicians pay bloggers to write things about opponents that they could never say themselves on TV

For this reason, legislators all over the world are trying to find ways to control the content of the internet. The web guru Tim O'Reilly have posted a draft code of conduct for bloggers (see below) as a way to regulate the discussion without state intervention, but Intelectual doesn't seem to think that this is enough. "Whether we want it or not, a "lex digitalis" is underway, similar to the "lex mercatoria" that regulates the market of goods.(my translation)" Intelectual sees the ultimate responsibility in ICANN (International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers)- the organisation that gives out top level adresses, etc.

Not everyone is happy about a regulated internet, though. Intelectual mentions the Swedish Pirate Party that reached the Euoropean Parliament on vowing to defend the indivdual against surveillance, and similar movements in all west European countries.

Given my superficial knowledge about Balkan blogging, I do not believe that this is an issue that is restricted to western Europe. The Freedom Not Fear day will be celebrated also in Sofia, like last year, and internet privacy has been a major theme on Bulgaria e nasha in the discussion about surveillance.

I also think that Intelectual underestimates the risks of allowing the internet to be regulated. States like China, Iran and Moldova have all been more or less succesful in curbing the free exchange of ideas, without in anyway diminishing the criminal/immoral content on the internet

I am much more attracted to O'Rielly's idea of a code of conduct for internet use, than legislation. Nonetheless - Intelectual was an interesing read... because it was quite different from the "mainstream" bloggosphere writing.

Dear readers... what are your opinions on this issue? Do you think that a code of conduct could actually work, or should there be no codes of conduct?

O'Rielly's Code of conduct:(shortened)
1. We take responsibility for our own words and for the comments we allow on our blog.

We are committed to the "Civility Enforced" standard: we will not post unacceptable content, and we'll delete comments that contain it.

We define unacceptable content as anything included or linked to that:
- is being used to abuse, harass, stalk, or threaten others
- is libelous, knowingly false, ad-hominem, or misrepresents another person,
- infringes upon a copyright or trademark
- violates an obligation of confidentiality
- violates the privacy of others

We define and determine what is "unacceptable content" on a case-by-case basis, and our definitions are not limited to this list. If we delete a comment or link, we will say so and explain why. [We reserve the right to change these standards at any time with no notice.]

2. We won't say anything online that we wouldn't say in person.
3. We connect privately before we respond publicly.
4. When we believe someone is unfairly attacking another, we take action.
5. We do not allow anonymous comments.
6. We ignore the trolls.

Uneasy relationships

The world is political. Politics is about compromises and entering uneasy relationships. Not only for tactical reasons - that are many reasons to belive that a society based on compromises* live to be more healthy.

Yesterday my own little world shaked, as two such uneasy relationships cracked. The Blue Coalition announced that they will not vote for Borisovs cabinet. As I wrote earlier, most of the new ministers are rather respected, but one of them - Bozhidar Dimitrov did not appeal to the liberals. He has been working for the Communist secret police, and will now sit as minister without portfolio. The cabinet will be accepted in the parliament anyway, since Borisov can count on the less picky support from right wing RZS and ultra-right wing Ataka.

I think the Blue Coalition has right also here. On the other hand... Bojko himself used to be a body guard of Todor Jivkov, so... is there reason to be surpirsed? I don't know.

Meanwhile, in another side of town...









... Richard Stallman, the guru of open source, published a blog post, critizising the Swedish Pirate Party's view on copyright. Simply lowering the period of copyright til 5 years, as the pirates propose will not do good, Stallman says. It will give Microsoft the right to use open source code in its products without restrictions. But it will not force Microsoft to reveal the source code of its own products, only make them legal to file-share.

Stallman gives some reasonable proposals on how to deal with the situation, as does the pirate paty on their home page. (Link in Swedish)

None the less... I think this is more about a culture clash than juridical details. While I admire The Pirate party for their work for civil rights and privacy, they does not speak much about open source. In fact they speak very little about open source, considering that they speak much about computers...

On the other hand, within open source, filesharing is a kind of avoided topic. The technology is embraced, and most distros offer torrents of their distros. But there is not much discussion about the moral aspect of ripping my new bought CD and share it as a torrent.

The BBC also recently had an article on the Swedish Pirate Party.

Picture by Si1very , creative commons

Moldova - A letter to Obama

The situation in Moldova has entered a different stage. The police was successful in stopping further protests, but not in stopping further violence. Officially, four young Moldovans have died form police violence in connection with the protests. I hereby publish a common letter to Barack Obama, from True Moldova blog.
Follow the instructions if you want to urge American interest for Moldova

A letter to Obama

You can help Moldova in 3 easy steps:
Step 1: Click on http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Step 2: Fill out the form with your information
Step 3: Copy and paste the following letter (the more people do it, the higher our chances):

Mr. President,

I have been following recent events in Moldova and was distressed by the lukewarm response and low coverage they received in the United States. I write to urge you and your administration to act and in no uncertain terms denounce the human right abuses of the Communist government in Moldova.

For the past two weeks hundreds of young Moldovans have gathered in the capital of Chisinau to peacefully demonstrate the irregular and corrupt elections held in the country on April 5. These demonstrators are protesting ongoing suppression, censorship of the press and media, infringement of basic rights to move freely. The Moldovan government, however, engaged in arbitrary retaliation against some young protesters, as recorded by the UN.

Demonstrations against anti-democractic abuses have therefore spurred more serious, unacceptable infringement of human rights, as reported by Financial Times and other leading newspapers. International observers denounced serious breaches of human and constitutional rights committed by the police. The latter arrested at least 400 students, many of whom were peaceful protesters.

These young men were beaten at police stations, imprisoned without access to lawyers, exposed to inhumane and degrading treatment, and forced into confessions. Video reports denounce significant abuses and ongoing violent police behavior. One young man was found dead after having been tortured by the police. Journalists, NGO leaders, and members of the opposition have been harassed and intimidated as well. Citizens are denied access to information as local and international media channels and internet access is being restricted and shut down.

Moldova is on the verge of losing the democratic achievements it made since independence and the international community is doing little to prevent this disaster. I sincerely urge you to make a public statement about the situation in Moldova and denounce human rights violations. In doing so, I ask you to reinforce the credibility of the United States in its commitment to democracy and universal respect for human rights.

Update: officially 4 young men beaten to death.

FirstName LastName

I will from now on disrupt my reporting fomr Moldova, since I don't live there, and there are many better sources for you who are interested. Personally I can reccomend:

www.curaj.net
www.unimedia.info


Regarding the US, an official statement is avalible here:

Moldova: Aftermath of Protests

Robert Wood

Acting Department Spokesman

Washington, DC

April 16, 2009

The United States is concerned about the situation in Moldova following the violence on April 7. Although order has been restored and subsequent demonstrations have been peaceful, we have received reports from civil society and international observers of mistreatment of those detained by Moldovan authorities. We are also troubled by reports that students and journalists have been intimidated by government officials. President Voronin’s announcement of an amnesty for many of those detained is an encouraging step toward reconciliation.
We urge the government to act in accordance with Moldovan law and its international obligations when dealing with the opposition, protesters, and the media. All parties need to conduct themselves responsibly. It is also important that the government reach out to opposition parties and address their concerns about the April 5 election in a cooperative and transparent manner. We stress that there is no excuse for violence, such as took place on April 7. The United States remains committed to working closely with Moldova and its people as the country continues down the path of European integration. Respect for the rule of law and human rights are key elements in our relationship.

What is liberalism?

My relationship to liberalism has changed a lot during the years. Regarding myself as some sort of free thinking left wing, I am sincerely worried that it looks like the communists might win the elections in Moldova. I probably feel stronger for the liberals because I have grown up. But also because the liberalism I meet in Southeastern have flavour of ideological thinking that I appreciate in J.S. Mill's texts, but lack in Swedish Folkpartiet 's politics.

Liberalism as I remember it from home was the right to sell absolute everything if the price was right. The right price should was high when private enterprises sold, and low when public enterprises sold. Bulgarian liberals on the on the hand, talk much about values that can not be bought or sold, an creating a fair, not only commercial society. Free like in freedom, not like in free beer.

Bogomil Shopov has a very nice post about net neutrality on his blog. Just look at this picture:

(The picture is taken from Bogomil Shopov's blog post)

Is this the kind of internet we want? I would say it's more likely than not that this will be the internet five years from now, but as Bogomil points out: Net neutrality can be said in two words: without discrimination. It is an internet where information is available for anyone anytime anywhere. An internet that thus can become a strong source of democratic power.

For all vices that might hide in the quarters of MVR... I don't think that any Bulgarian government is able to stop the free debate on the internet, even if they try. But Verizon and AT&T can. They own the cables, and are currently preparing a business class internet. What democracy will there be for those who can't afford to travel business class, not even online?

By the way... It's pathetic to hear the british police trying to explain why a man died at the G 20 protests. If they had had any idea about what happened here they would have tried to piick another excuse than the Bulgarian police picked for Metodi Marinov death in custody after the protests 14/1. Allegedly from health problems...

Police access to the internet

The parliamentary commission for transport and communication this afternoon met with their collegues from the commission for interior affairs, to discuss a proposed law that gives MVR, the ministry of interior affair, that among other things control the police, unrestricted acces to electronical data, Dnevnik reports. Hardly surprising the reaction on on internet communities is sharp.

In deed freedom of speach on the internet is a major issue for many of the protesting organizations, and as Kapital pointed out, unsurveiled internet forums were an important prerequisite for the protest to come into being.

A minor detail for Swedish reders... the first person that Dnevnik quotes from comments on their site calls himself "The Scandinavian" It's not me, though...


In the current curcumstances in Bulgaria, many people are inclined to see this as the manners of a despotic government. Without commenting on that, I don't think this law is essentially different than the Swedish widely debated FRA law. That's no consoul to scared Bulgarians. Maybe the Swedish law makers would have thought twice if they analyzed their laaw form an international, or at least European perspective.

Bulgaria e nasha - a protesting blog

Bulgaria e nasha - "Bulgaria is ours" is a blog from a number of protesters.

As Kapital pointed out, the internet and open structures such as forums and facebook, were pivotal in the process leading to the protest. Bulgaira e nasha is a place were numerous people post articles, and statements like the protesters demands.

A list of demands is posted, which is identical to the working document from For the nature, but signed by the united students, the mother's organisation, enviromentalists and farmers' organistations.