At the end of a two-day conference in Amsterdam on internet-related perils to freedom of expression, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Freimut Duve has issued a call to take up a strong position towards free flow of information on the internet. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the largest regional security organization in the world with 55 participating States from Europe, Central Asia and North America.
"Freedom of the Media as a human right is universal. No matter what technical means are used to channel the work of journalists to the public - be it TV, radio, newspapers or the Internet - the basic constitutional value of freedom of the media must not be questioned", Freimut Duve said in his opening remarks to the conference.
In his statement Duve addresses the delicate balance between the need to fight illegal content and the importance to guarantee freedom of expression. "All legislative and law enforcement activity must clearly target only illegal content and not the infrastructure of the Internet itself." Filtering or blocking content is not acceptable, problems with illegal content should be addressed in the country of origin, Duve writes, because "In a modern democratic and civil society citizens themselves should make the decision on what they want to access on the Internet."
The recommendation also addresses the perils to free speech arising from the extensions of copyright and patent law. "To a considerable extent the fast pace of innovation of digital networks is due to the fact that most of the basic code and software are in the public domain, free for everyone to use and enhance. This free-of-charge infrastructure is one of the key elements of freedom of expression on the Internet. Access to the public domain is important for both technical and cultural innovation and must not be endangered through the adoption of new provisions related to patent and copyright law."
Amsterdam Recommendation (17.06.2003)
http://www.osce.org/documents/rfm/2003/06/215_en.pdf