[A2k] Meryem Marzouki: Please Sign - EDRI Statement And Call For Action On New CoE Rec. Failing To Uphold FoE

[Manon Ress]

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[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
From: Meryem Marzouki <marzouki@ras.eu.org>
Date: October 11, 2007 6:51:44 AM EDT
To: hr-wsis@iris.sgdg.org
Subject: [hr-wsis] Please Sign - EDRI Statement And Call For Action
On New CoE Rec. Failing To Uphold FoE
Reply-To: hr-wsis@iris.sgdg.org

[Message sent to lists related to WSIS and IGF, where CS
organizations are participating. Please excuse possible duplicates]

Dear all,

I'm forwarding to you this announcement of European Digital Rights
(EDRI) statement and call for action on a recent Council of Europe
Recommendation on 'promoting freedom of expression and information in
the new information and communications environment'.

In this statement, EDRI expresses its serious concerns over this
Recommendation. According to EDRI, the newly adopted instrument
promotes opaque "self-regulation" and other soft law instruments
driven by private interests and implemented through technical
mechanisms, such as content rating and filtering mechanisms. EDRI
considers this Recommendation to be damaging and a retrograde step
for freedom of expression and freedom of the press in the online
world. EDRI is deeply concerned that such instruments will be used to
legitimize subtle means of censorship, through privatised censorship
and measures to protect against so-called harmful content.

As other related instruments are currently in preparation by the
Council of Europe, EDRI calls for NGOs and groups from all over the
world to sign up in support of EDRI statement and take further action
to help avoid the risk of more damages to freedom of expression and
information in the online world.

We hope your organization or group will consider adding its
signature, and spread the word to other organizations.

EDRI statement, call for action, and background information: 'New
Council of Europe Recommendation fails to uphold online freedom of
expression' (10.10.2007) is available at:
- (HTML) http://www.edri.org/coerec200711
- (PDF) http://www.edri.org/files/EDRI-coerec200711.pdf

Translations into other languages are in progress.

EDRI (an association of 28 members organizations from 17 European
countries promoting civil rights in the information society) is an
independent NGO observer to the Council of Europe Group of
Specialists on Human Rights in the Information Society (MC-S-IS). It
tried to raise its concerns inside the MC-S-IS group since the
earliest discussions on the Recommendation draft as well as during
each meeting of the group where the text has been debated. At the
latest steps, it has also sent written suggestions for amendments to
the group. Unfortunately, very few of these amendments have been
taken into account.

Best,
Meryem Marzouki (EDRI and IRIS - Civil Society Human Rights Caucus co-
coordinator at WSIS)

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Meryem Marzouki - EDRI - http://www.edri.org
IRIS - Imaginons un r=E9seau Internet solidaire
http://www.iris.sgdg.org
40 rue de la Justice - 75020 Paris, France


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