New Issue Spotlight From IFLA's FAIFE Committee: Policing the Internet is Not a Job for a Corporation

A new Spotlight report from the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) Committee on Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression (FAIFE) is now available.
Title: Policing the Internet is not a Job for a Corporation
Author: Hanna Nikkanen
From the Intro:

In light of recent legislation in the US (SOPA and PIPA), and a decision last week in the Netherlands that orders Dutch ISPs to block access to the Pirate Bay website, this excellent new FAIFE Spotlight by Finnish journalist Hanna Nikkanen is very timely. In it, she explores the dangers of threatening private companies with fines if they do not enforce strict bans on access to copyrighted material – and points how that when complying with such rulings these companies will almost certainly interpret the law in a more restrictive manner than necessary in order to protect themselves from the financial consequences of not doing so. The end result is that punishing the providers of communications infrastructure for making available copyright-violating material instead of the actual culprits will end up exposing innocent internet users to side effects that infringe on their basic rights – such as restrictions on freedom of speech.”  Kai Ekholm, FAIFE Chair

Direct to Full Text ||| PDF Version (2 Pages; PDF)
Access FAIFE Spotlight Archive

Filed under: Associations and Organizations, Libraries, New Issue, News, Patrons and Users