28 May 2002
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT TO VOTE ON CONTROVERSIAL SURVEILLANCE LAW / WAN, RSF CRITICISE BUSH'S
The European Parliament is set to vote on a proposal this week that would allow member states to pass laws giving authorities regular access to citizens' telephone, fax and Internet communications, warn Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).
The proposed directive ? an amendment to the 1997 European Directive on the Protection of Telecommunications Data and Information ? will open the door to a "snooping society" in which European Union (EU) states will be able to monitor people's private communications, IFJ says. The European Parliament is expected to vote on 29 May.
Under existing rules, such data can only be kept temporarily and then must be erased. If passed, the proposed directive would give authorities, including police, immigration, customs and intelligence officials, unrestricted access to this data, says RSF. This would threaten journalists' rights to maintain the confidentiality of their sources and their professional communications, the group adds.
IFJ and RSF have joined 40 non-governmental organisations in urging European Parliament Members to vote against the proposal, arguing that access to communications data for purposes of national security and criminal investigations should only be decided by the courts on a case-by-case basis.
IFJ says in the wake of 11 September politicians are taking advantage of public uncertainty and security fears to curb citizens' rights and liberties.
For more details, see
www.ifj.org,
www.rsf.org,
www.statewatch.org.
WAN, RSF CRITICISE BUSH'S "WAR ON TERRORISM"
IFJ wasn?t the only group to raise concerns this week over post-11 September restrictions on free expression.
During United States President George W. Bush's visit to Europe last week, RSF and the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) called attention to the US government's curbs on press freedom in its ongoing "war on terrorism." Speaking at WAN's annual congress in Bruges, Belgium, WAN President Roger Parkinson said the US and other western democracies were undermining freedom of expression "in the mistaken belief their actions will aid the fight against terrorism."
By discouraging its own media from broadcasting the messages of Osama bin Laden and forming alliances with authoritarian regimes known for suppressing free speech, the US has provided repressors with "all the inspiration and justification that they needed," he said.
Parkinson called for the liberation of free information and debate, saying it is the best antidote to terrorism. He pointed out that countries which suppress and outlaw free expression and the free flow of information are breeding grounds for terrorists. More support for independent news outlets in these countries is needed, he added.
RSF said the US government's anti-terrorist policies enacted since 11 September have imposed undue restrictions on free expression. The group noted the FBI's expanded powers to monitor individuals' Internet communications by installing the Carnivore software program on major Internet service providers' machines.
The agency can track all e-mail messages and Web activities of individuals "suspected of having contacts with a foreign power," needing only the permission of a special legal entity whose activities are secret, says RSF.
The group also said the government had restricted journalists' access to military operations in Afghanistan and to its military base in Guantanamo, Cuba. And its "war on terrorism" had given regimes such as China, Tunisia and Russia justification for cracking down further on domestic media.
For more information, see
www.wan-press.org and
www.rsf.org.
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