IP: Global Internet Liberty Campaign on Munich content conference

[David Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

Global Internet Liberty Campaign Member Statement


Submitted to the Internet Content Summit
Munich, Germany
September 9-11, 1999

The creation of an international rating and filtering system for 
Internet content has been proposed as an alternative to national 
legislation regulating online speech. Contrary to their original 
intent, such systems may actually facilitate governmental 
restrictions on Internet expression. Additionally, rating and 
filtering schemes may prevent individuals from discussing 
controversial or unpopular topics, impose burdensome compliance costs 
on speakers, distort the fundamental cultural diversity of the 
Internet, enable invisible "upstream" filtering, and eventually 
create a homogenized Internet dominated by large commercial 
interests. In order to avoid the undesirable effects of legal and 
technical solutions that seek to block the free flow of information, 
alternative educational approaches should be emphasized as less 
restrictive means of ensuring beneficial uses of the Internet.

(more follow below link:

http://www.eff.org