Europe has a strong tradition of state intervention and regulation when compared
with the United States. It is not, therefore, surprising that attempts to regulate
the Internet took place at an early stage in Europe and met with a different
public response to similar attempts in the US.
The US libertarian tradition of freedom from state intervention clearly played a
large part in the widespread opposition there to the Computer Decency Act and its
eventual defeat. Europe has a different tradition, one of enshrining both human
and social rights in protective legislation. This can, in some cases, be very
positive. A good example of this is the strong protection of data privacy rights
in Europe when compared with the US. However, dangers come about when unbalanced
legislation is passed representing a particular interest group while others are
underrepresented. Within the context of the European Union, is it particularly
essential to carry out lobbying if your voice is to be heard in the framing of
legislation.
It is these considerations that have led to the development of APC's European
Internet Rights Project.
In 1998, when the European Union's
Action Plan for Safer
Use of the Internet was being prepared, it was clear that a US
style libertarian rejection of any form of Internet regulation could neither
succeed, nor was desirable. However, while determined lobbying was taking place
from groups calling for strong Internet censorship, there was little lobbying on
behalf of those who were using the Internet for establishing and defending
democratic rights and social justice.
Our project was designed to try to redress the balance. It aims to provide
information, lobbying know-how, tools, etc to social movement Internet users.
Most of all, it seeks to establish the concept that specific "Internet
Rights" need to be established as a translation of human and social rights
in a modern world of computer communications.
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