European Parliament says no to Web site blocking

IDG News Service - The European Parliament has voted against blocking access to Web sites as a way of regulating content on the Internet, instead pushing self-regulation and filter and rating systems.

The vote was 460-0, with three abstentions, to adopt a report on the protection of minors and to respect human dignity that addresses many media, including the Internet. The European Parliament's report isn't a legislative document but is in response to a previous evaluation report by the European Commission.

The European Parliament's decision was applauded by the European Internet Services Providers Association (EuroISPA), which has supported self-regulation. In a statement Thursday, EuroISPA called blocking a "technically disastrous solution" that also creates "free speech and democratic concerns."

"In Germany, a regional government is trying to implement legislation to force Internet service providers to block access to certain Web sites containing Nazi content," said Joe McNamee, spokesman for EuroISPA. "Blocking anything bad is not intrinsically bad, but practically bad."

Blocking Web sites, for example, because of harmful or illegal content is a "drastic" measure that does "not solve the problem of sites outside the European Union, nor that of sites which are legal for adults, but could be harmful to children or young people," according to a European Parliament statement.

Instead of blocking sites, content providers and Internet service providers should self-regulate, and users should take advantage of filtering technologies and content rating, the European Parliament said. It asked that the European Commission, the EU's executive body, promote creation of content filtering systems to support parental control.

Additionally, the European Parliament asked the 15 EU member states to set up hot lines to handle complaints about illegal or harmful Internet content.

Children's welfare is primarily the responsibility of their legal guardians, but that doesn't absolve content providers, Internet service providers and legislators of their responsibilities, the European Parliament said.

EuroISPA is happy with the "clear marker" the European Parliament has set, even though it isn't European law, the group said.

"This statement of principle is very useful. The regional governments in Germany have got to plow on with the knowledge that there is strong opposition to this type of approach on a European level," McNamee said.

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