Podcasting Censored by Government

PodCoward writes "VH is blogging that in Belgium a former talk-show host and now member of parliament for the biggest political party, Jurgen Verstrepen, received a fine of 12,500 Euro because he hadn't asked permission for his podcast." From the article: "The decision is apparently politically inspired and motivated by content, although formal reasons like non-compliance with Flanders' media regulation have been put forward in the motivation of the decision to fine. The issue has raised some serious concerns about free speech on the Internet in Flanders, about the definition of 'broadcasting,' and about territoriality."

Comments

Howard Stern

[marx]

Almost the exact same thing happened in America 1.5 years ago, and still probably happens all the time, though we don't hear about it. The broadcasters of the Howard Stern show were fined $495,000 for violating decency laws in America.

I think both the Belgian and the American laws on broadcasting are crappy, but it's really painful to see Americans here falling over themselves posting about how superior free speech is in America compared to Europe.

Perhaps these Americans should focus on trying to uphold their own constitution (*cough*NSA*cough*) before they start criticizing other countries for their legal systems.