Slashdot Mirror
EU Views Net Censorship As a "Trade Barrier"
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "The European Parliament just passed a proposal to treat internet censorship as a trade barrier, in particular the 'Great Firewall of China.' If passed by the European Council, the issue would be raised in trade negotiations and could lead to economic sanctions and trade restrictions for those countries unwilling to remove oppressive Net censorship." We have discussed some of the ways in which the EU, and its member countries, engage in their own brand of censorship.
How is censoring sale of historical artifacts protecting anyone? I have an interest in history of warfare and would buy a nazi artifact, along with those of allied forces, japan or US civil war to get a concrete fill for the history that I didn't personally experience. Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it and I don't see how censorship is doing anything good for the future of peace in Europe.
Then the gov't is utterly useless. I had to deal with this myself as a child, no matter how many times I reported neglect, it took me getting multiple adults to report the situation to Children's Services to get any sort of action taken. The worst part was, my father was willing and eager to take me, but the sexual bias in the court wouldn't let facts get in their way.
The only situation where I see censorship for a "think of the children" argument is in public school where they are mandated to serve "in loco parentis" (in place of parents)