Censorship Struggle Underway In Iceland

jon jonson writes "Information from the collapsed Icelandic bank Kaupthing has been leaked to WikiLeaks, revealing billions in insider loans, and the bank has been working day and night to censor the information contained in the document. Last night at 6:55pm GMT, they served an injunction against the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service, five minutes before the 7pm news was due to be aired. The TV station just displayed the WikiLeaks URL instead. They've also injuncted Iceland's national radio, banning all discussion about the contents of the document, and they are actively trying to censor the rest of the Icelandic media along with WikiLeaks."

Comments

Re:National security? Nah, that's not possible

[ScrewMaster]

So when the government starts freaking out and censoring things left and right, you can bet that there's something important contained in the leaked files.

Precisely. Keep in mind that we're talking a bank here, not a military research laboratory or something else of strategic importance. A bank, in fact, whose proper management (or otherwise) is of significant importance to the lives of millions of ordinary people.

This is all about money, and when the government "starts freaking out" in a situation such as this (and I mean any government, not just the one to which us unfortunate Americans are subject) it is invariably due to criminal behavior on the part of government officials. Corruption, in other words. In such cases "national security" means making that information public so that the bastards can be rooted out and put in prison where they belong. It's not in the best interests of the citizens of any country that national security be synonymous with coverup. That's what usually happens when government types go too far, and by burying any and all evidence against them under the seal of "national security" they not only escape prosecution for their crimes but get to keep their jobs.

So, coverup. Let me tell you, that is exactly what this affair smells like to this unfortunate American (we get a lot of those here.) If the Icelanders play this smart, they won't do what we've done here in with our recent government bailout of the private sector. That is, allow the people responsible for this disaster to remain in control and prosper after all the damage they've caused.