Slashdot Mirror
After Berlusconi Attack, Italy Considers Web Censorship
An anonymous reader writes "The Italian government has proposed introducing new restrictions on the Internet after a Facebook fan page for the man who allegedly attacked Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Sunday drew almost 100,000 users in under 48 hours. However, the planned clampdown on Internet hate speech sparked a heated debate over censorship and freedom of expression, leading Interior Minister Roberto Maroni to execute a partial U-turn."
Must be very hard for Mr Berlusconi that there is media he doesn't control.
For anyone not familiar with Italy he already owns all the major tv stations and newspapers.
Cruise TT
Just goes to show, politicians everywhere dont like a medium that allows the little guy to have a voice.
Be you Admins? nay, we are but lusers!
OR, the Italian government could use this as an opportunity to gauge the public disapproval for their senior politicians.
The government would treat it just like any other case, even with such a facebook group.
It never ceases to amaze me how the government uses high-profile cases to grab at power and suppress the people while having their whole-hearted support of such measures. The patriot act comes to mind. (Which, btw, did nothing to stop Nidal Hasan from killing people.)
These type of things shows you the true stripes of those in power, and who should be voted out ASAP.
If they do go ahead with it, the serious backlash will surely bring down the Berlusconi regime. Or is this just wishful thinking? His media power has really brainwashed the majority of citizens there..
What time is it/will be over there? Check with my iPhone app!
The last thing you do is try and stop people from hearing about it. You make light of it, show it as not a big deal, and move on.
"Yeah, some guy hit me with a souvenir... Oh well, shit happens! The security guards are stepping it up a notch or two, but it's not like I was shot or anything. Thanks god, you know? Wouldn't want to leave my wife having to look for an inferior lover! Vote for me, you guys... I'm easy going."
And the world moves on.
Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
Usually, we just call that "turning left" (or right, depending on your country)
You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.
It is what it is, and it's weird to be Italy !!
1. Create some incident. Any incident will do.
2. Blame it on people on the web. You can call them "terrorists", if necessary.
3. Censor the web. The more the better. Pass some bill overnight if necessary.
4. If someone in media raises questions about censorship, publish some irrelevant "scandal" to deflect public attention.
5. ???
6. Profit!
If that doesn't work completely, continue boiling the frog, rinse and repeat.
Surely profit, but not for us, folks. You are screwed, wherever on this Earth you are.
I think it's in "Forever Peace" where the goverment nukes a city (Denver?) and acusses the then new 'nanotechnology' of the incident to take control over every production line and create a politicians-controlled monopoly.
Maybe in 50 years we discover that the attacker is a member of the AISI (italian intelligence agency); or maybe not, because the web would be controlled by government...
If we'd get all the jokes and justifications here if Berlusconi was a "progressive" and the attacker an "extreme right-winger".......
Whenever I see a knee-jerk reaction by a government, the first thought that pops into my head is "Oh, my. Are they nuclear?"
Orwell: "In a Time of Universal Deceit, telling the Truth is a Revolutionary Act"
Governments *hate* the idea of people having too much freedom.
Why?
It means you'll start asking too many questions and governments don't like that!
It also means you become difficult to control.
How?
By keeping you fearful - global warming, recession, terrorism, nuclear arms and now the freedom of the Internet (terrorists and paedophiles use it)
These subjects in themselves are genuine concerns but governments have a knack of focusing on them and using them to conrol the general population. Usually by using extreme measures via law and policy legislation.
Web censorship is no different. Governments need us to be passive and compliant. Fortunately free speech is *impossible* to control it's part of who you are. You can censor or prohibit the *mechanisms* that express free speech but never "control" it.
Suppose Italy do censor the Internet and other countries follow. Do you really think that will be the end of it?
I don't think so.
If they start blocking web sites (probably at ISP level) then people will turn to encryption and deliver content that way. If encrypting the web becomes illegal then some other mechanism will manifest itself (e.g. bypassing the ISP entirely).
I hate to say this, but some form of government control is coming to the Internet whether you like it or not.
So, be prepared.
Italians can be identified by these two songs:
Articolo 31 - Domani smetto
Articolo 31 - Italiano medio
You'll be perfectly able to understand what's going on if you listen to these songs...to bad I can't find a pre-made English translation..
Cheers,
Ps. I'm Italian
The Italian government has proposed introducing new restrictions on the Internet after a Facebook fan page for the man who allegedly attacked Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Sunday drew almost 100,000 users in under 48 hours.
Well that is a rather knee jerk reaction, last I checked Facebook was not for just people from Italy. Besides people will become fans of anything on Facebook, from beer, to Jeffrey Dahmer.
Cannot find REALITY.SYS. Universe halted.
Good on you, Italy. At least you are being honest about why you would want to censor the net. None of the usual "terrorist pedophile" nonsense. Just a nice, simple message to the populous: "we don't want to hear from you, please go away".
However, since I am against censorship, I might have to reconsider the answer to my Simpson quote regarding asteroid targets from earlier today.
In Italy you are not allowed to reach some international websites, mainly related to betting.
You get directed to a generic web page (hosted at the government company SOGEI Spa) that says that you are not allowed to visit those websites.
If you are in Italy you can try http://www.ladbrokes.com/ or http://www.skybet.com/.
Can you spell "freedom" in Italian? We cannot.
Maybe Computers will never be as intelligent as Humans.
For sure they won't ever become so stupid. [VR-1988]
So if a German polititian was attacked, a new censorship reigime in place, guess what happens next.
I mean, look at the facts. If this had been an incident in France, we would have two dozen posts with surrender jokes already. But here we have an Italian story and not one submarine screen door, bottom of the ocean, five reverse gears, pulling the pins and throwing them back reference. Someone has to be preventing this.
If Slashdot were chemistry it would look like this:Cadaverine
Censors-hip becomes trendy. It is time to tell governments who is whos employer.
"leading Interior Minister Roberto Maroni to execute a partial U-turn." What's a partial U-turn? ...a L-turn?
It just shows you why a constitution is a good idea. The best time to make a cool decision about freedom of speech and censorship is probably not while you are nursing wounds after being attacked, but a change made now would be difficult to get reveresed in the furure. The same could happen in the UK, where I live - one event could lead to hasty loss of liberty. Oh, wait it already has.
It goes on like this:
-Berlusconi was attacked by Mr.Tartaglia because he hated him.
-The attack was caused by the hateful mood (http://www.ansa.it/web/notizie/rubriche/politica/2009/12/15/visualizza_new.html_1646244271.html/)
-Facebook is full of political hatred (http://www.ilgiornale.it/interni/su_facebook_tartaglia_eroe_chi_odia/tartaglia-facebook-berlusconi/13-12-2009/articolo-id=406674-page=0-comments=1/)
-Facebook is on the Internet
-The solution is to control Facebook, and also the whole Internet to avoid mistakes (http://www.repubblica.it/2009/12/sezioni/politica/giustizia-22/rodota/rodota.html/)
Working to work less.
After seeing the words "Minister Robert Maroni," all I can picture in my mind is a man with dark eyebrows seeing the Facebook page and then ranting about "iceholes" and "fargin' bastiges."
For your security, this post has been encrypted with ROT-13, twice.
FYI, the censorship porposed will NOT be used to close groups on facebook, or facebook itself. In fact, facebook removed the groups, as it is already an offence to hype a crime in Italy. This is just a way to get support from people full of knowledge like you.
It's too bad, but people get attacked all the time. However, when a leader gets attacked then we need to shut down the Internet. Pretty arrogant and self-centered. I'm glad the Internet is pretty free, but it's only a matter of time until politicians invent an excuse to control it. I'm sure it will be for the children, or to stop some possible terrorist scenario. Then it'll creep out from there.
JOhn
Campaign for Liberty
It should have read:
AFTER BERLUCONI ATTACK, ITALIAN GOVERNMENT SHOWS HIS PLANS FOR CENSORSHIP.
Anyone with info about how Berlusconi deals with the basis of democracy (independent news, respect to the Constitution, independent judges) would have expected these plans to be in the works. The attack gives them an opportunity to show them.
Why can't
America gets critized for a lot of things, many justifiably. But its so-called Bill of Rights is mroe firmly followed than in most other countries, inlcuding "liberal Europe". Cults like Scientology and Mormonism are banend in parts of Europe. "Pre-trial publicity" and "reasonable doubt" are not as entrenched in other places liek the during the recent Italian trial of the the Seattle woman.
Don't forget the "Italian Crackdown" in 1992.
To fight against crime, police busted all italian fidonet BBS.
122 arrest and 159 BBS confiscated.
Ref: http://www.altx.com/interzones2/italy/crackdown.html
Regard,
Dan
Can you spell "freedom" in Italian? We cannot.
liberta
This is what really happened