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EU Commissioner: We Cannot Allow ISP Disconnects

Posted by Soulskill on from the do-the-isps-know-that dept.

Fluffeh writes "The EU Commissioner for the Digital Agenda, Neelie Kroes, has been making some interesting comments about privacy, copyright and many aspects of the digital age. Going so far as to quote the Free Software Foundation and Yochai Benkler, she says: 'Openness is also complex because sometimes it's unclear what it means. ... In the Arab Spring, many brave activists successfully used the open Internet to coordinate peaceful protests. In response, despotic governments sought to control or close down Internet access; and also used ICT tools as a tool of surveillance and repression. We cannot allow democratic voices to be silenced in that way. And I am committed to ensuring "No Disconnect" in countries that struggle for democracy. We must help such activists get around arbitrary disruptions to their basic freedoms.'"

16 of 106 comments (clear)

  1. So when it comes to 3 strikes.... by zarthrag · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Democracy for all....expect accused pirates?

    --
    Why can't all fpga/microcontroller manufacturers just release free optimizing compilers???
    1. Re:So when it comes to 3 strikes.... by Barabul · · Score: 4, Funny

      They expect it too, except when they don't.

    2. Re:So when it comes to 3 strikes.... by GameboyRMH · · Score: 5, Insightful

      No no, she said no disconnects for countries struggling for democracy. Once a country has something that resembles democracy you knock those fuckin' pirates right off the Internet.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    3. Re:So when it comes to 3 strikes.... by MickyTheIdiot · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Seriously.. has democracy been redefined to mean "corporate state"?

      What would happen if a "democracy" decides to ignore patents for the good of the people like some of the AIDS ravaged countries have done? Are they no longer a democracy?

      The worst thing about living in the 21st century is the 1984-like twisting of words by governments to mean anything the heck they want them to me.

    4. Re:So when it comes to 3 strikes.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Seriously.. has democracy been redefined to mean "corporate state"?

      Have you seen the laws that the UK has passed about the London olympics at the behest of the IOC? Criminalizing "unauthorized association" with the games? That's right, actually making it a criminal offense that the police will try to track down. All to protect the "sponsors", who pay about $800 million of the multi-billion-dollar price tag.

      The modern Olympics are a cesspool of corruption hiding under the auspices of Sport.

    5. Re:So when it comes to 3 strikes.... by AngryDeuce · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It's ridiculous that things are getting so extreme that pretty soon the only way to escape these burgeoning corporate-controlled police states is to eschew first-world life completely.

      Is it possible to live in a first-world manner without the government watching every fucking move you make and violating civil liberties left and right 'for the common good'? Or was that always a pipe dream?

      I'm seriously asking myself questions like these every single day, because I don't see how we're going to pull ourselves out of this nightmare. Civil liberties get violated, which leads to civil unrest, which leads to more civil liberties being violated, which leads to more civil unrest...when does it all end? When a bunch of protesters end up on slabs in the morgue? When the only people allowed to communicate on the internet are those with state approval?

      It's funny, growing up, I'd always been one of those people that were against the widespread proliferation of guns in the U.S., but believe me, my opinion has changed in recent years. Those privately owned guns are really the only thing preventing the government from steamrolling right over the people of this country, and now I realize the wisdom of that right and how it enables the people to be a real check on the power of their government when the shit hits the fan.

      I'm no Kacynski-esque government-fearing anarchist by any stretch, but this kind of nonsense makes me understand their fears in a way I never could before.

    6. Re:So when it comes to 3 strikes.... by Paracelcus · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's OK to shut down access to the outside world if you are a bastion of "freedom" and "democracy" just like it's OK to torture, to imprison without trial, and kill without judicial oversight!

      USA, USA, USA!

      --
      I killed da wabbit -Elmer Fudd
    7. Re:So when it comes to 3 strikes.... by mspohr · · Score: 4, Insightful

      They have a lot more guns than you.
      and bigger guns.
      If you have a gun, it just gives them an excuse to kill you right now.

      --
      I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
  2. No disconnects* by Ferzerp · · Score: 3, Funny

    *Unless you commit copyright infringement. Then we will cut off your internet and make sure that you are so in debt that you can't support yourself ever again.

  3. The struggle for democracy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    I am committed to ensuring "No Disconnect" in countries that struggle for democracy.

    But not, I suppose, in those that have stopped struggling.

  4. She's right by Compaqt · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Europe and the US can't lecture 3rd world countries (and China) about democracy, openness, and freedom when they're cutting out all three.

    What was really funny was the way the UK govt. wanted to shut down Facebook and Twitter because they thought that contributed to the recent riots. What's even more funny is how Iran's state news services called it an uprising, and not riots. Britain just lost all moral right to lecture anybody after that. (Of course, Iran had its own riots/uprising propelled by social media. Same thing.)

    --
    I'm not a lawyer, but I play one on the Internet. Blog
    1. Re:She's right by Jawnn · · Score: 3, Interesting

      No, it isn't "funny", but let's stick to the point. The EU, or at least Commissioner Kroes, has gone on record with the position that openness is of paramount importance when it comes to the legal use of the Internet as a medium of communication. This is a step in the right direction, A big one. Yes, there are lots of things we can split hairs over; "What is the definition of 'legal' in the U.K.? In Germany? Syria?", but a widely respected policy like this should prevent draconian knee-jerk bullshit like shutting down social media sites just because a group of miscreants use them for illegal purposes.

  5. Overthrowing a government is fine ... by DanZee · · Score: 5, Funny

    Apparently, using the Internet to overthrow a government is allowed, but downloading a MP3 file will get you 10 years and a $250,000 fine!

    1. Re:Overthrowing a government is fine ... by GameboyRMH · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Apparently, using the Internet to overthrow a government is allowed

      Only if it's a Western-unfriendly government. Try even protesting around a G8/G20 meeting and see how much cell reception you get.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  6. FTFY by Hatta · · Score: 3, Funny

    The soon to be former EU Commissioner for the Digital Agenda, Neelie Kroes, has been making some interesting comments about privacy, copyright and many aspects of the digital age.

    --
    Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
  7. Erh.... by Opportunist · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Yeah, yeah, nice that you vow you won't accept a disconnect policy in countries that struggle to get a democracy.

    How about countries that are allegedly already democratic? Like, say, Greece, Spain, Italy, Ireland...

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.