Irrepressible Info : Amnesty International protects Bloggers
international |
rights, freedoms and repression |
news report 
Thursday July 20, 2006 14:23
by R.iosin Dubh
Amnesty International has joined forces with many other groups to call for increased protection for bloggers, and internet users launching their "irrepressible info" campaign this week.
"sharing information.
The Internet is a new frontier in the struggle for human rights. Governments – with the help of some of the biggest IT companies in the world – are cracking down on freedom of expression.
Amnesty International, with the support of The Observer UK newspaper, is launching a campaign to show that online or offline the human voice and human rights are impossible to repress."
In many ways this campaign ought complement and widen the scope of French based global non-governmental organisation "Reporters without Frontiers".
You may learn more about the campaign here :-
http://irrepressible.info/
Sign a pledge here :-
http://irrepressible.info/pledge (do use a real name)
"I believe the Internet should be a force for political freedom, not repression. People have the right to seek and receive information and to express their peaceful beliefs online without fear or interference.
I call on governments to stop the unwarranted restriction of freedom of expression on the Internet – and on companies to stop helping them do it."
Also Amnesty suggests that you can help the voice of the politically censored by reproducing edited excerpts on your own website pages and political blogs. Obviously indymedia ireland is suitable for republishing of Chinese, Myanmarese, Nigerian or Iranian bloggers gripes - but often the way of dealing with these things starts by simply pointing out they happen. & strange as it may seem the Internet is a censorious place. No-one ever gives much thought to the anonymous types who wield such power in attempts to manipulate or massage public opinion in their own states - But Amnesty International is sure that if we join forces to expose them - It will stop.
Comments (4 of 4)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4"Obviously indymedia ireland is suitable for republishing of Chinese, Myanmarese, Nigerian or Iranian bloggers gripes"
No, its not. But it is suitable for original articles.
It should have read "obviously indymedia ireland is not suitable for...."
Still not being an editor that type of thing gets past my intial draft and right into posterity. Anyway I'm not sure what Amnesty really wants us to do-
are we supposed to make contact with political dissidents in China, Myanmar and Iran and inquire as to their difficulties with local editors paying attention to the excised passages, promising to write original news or opinion based pieces on said material in the hope the HTML will get moved around, someone else's name put on it & it become a feature?
If you ask me Amnesty International are asking us to make problems for these people.
Traffic Data Retention : Irish Style.
Sources: Karen Lillington: The Irish Times 2003.
and Irish Times 29/07/06 : front page> Digital Rights Ireland
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/front/2006/0729/115407....html
In 2003 , Karen Lillinton reported the TDR, the concept:" Phone , mobile and internet service
providers compile and retain records of all traffic data on their systems: essentially who called whom and when, in the case of mobile phones, where the caller was and in the case of web browsing , a list of sites visited, to whom emails were sent and from whom they were received".
"The data is to be retained for a set minimum time period (in Ireland ,three years), the longest
data retention period in any EU state. A recent vote on Data retention within the Eu was
opposed by Ireland and Hungary, the period of retention proposed, was a two and a half
year period.
The responsibility for data retention legislation is situated in the Dept of Justice. intensive
lobbying against the EU retention period is ongoing.
The three year period was instigated under "a cabinet approved confidential direction, by the
then minister for Enterprise: Mary O Rourke: "secret data retention regime for almost a year after
cabinet confidentially instructed telecommunications operators to store traffic info on every phone, fax and mobile for a three year period"
This was retained from 2003-2005, when the Data commissioner , Joe Meade treatened Mr Mc Dowell with a high court action, because there was no legislative structure governing the
confidential directive, issued by Mary O Rourke.
The legislation has since been introduced, making Ireland a country with the longest
period of TDR retention.
Digital Rights Ireland have served papers on the Dept of Justice asking that the
legislation be abandoned(29/07/06) They have given Michael Mc Dowell seven working
days to comply with the papers or they will pursue a case against the dept of Justice.
The positioning of the Irish data retention issue within the wider EU context and
the challenges against the issue of an illegal perion under confidential diretion without
legislations are ongoing.
The backround to the story and the Irish context are covered by Karen Lillington
since feb 2003, in the Business pages of the Irish Times.
The Minister for Justice has not ,as yet responded to DRI, nor has the issue
of such a long period of TDR been answered in the Dail.
http://colr.ucc.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=vi...id=44
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