The Great Firewall of Norway

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Gunnar Helliesen <gunnar () helliesen com>
Date: February 13, 2007 2:31:08 AM EST
To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: The Great Firewall of Norway

Prof. Farber,

For IP, if you wish.


http://luni.net/?p=77

The Great Firewall of Norway

My country is going off the deep end.

A Computer Crime Panel study group established by the Norwegian  
Government has issued a proposal to the Justice Department for a new  
law that would force all ISPs (Internet Service Providers) in Norway  
to actively censor the Internet.

If this proposal were to become law, Norway would have stricter  
Internet censorship than China.

According to this article (Norwegian only, sorry) in the Norwegian  
daily Dagbladet, the minority of the Panel proposes to block, among  
other things:

    * Foreign gambling sites (preserving the very lucrative  
Government owned monopoly on gambling)
    * P2P sites offering illegal downloads such as MP3s, TV shows  
and movies
    * Sites desecrating the Flag or Coat of Arms of a foreign nation
    * Sites promoting hatred towards public authorities, racism and  
hate speech
    * Sites offering pornography that may cause offence

ISPs are already mandated by law to filter sites offering child  
pornography.

(The list above is my translation into English from the original  
article. Any errors in the translation are mine.)

At this point it should be noted that the majority of the Panel (4  
out of 6 members) instead want the courts to block sites on a case-by- 
case basis. However, the minority have insisted that their proposal  
be forwarded to the Justice Department for eventual debate in  
Parliament.

Even the majority’s proposal is unacceptable, in my opinion. Not to  
mention the fact that it’s almost impossible to implement  
successfully. The people who want to view these sites will find a  
way. If nothing else, they can use the many tools developed in the  
West to help people in China get past their Great Firewall.

A Norwegian poet, singer and songwriter once said:

    "Norway is a country for those so inclined" -– Odd Børretzen

Was he ever right.


--
Gunnar Helliesen, Norwegian at large.
Blog at http://luni.net/




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