[IMC-Video] crackdown

Thu Mar 8 14:38:44 UTC 2007

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Lauren Coletta" <LColetta at COMMONCAUSE.org>
> Date: March 8, 2007 9:15:18 AM EST
> To: cc-mediareform at list.commoncause.org
> Cc: "Mary Boyle" <mboyle at CommonCause.org>, "Ian Storrar"  
> <IStorrar at CommonCause.org>, "Jon Goldin-Dubois" <jgd at commoncause.org>
> Subject: [cc-mediareform]
>
>
> 	
> Powered by	
>
> 	
> 	 SAVE THIS | EMAIL THIS | Close
>
>
> 'Happy slap' crackdown sparks row
>
> Story Highlights
>
> • New law in France forbids filming and Net posting of real-world  
> violence
> • Critics call it a clumsy, near-totalitarian effort to battle  
> "happy slapping"
> • Violators of the law will be subject to up to 5 years' jail and  
> &euro75,000 in fines
> PARIS, France (AP) -- A new law in France makes it a crime --  
> punishable by up to five years in prison -- for anyone who is not a  
> professional journalist to film real-world violence and distribute  
> the images on the Internet.
>
> Critics call it a clumsy, near-totalitarian effort by authorities  
> to battle "happy slapping" -- the youth fad of filming violent acts  
> -- which most often they have provoked themselves -- and spreading  
> the images on the Web or between mobile phones.
>
> The measure, tucked deep into a vast anti-crime law that took  
> effect Wednesday, took media advocates by surprise with what they  
> say is an undesirable side effect: trampling on freedom of expression.
>
> Experts said the law is the first of its kind in Europe. France  
> made headlines years ago by ordering U.S.-based online company  
> Yahoo to pay a fine of about $15 million for displaying Nazi  
> memorabilia for sale -- in violation of French law.
>
> The new provision takes on "happy slapping," a phenomenon whose  
> name belies the gravity of the attacks. It mostly involves youths,  
> and the victims often are strangers.
>
> Violators of the law, passed in parliament in February, will be  
> subject to up to five years in prison and &euro75,000 in fines  
> ($98,600). It was championed by Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy,  
> who is a top contender in France's presidential election in April  
> and May.
>
> The law was published in the government's Official Journal on  
> Wednesday, bringing it into effect, after the Constitutional  
> Council gave its final approval over the weekend.
>
> Ligue Odebi, an association that seeks to protect freedom of  
> expression on the Internet, said the measure will also hinder  
> citizens' abilities to expose police brutality.
>
> "This makes France the Western country that most infringes on  
> freedom of expression and information -- particularly on the  
> Internet," the group said in a statement on its Web site,  
> www.odebi.org
>
> "Identifying uploaders (of such images) would require the creation  
> of a totalitarian surveillance of the Net," the group said.
>
> Ligue Odebi noted that the council's approval Saturday fell on the  
> 16th anniversary of the March 3, 1991, beating of motorist Rodney  
> King by Los Angeles police officers in a scene captured on amateur  
> video -- a case that sparked a national outcry in the United States.
>
> The French law says that anyone who "knowingly" films illegal acts  
> of violence and distributes the images can be considered an  
> accomplice -- but that professional journalists are exempt.
>
> French authorities have been seeking new ways to combat youth  
> violence after a wave of rioting, car burnings and violence mostly  
> in poor neighborhoods on the fringe of Paris and other cities in 2005.
>
> Media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said it understood  
> the government's need to crack down on "happy slapping," but feared  
> the law draws a "dangerous" distinction that would punish "regular  
> citizens" for doing what journalists are allowed to do.
>
> "The sections of this law supposedly dealing with 'happy slapping'  
> in fact have a much broader scope," Reporters Without Borders said  
> in a statement. "Posting videos online showing violence against  
> people could now be banned, even if it were the police carrying out  
> the violence."
>
> The measure has implications for online video sites like YouTube,  
> or France's Dailymotion.com: Authorities could ask them to identify  
> the sources of images made available through their sites.
>
> Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This  
> material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
>
>
> Lauren Coletta
> Senior Director of Media Programs
> lcoletta at commoncause.org
>
> *New Address
>
> 1133 19th Street NW
> Washington DC 20036
>
> (Office)  202 736 5774
> (Cell) 202 841 2381
>
> To unsubscribe, change your address, or temporarily deactivate your  
> subscription,
> please go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/? 
> member_id=1793675&user_secret=b954ea81

http://www.deedeehalleck.blogspot.com
http://www.deedeehalleck.org

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-video/attachments/20070308/7e722c9b/attachment-0001.htm 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: pastedGraphic.tiff
Type: image/tiff
Size: 2114494 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-video/attachments/20070308/7e722c9b/attachment-0001.tiff 