Yes, what is going on in Italy is about as frightening as that headline reads. Authorities in Italy have been attacking the internet on multiple fronts as of late with many moves that are eerily intrusive and controlling. First you may be wondering why such a drastic headline. I want everyone to know that I generally hate over-exaggerated news headlines, but I thought this appropriate in this particular case. Italy has been trying to build greater and greater control of the internet and has been doing some very scary things to accomplish an unprecedented amount of control.
The first story that leads me to believe this is one that has been around for a few months now. Apparently some teenagers in Italy filmed themselves attacking and abusing a mentally handicapped person. Then those kids posted the video on YouTube. Authorities in Italy found the video and used it to find and prosecute the teenagers. This would have been a great example of how the internet could be used to stop criminal behavior. However, the story doesn’t end there. Within a few hours of being made aware of the offensive content of the video, Google (owns YouTube) promptly took it down. But instead of praising Google for their swift action and cooperation with authorities, Italy has now charged several Google executives with criminal offenses for allowing this content to be posted on the internet on a Google-owned site.
This is insane. Not only did the team at Google comply quickly and professionally, but the video itself helped catch the perps. There is no reason for them to arrest the execs.
That was just the beginning. The authorities have been trying to implement a three-strikes law like France recently passed recently. This law basicaly says that if you are accused of even attempting to pirate media more than 3 times will automatically be banned from the internet. Then they added to that law by requiring all blogs to register with the government. Thus, making it easier for the government to monitor citizens. This is of course scary not only because it attacks anonymity on the internet, but it also sounds like the first steps to stamping out free speech online and arresting dissidents. Italy is considered a parliamentary republic, which is a type of democracy that doesn’t have a clear separation of the executive and legislative branches.
Then the owners of an online music site in Italy were thrown in jail because the Italian music industry body, SIAE, has accused them of copyright infringement. This is in spite of the fact that they did obtain a license to sell the music. Though apparently, according to SIAE and the IFPI site, not the correct licenses. Note plural, meaning they have to have multiple licenses in Italy to sell music. In fact one man even claimed that you need as many as 33 different licenses to sell music in Europe. Though some have disputed that number. Why is it that this is not simplified, seeing as how the countries of Europe have been slowly building one unified governing body known as the European Union. Doesn’t sound very united on this front. Another question, why is it that criminal charges are being filed for copyright infringement. This is not larceny, burglary, murder, or any number of other heinous crimes. It is simply a business dispute. It is barely even that because the owners thought that they had obtained all the correct licenses. If you keep changing the rules, how can you expect anyone to follow them?
It gets even better. The Italian government has decided that they want to be able to listen in on the calls made with the popular service, Skype. They want a back door installed so that they can listen into whichever calls they like. It seems the wiretapping issue has reached a whole new level. In Europe, Skype is a very popular tool. While it can be used for evil, such as coordinating terrorist attacks, it is generally used for private conversation to save money (over the cost of local phone services, which are generally high). There are a number of issues with this. The first that comes to mind is that the internet has no borders. What if they use this to listen in on conversations people in other countries are having with people in countries that are not Italy? The privacy warning radar is going nuts on this one.
Then finally, last but not least, the Italian government is also looking to entirely ban anonymity online. Opening up the prosecution flood gates. Everyone from annoyed citizens complaining about products, services, and politicians to everyday social network chatters and forum posters will become targets. This would become a lawsuit free-for-all. Plus, being that government does not give you the right to control the thoughts of your countrymen. This will definitely create problems for dissidents.
After reading all these stories I am starting to believe that the ghost of Mussolini has risen and started to regain control of the Italian government. These are certainly scary markers. Especially because the politicians are taking most of their queues from corporations that are trying to serve their own interests and to hell with everyone else. Europe is becoming colder and darker. Science and reason are sounding more and more scarce. Along with morality.
Look for unexplained disappearances and mysterious arrests in the future. Sounds an awful lot like the kind of things the Nazi’s did. I would recommend that anyone tread lightly in Italy.
This article is based off the one found at: http://techdirt.com/articles/20090504/0148494730.shtml
Tags: Human Rights, Italy, legalese, Net Neutrality, Patents, the internet
