Berlusconi plans to use G8 presidency to 'regulate the internet'

Berlusconi plans to use G8 presidency to 'regulate the internet'

www.theregister.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

Alex Jones has been talking about how this is coming to America also.

One thing, everyone has to understand - is if the government does implement any filtering of the internet - they will take sites down that they deem content they do not like.

A site that might meet that criteria?: ATS - due to the fact - memebers here trying to disclose the truth ......

It has already happened in other countries:
China
Australia
UK
Italy (if Berlusconi - gets his way)
Cuba
Various South American countries

This is not just "communist" type nations doing this, in fact leading the way - are industrialised nations - that are suppose to have "FREE SPEECH".

The reality is our "Free Speech" has been slowly but surely eroding over the last few years.

Look at the various people that have been arrested (RNC convention and other places) just for having sit ins and standing with signs - carrying out peaceful free speech events.

Beware - it really is coming to the U.S., once that happens - will we all be blocked out of ATS?

www.theregister.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

To be honest, I've been waiting for something like this for a while. After Generals talking about "Internet needs to be dealt with like an enemy weapons system" and the term 'homegrown' terrorism being more frequently used, I am pretty sure that there will be a clamp down, maybe when they release a new version of the internet?

Who knows, but IMO it will happen, sooner or later.

Flagged and starred.

EMM

Talk about a conflict of interest.

Burlesconi, a "media baron" wants to regulate / censor the internet. I guess that means regulation and censorship of any and all media sites that are taking business away from his prized media organs. How transparent does it need to be?

Unfortunately it's something we've been fighting for awhile here (I live in Rome). First came the Prodi-Levi law, that sought to make anyone who owned a blog a "journalist", and in Italy journalism is controlled via licenses. It was so overtly publicized that the bill went down in a blaze of hellfire.

They've been trying it again now, more furtively, but it is currently being sniped. This of course, seems to be a bipartisan movement since Prodi is center-left, and "il Cavaliere" is center-right".

I have no doubt that Berlusconi will seek licensing for bloggers.

The "free" internet must be seen as a major pain in the # by the PTB, yes in terms of potential revenue loss, but mostly in terms of not having control over thought, speech and ideas.
The free exchange of ideas; especially negative ones, has to scare the hell out of those guys. But what a wonderful thing it is.!!
We have to fight, in whatever ways we can to keep it free! forever.
Politicians and the corporations who pay their way have a lot of power and will surely do all they can to muffle this free voice. They will use excuses like controlling porn and terrorism to initiate restricting laws, but we must be vigilant.
How in the hell are we going to get the sheeple concerned enough to stand up and fight this attack on one of the few real freedoms we have left???

I've contacted my cousin (who plays football/soccer for him) to see if he can have a word with him about this. It is disgraceful. The internet should never be regulated because the chance is too great for the authorities to abuse it.

reply to post by wayno

---

I am replying to myself because I don't thing I got it right saying "one of the few real freedoms we have left".
Obviously its not one of the last freedoms we have.
What it is, is one of the most powerful venues of free speech there is at the moment. Mainstream TV and newspapers are obviously not free. They are biased with a strong agenda that has to do with the well being of the corporate world, not the person on the street.
People can write books and independent newspapers but those media have limited readership.
The internet is available to an ever wider audience every day. While the corporate world have their internet propaganda sites up, so do lots of non-corporate entities and independent thinkers - individuals no less.
This is better than any other tool of democracy because in the end every single person could theoretically have their say.
The wide mix of opinions is enlightening; harmful only to those who would rather have it their way, and only their way.
The great majority of the public can be trusted to decide for themselves which opinions are worthy of consideration, and which to disregard.
Down with censorship

[edit on 4-12-2008 by wayno]