Legislation
ONI Blog: France to disconnect first Internet users under three strikes regime
A high school teacher who claims not to know how to download music and movies is among the first ten people in France who face disconnection from the Internet over alleged illegal file-sharing.
HADOPI, the government agency created to implement the French “three...
ONI Blog: Saudi Government Blocks Amnesty International’s Website
On July 22, Amnesty International posted a secret draft of a Saudi Arabian anti-terrorism law, titled "Draft Penal Law for Terrorism Crimes and Financing of Terrorism." In response, the government of Saudi Arabia has blocked Amnesty International's website.
According to...
- Posted on 26/Jul/2011; tagged in Saudi Arabia, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Legislation, Human rights
ONI Blog: Italian Agency Presses On With Internet Filtering Powers
Despite protests, the Italian Communications Authority (AgCom) yesterday approved a draft regulation that would give it powers to take down websites and filter the Internet over alleged copyright infringement without prior judicial oversight. The draft will now enter a 60 day period...
ONI Blog: Threats to the Open Net: July 1, 2011
Every week, the OpenNet Initiative provides a weekly news roundup (dubbed "Threats to the Open Net") in addition to our usual in-depth blog posts. If you would like to subscribe to the RSS feed for our newsreel, our entire blog,...
- Posted on 01/Jul/2011; tagged in China, Thailand, United States/Canada, Asia, Europe, Legislation, Arrests and legal action, Elections, Privacy, Threats to the Open Net
ONI Blog: EU: No mandatory Internet filtering against images of child abuse
The European Commission, Council, and Parliament came to an agreement last week regarding controversial plans to mandate Internet filtering as a means to fight the circulation of child abuse images. The provisional compromise backs away from mandatory Internet filters that had initially...
- Posted on 27/Jun/2011; tagged in Europe, Legislation
ONI Blog: DNS Tampering and the new ICANN gTLD Rules
On Monday, ICANN announced that it had approved new rules for determining generic top level domains (gTLDs) like .music, .food and .nyc. Under the new gTLD rules, suffixes can be named after products, services, or almost anything else,...
- Posted on 23/Jun/2011; tagged in Legislation, DNS tampering
ONI Blog: Netherlands First European Country to Make Net Neutrality Law, Although With an Accidental Flaw
With a vote this Tuesday, the Dutch Parliament has become the second in the world to introduce the principles of net neutrality into law. A mistake by the Labour Party (PvdA), however, means that the bill includes an unintended loophole.
The bill,...
ONI Blog: French Government Plans to Extend Internet Censorship
A draft executive order would give various French government agencies the power to take down or block Internet content they deem harmful. Critics see a vast censorship scheme that would allow for “arbitrary” take-downs.
The order will implement Article 18 of the...
- Posted on 21/Jun/2011; tagged in Europe, Legislation
ONI Blog: Netherlands becoming the first European country to adopt net neutrality
The Dutch parliament has discussed an amendment to the telecommunications law that would ban network operators from discriminating against specific services or applications. If it is enacted, the Netherlands would become the second country worldwide to put net neutrality into law.
The ...
ONI Blog: In Germany, a new treaty on gambling might open the door to Internet filtering
An inter-state treaty that will overhaul Germany’s gambling regulation could prove a threat to the open net. Should a recent draft be adopted, ISPs would be obliged to prevent users from accessing unauthorized gambling websites, which critics fear will mean the establishment...
