International Journal of Communications Law & Policy

RACIST AND XENOPHOBIC CONTENT ON THE INTERNET - PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS: STRATEGIES TO TACKLE RACISM AND XENOPHOBIA ON THE INTERNET - WHERE ARE WE IN EUROPE?
By Gianluca Esposito

Download the Paper in PDF Format: IJCLP Web-Doc 9-7-2003

Abstract

The paper presents the Additional Protocol to the Cyber Crime Convention of the Council of Europe, which deals with acts of racist and xenophobic nature committed trough computer systems. The Additional Protocol has been adopted in November 2002. Especially the Internet allows persons to disseminate illegal material and to commit crimes via computer systems. Thus the Council of Europe deemed it necessary to adopt the Convention on Cyber Crime. This convention does however not include provisions to fight racist and xenophobic content on the Internet, as freedom of expression concerns were raised against including such provisions. Instead the Additional Protocol has been adopted to tackle the problem of racist and xenophobic content on the Internet. The Protocol is meant to lead to harmonisation of substantive criminal law in the area of racist and xenophobic content on the Internet in member states and to facilitate international co-operation between countries in this area. The paper describes in some detail the provisions of the Protocol. Definitions of the criminal offences included in the Protocol are given and these definitions are put in context with existing similar definitions in other international instruments and ECHR judgements. The provisions dealing with procedural powers, jurisdiction and international cooperation are also analysed in the paper. The Protocol seeks to establish common rules concerning procedural powers in member states but the author points out that these rules will only apply to specific criminal investigations and will not lead to widespread surveillance of internet content. The international co-operation between member states in computer related crimes investigations is facilitated by provisions in the Protocol which establish mutual assistance arrangements and a new 24/7 specific assistance network. Furthermore a binding catalogue of criteria for establishing jurisdiction for criminal offences included in the Convention is established by the Protocol. The author believes that the Additional Protocol will help to protect individual rights and freedoms on the Internet by establishing the extent to which racist and xenophobic content on the Internet violates the rights of others.

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