Hungary passes law boosting government control over media | Reuters: "(Reuters) - Hungary's parliament passed legislation on Tuesday to tighten government control over news outlets that media watchdogs say is arbitrary and ill-defined.
The new National Media and Communications Authority (NMHH), dominated by people loyal to the ruling Fidesz party, will oversee all public news production and its powers will include levying big fines on private media that violate the law.
Some 1,500 people protested near parliament on Monday night against the media law.
Since Fidesz won a two-thirds parliament majority in April, it has put its own people into key posts at public institutions such as the financial regulator and the state audit office, as well as the NMHH.
The media law, seen as the latest piece of that power grab, received 256 votes with 87 against and no abstentions in parliament.
Critics have called the law heavy-handed, saying it does not clearly lay out what news outlets have to do to comply.
The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said it severely restricted print and online media, which runs counter to OSCE standards.
'Regulating print media can curb media freedom and free public debate, which are indispensable elements of democracies,' OSCE media freedom representative Dunja Mijatovic wrote in a report.
'Regulating online media is not only technologically impossible but it exerts a chilling, self-censoring effect on free expression.'
Besides regulatory changes, all public service news production, in television, radio and the national news agency MTI, will be merged and its contents disseminated for free.
The government said the new law was long overdue to bring outdated legislation up to date with changing technology and content. It said the law respected press freedom and was in line with those in fellow European Union countries.
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Showing posts with label FCC Net Neutrality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FCC Net Neutrality. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Venezuela tightens Internet regulation | Reuters
Venezuela tightens Internet regulation | Reuters: "(Reuters) - Venezuela's parliament approved tighter regulation of the Internet on Monday in the latest of a package of laws to entrench President Hugo Chavez's socialist 'revolution' before a new Assembly is sworn-in next month.
Members of his ruling Socialist Party say the move brings South America's top oil producer into line with international norms for policing the Web. But opposition politicians say it is aimed at stifling dissent.
It followed a more controversial vote by the National Assembly last week that will allow Chavez to bypass the next parliament and rule by decree for 18 months.
The former paratrooper turned populist leader says he needs the wide-ranging powers to deal with a national emergency caused by floods that have killed 40 people and driven nearly 140,000 more from their homes.
But the decision was denounced by furious opposition parties due to take 40 percent of seats in the Assembly beginning on January 5, as well as by the U.S. State Department, which accused Chavez of finding 'creative ways' to justify autocratic powers.
The Internet bill approved on Monday prohibits online content attacking 'good customs,' disrespecting public officials or inciting violence against the president.
Many of Venezuela's lively news forums operate without a moderator or editor filtering out extremist or vulgar content. But the bill has concerned some free speech activists, who have drawn comparisons with how China and Cuba police the Web.
Under the new regulations, all Internet traffic is supposed to pass through a single, government-controlled access point, stoking opposition fears about surveillance and censorship.
Lawmakers who promoted the bill had argued that it would make the Internet faster. But it was not clear how the government planned to undo the communications architecture already in place, or even whether it was technically possible.
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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Members of his ruling Socialist Party say the move brings South America's top oil producer into line with international norms for policing the Web. But opposition politicians say it is aimed at stifling dissent.
It followed a more controversial vote by the National Assembly last week that will allow Chavez to bypass the next parliament and rule by decree for 18 months.
The former paratrooper turned populist leader says he needs the wide-ranging powers to deal with a national emergency caused by floods that have killed 40 people and driven nearly 140,000 more from their homes.
But the decision was denounced by furious opposition parties due to take 40 percent of seats in the Assembly beginning on January 5, as well as by the U.S. State Department, which accused Chavez of finding 'creative ways' to justify autocratic powers.
The Internet bill approved on Monday prohibits online content attacking 'good customs,' disrespecting public officials or inciting violence against the president.
Many of Venezuela's lively news forums operate without a moderator or editor filtering out extremist or vulgar content. But the bill has concerned some free speech activists, who have drawn comparisons with how China and Cuba police the Web.
Under the new regulations, all Internet traffic is supposed to pass through a single, government-controlled access point, stoking opposition fears about surveillance and censorship.
Lawmakers who promoted the bill had argued that it would make the Internet faster. But it was not clear how the government planned to undo the communications architecture already in place, or even whether it was technically possible.
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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Obama's mystery proposal to regulate the Internet | Washington Examiner
Obama's mystery proposal to regulate the Internet | Washington Examiner: "If President Obama wants his executive branch to resemble the opaque, power-hungry political machinations in Chicago, he seems to be succeeding in the area of Internet regulation. Last April, a federal court told the Federal Communications Commission that it has no business regulating the Internet. Unfortunately, judicial rejection of the commission's first swing at the 'net neutrality' ball -- the idea the FCC must regulate the Internet to insure everybody has equal access -- didn't deter Obama's FCC chairman, Julius Genachowski, from taking another whack. He's bringing a new set of proposed net neutrality regulations to the five-member panel Tuesday. Unfortunately, nobody knows any details of the new proposal because Genachowski has kept them secret until the last possible minute even as he rushed them forward for a vote. How ironic that the Internet, the great and empowering liberator of information that 'wants to be free,' is being chopped up behind closed doors by an unelected panel. Note, too, that this is being considered by the FCC on the winter solstice, the darkest day of the year.
In their net neutrality quest, Genachowski and two of his fellow Democratic appointees are working to expand government power into an area where the commission has no jurisdiction, under the guise of solving a problem that does not exist. Meredith Baker, a Republican FCC appointee, summarized the situation well: 'We have two branches of government -- Congress and the courts -- expressing grave concerns with our agency becoming increasingly unmoored from our statutory authority. By seeking to regulate the Internet now, we exceed the authority Congress has given us and justify those concerns.' Incoming House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., has called on the FCC to 'cease and desist.'
This exercise in government opacity and overreach is already damaging the economy. As major telecommunications and Internet service companies prepare to roll out new fourth generation (4G) wireless service for millions of customers, these unelected bureaucratic commissars are recklessly creating doubt about the future value and profitability of those companies' investments. They are also discouraging future investments that need to be made for the Internet to continue its phenomenal growth.
Federal courts will almost certainly strike down anything the FCC adopts Tuesday, just as they did earlier this year. Congress will also have its chance to undo Genachowski's handiwork through the Congressional Review Act. But why should we have to go this far to rein in a government agency supposedly run by people who took an oath to 'support and defend' our Constitution? Is Obama unable to make his own appointees obey the law? Either way, the new Congress should hold Obama accountable for what the FCC is now doing in his name.
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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
In their net neutrality quest, Genachowski and two of his fellow Democratic appointees are working to expand government power into an area where the commission has no jurisdiction, under the guise of solving a problem that does not exist. Meredith Baker, a Republican FCC appointee, summarized the situation well: 'We have two branches of government -- Congress and the courts -- expressing grave concerns with our agency becoming increasingly unmoored from our statutory authority. By seeking to regulate the Internet now, we exceed the authority Congress has given us and justify those concerns.' Incoming House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., has called on the FCC to 'cease and desist.'
This exercise in government opacity and overreach is already damaging the economy. As major telecommunications and Internet service companies prepare to roll out new fourth generation (4G) wireless service for millions of customers, these unelected bureaucratic commissars are recklessly creating doubt about the future value and profitability of those companies' investments. They are also discouraging future investments that need to be made for the Internet to continue its phenomenal growth.
Federal courts will almost certainly strike down anything the FCC adopts Tuesday, just as they did earlier this year. Congress will also have its chance to undo Genachowski's handiwork through the Congressional Review Act. But why should we have to go this far to rein in a government agency supposedly run by people who took an oath to 'support and defend' our Constitution? Is Obama unable to make his own appointees obey the law? Either way, the new Congress should hold Obama accountable for what the FCC is now doing in his name.
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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
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