Issues & Views:Europe censors itself

March 11, 2002

On its way to the USA

Europe censors itself

The Council of Europe is still busy with its attempts to censor the Internet. [See "Xenophobic about EU repression"]. It is pressing to make illegal particular expressions and speech deemed "hateful." The Council deputies, representing the member countries, are determined to combat the "dissemination of racist and xenophobic propaganda via the Internet." In an article by Anne MacDiarmid and Carlo Stagnaro, "Free speech outside US: Coming to a state near you?" (Edgefield Journal), we learn more about the possible ramifications:

Just a few months ago, a new law was passed in Italy which asserts “news-related” websites must be considered to be like the press, and must therefore respect the 1948 press law. This means that each Italian site should have an editor who is a member of the Association of Journalists. Of course, such a provision establishes an illegitimate monopoly of the professional journalist over news making. Amateurs shall not be able to spread their own thoughts without finding a friend--or paying somebody for--editing their websites. The proposed hate crime provisions for Europe make censorship more complete. If such laws are passed, it’s easy to imagine that every kind of anti-government speech could be treated as hate speech, and therefore could be criminally prosecuted. . . .
And what about speaking out against political power? Under the Nazi regime it was considered a felony, and in communist countries it still is. Or consider Bernard Connolly’s story: he was a civil servant of the European Commission. In 1995 he wrote a book, The Rotten Heart of Europe, which claimed European monetary union was a step towards serfdom. Maybe he was right, maybe wrong; it seems clear, at any rate, that he didn’t infringe on other people’s rights. He simply exercized his own right to say anything he likes and to let others know his thoughts. Nobody has been forced either to buy or read the book. Nevertheless, the European Commission sacked him for his writings. On Tuesday 6 March 2001, the European Court of Justice ruled it was their right. It appears criticism against the European Union is “treated in the same way as blasphemy and, therefore exempt from freedom of speech”, said Helen Szamuely. Another hate crime? Or, more likely, a crime against “her majesty, the state?” . . .
Even if they are well intentioned, those who advocate the limitation of free speech are solidly useful idiots for government. And government, according to George Washington, is like fire: it can be a useful servant and a dangerous master as well. By forbidding hate speech, we choose the latter incarnation of government. In the end, burning libraries is no more the way to defeat hate than killing people would be to defeat murder.

"Hate crime" laws have so evolved in England that one can now be "reported" for making statements critical of the American President. To make the laws work, and to get an investigation underway, Americans are designated as a "race." To criticize is to "incite racial hatred," according to this London Times (2/23/02) story:

A vicar is being investigated by the police after writing an article in his parish magazine that denounced the U.S. President as more of a threat to peace than terrorism. The Rev. Nigel Cooper, 48, a Church of England clergyman at St. Mary's and All Saints in Rivenhall, Essex, was reported by a parishioner, apparently for inciting racial hatred against Americans. The magazine has a circulation of about 500 copies.
The vicar's complaints against the U.S. involved its response to September 11. He criticised conditions in which Taleban prisoners were kept in Guantanamo Bay, capitalism generally, and Christian fundamentalism in the U.S. He wrote of Americans: "They have not been fighting for civilisation but for empire, power and the American way of life: luxury in a world of poverty."
A police spokesman said: "I can confirm that a complaint has been received concerning the contents of an article in the February issue of the Rivenhall parish magazine. This complaint is currently being investigated."