Seen in Computerworld:
The Council of Europe—not to be confused with the European Union—comprises 44 European countries, plus a handful of non-European nations. Canada, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, and the United States have observer status only, but their comments are sought.
The council recently voted to outlaw “acts of a racist and xenophobic nature conducted through computer systems.”[...]
The agreement defines racist and xenophobic material as “written material, images or other representations of ideas or theories advocating, promoting or inciting hatred, discrimination or violence against individuals or groups, based on race, color, descent, or national or ethnic origin, or religion.”
You know, it’s not that terribly far down that slippery slope from banning speech that “promotes or incites hatred” to banning speech that advocates certain political viewpoints.
For example, can you imagine trying to debate immigration in the American blogosphere when pro-immigrants could use the threat of “illegal expression of xenophobia” to block their opponents?
Mercifully, the article mentions that the U.S. won’t be signing on to that agreement, since the Constitution, eroded though it may be, hasn’t eroded to the point of tolerating such restrictions.
Let’s try to keep that status, rather than letting that part of the Constitution crumble should the pendulum swing too far the other direction.