The European Parliament has on Thursday rallied behind the setting up of an ‘internet freedom fund’, which, according to D66 is to be for the training and empowerment of dissidents against censorship and cyber attacks’.
The European Parliament voted Thursday for a European Instrument of Democracy and human Rights, that in 2012 a budget of 125 million euro. One of the seven components of this initiative is the setting up of a so-called internet freedom-fund that allows projects to be financed for safe, secure and uncensored access to the internet. Among other things, European embassies worldwide attention for internet freedom in their policy.
“The EU is now going to programs, developments, whereby we internet users to learn how they online be able to protect”, says D66, member of the european parliament Marietje Schaake, that the proposal for the internet freedom fund did. According to her, it is necessary that foreign bloggers, onlinejournalisten and human rights activists to be trained how they can operate anonymously, since in totalitarian states citizens during torture faced would be with full purpose of sms text messages, calls and e-mails.
How the concrete is designed, can Schaake opposite Tweakers.net not yet say. “This is the first step. There is now quite a lot of money available, that can be used for small projects. It’s all about now expressly stipulated that ict can play an important role in democratization and the promotion of human rights.”
Furthermore, the European Union wants to promote internet and communication technology will be deployed for human rights and freedoms. Now, it is still the case that European companies and technology can deliver to countries that understand censorship to commit; there is still no European legislation in this area. The EU therefore wants a ‘dialogue’ between business, social organizations and politics.
Schaake proposes that companies should be transparent about the export of this technology. “The EU is totally incredible if our government, on the one hand oliesancties impose and calling for the departure of president Al-Assad, while on the other hand, an Italian company in Damascus, which the regime helps to citizens via the internet and mobile phones to listen to”, says Schaake.
The Mep is, however, no witch hunt on this type of companies. “We have the cooperation of such companies is also necessary. I hear sometimes of the organizations in question, that such export doesn’t want to do, how strange that sounds. If there are sanctions, we give them the option contracts on to say, without that they themselves can be held responsible. So it saves them money even if there are rules.”