Some scary stuff going on with two pieces of draft legislation here in Ireland that some might be interested in.
My comments to the minister and representative are below. The Draft Legislation can be found here
http://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/bills28/bills/2015/3715/b3715s.pdf
And
http://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/bills28/bills/2015/3615/b3615d.pdf
Would love to hear peoples thoughts on this.
-James Gannon
From: James Gannon
Date: Monday 27 April 2015 12:03
To: "[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>", "[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>"
Cc: "[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>", "[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>", "[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>", "[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>", "[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>", "[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>", "[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>", "[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>", "[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>"
Subject: Chilling Free Speech in Ireland - Comments on the Draft Legislation on Malicious Communications
A Chairde,
It has come to my attention that the Senator is in the process of introducing legislation to the Senate, namely the ‘Harmful and Malicious Communications Bill 2015’ and the related ‘The Public Electronic Communications Networks (Improper Use) Act 2015’ introduced by Pat Rabbitte in the Dail on the same day.
While I commend you both on the motivations to introduce these pieces of legislation I must draw your attention to some serious and likely unintended consequences of approaching the issue in this manner.
Freedom of speech and freedom of expression online are extremely important and complex issues, which many jurisdictions across the world are currently grappling to find an appropriate balance on. In Ireland we undoubtedly understand the great power that the Internet has for both the individual and the economy. We have seen the giants of the Internet choose to base their operations here in Ireland, contributing to our growing stature as knowledge based economy and a powerhouse of technology in Europe. The Internet is a global resource that has incredible potential for good and is a resource that we must protect as vital in the modern world. When the Internet was conceived in the early 1970s, the notion of openness lay at the heart of its architecture, philosophy and technical protocols.[i]
But this vast opportunity means little without sufficient legal protections. If laws can censor us to limit our access to certain information, or restrict use of communication tools, then the Internet's incredible potential will go unrealized.
Restricting freedom of speech and expression in any medium is one of the most serious acts that any legislature can take. Such restrictions strike at the core of any modern democracy and have far reaching effects on the populace. We can see recently that in India the Supreme Court [ii]recently struck down an Internet censorship law that I would draw a number of parallels to the bills being introduced by the Senator and the TD.
I quote from the Indian Bill in question:
66A. Punishment for sending offensive messages through communication service, etc.
Any person who sends, by means of a computer resource or a communication device,—
(a) any information that is grossly offensive or has menacing character; or
(b) any information which he knows to be false, but for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred or ill will, persistently by making use of such computer resource or a communication device,
(c) any electronic mail or electronic mail message for the purpose of causing annoyance or inconvenience or to deceive or to mislead the addressee or recipient about the origin of such messages,
shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and with fine.
One can draw a number of parallels to the wording of the ‘The Public Electronic Communications Networks (Improper Use) Act 2015’:
A person who (b) for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety to another—
(i) sends or causes to be sent, by means of a public electronic communications network, a message that the sender knows to be false,
(ii) persistently and without reasonable cause makes use of a public electronic communications network, is guilty of an offence.
And indeed from the ‘Harmful and Malicious Communications Bill 2015’:
A person who (b) for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety to another—
(i) sends or causes to be sent, by means of a public electronic communications network, a message that the sender knows to be false,
(ii) persistently and without reasonable cause makes use of a public electronic communications network, is guilty of an offence.
I would suggest to the Senator and the TD that we are approaching this issue from the wrong angle. I believe that we have existing legislation that addresses the topic of cyberbullying and provides a legislative means for recourse in the event of malicious communications, namely the ‘Non Fatal Offences Against the Persons Act 1997’. Instead of introducing additional legislation that has far reaching effects and will place serious restrictions on the freedom of expression enjoyed by the Irish populace I suggest that we work with the major social networks, many of whom are based in Dublin, to strengthen their abilities and processes to deal with ‘Internet Trolls’. We could also explore utilising the existing abilities under the ‘Data Protection Act’ which allows a person to object to the processing of their personal data that is ‘likely to cause distress’[iii].
I contend that the draft legislation currently before both houses is overly broad and may result in chilling effects on the freedom of expression and speech in Ireland. I hope that the representatives in question may reconsider their approach, and not progress these bills any further. I would ask that you sit down with a broad range of experts in a number of fields to examine the potential consequences of these bills. You will find many people are willing to engage on issues of this kind as we feel that protecting people online is of key importance.
This is a critical issue for free speech and freedom of expression in Ireland and I hope that it will be treated as such. I would love to discuss this matter further and would be happy to meet with you or your advisors at any point, you may reach me at [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>.
Yours truly,
James Gannon
Security and Privacy Lead
Cyber Invasion Ltd
Dun Laoghaire
Dublin
Ireland
Cc:
Electronics Frontier Foundation
Center for Democracy and Technology
Press Office Labour Party
Press Office Fianna Fail
Press Office Fine Gael
Press Office Sinn Fein
Vint Cerf – Chief Internet Evangelist Google Inc.
Press Office – Twitter Inc
Press Office – Facebook Inc
PDF of Mail Attached.
________________________________
[i] http://home.web.cern.ch/cern-people/opinion/2013/04/open-internet-and-web
[ii] http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/freedom-of-speech-online-section-66-a-is-struck-down-by-supreme-court-749104
[iii]http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2003/en/act/pub/0006/sec0008.html