OSCE Media Representative issues Amsterdam Recommendations defending freedom of the Internet

VIENNA, 17 June 2003 - At the end of a two-day conference on Internet-related perils to freedom of expression, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Freimut Duve, has issued a call for the OSCE to take up a strong position towards free flow of information on the Internet.

The so-called Amsterdam Recommendations on Freedom of the Media and the Internet were issued at the conclusion of the conference held on 13 and 14 June in the City Hall of Amsterdam. The event brought together more than 25 experts from international organizations, media, academia, specialized non-governmental organizations from Europe and the U.S. as well as from the European Parliament, Council of Europe, European Commission and the OSCE.

Topics discussed at the conference ranged from technical framework, the influence of code and the economic framework to the regulation of decentralized networks and different aspects of access to information.

"Freedom of the Media as a human right is universal. No matter what technical means are used to channel the work of journalists to the public - be it TV, radio, newspapers or the Internet - the basic constitutional value of freedom of the media must not be questioned," Freimut Duve said in his opening remarks to the conference.

"The advantages of a vast network of online resources and the free flow of information outweigh the dangers of misusing the Internet. But criminal exploitation of the Internet cannot be tolerated," he added. "Illegal content must be prosecuted in the country of its origin but all legislative and law enforcement activity must clearly target only illegal content and not the infrastructure of the Internet itself."

Besides regulatory and legal framework, the importance of the underlying technology for a free infrastructure was stressed. "Freedom of Information starts with a free infrastructure", said Alberto Escudero Pascual of the Royal Swedish Institute of Technology.

"Combining all these different issues, I am sure the conference will contribute to the groundwork for the future of both technology and freedom," Mr. Duve said. "The Amsterdam Recommendations are a first step of the OSCE taking a strong position towards the free flow of information and freedom of the media on the Internet."