The government’s plan to introduce four digital civil rights has been received positively, with a lawyer describing the idea as embracing “almost unprecedented” legal concepts.
Antonio Ghio, a lawyer specialising in ICT, said that, while other countries had introduced the right to the internet, the Prime Minister’s proposal went beyond that.
“It is the legal crystallisation of a reality we live in, without which individuals and society cannot reach their potential.”
Speaking in the wake of a protest against the controversial Anti-Counterfeit Trade Agreement (Acta), which seeks to tighten EU copyright protection, Lawrence Gonzi announced on Saturday that a Bill would be presented introducing the right to internet access, to access information online, online freedom of expression and to exchange information online. Dr Ghio said the new principles should serve as a benchmark against which we measure new laws perceived to impinge on people’s internet access and freedom of expression.
The Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin and the Nationalist Party’s youth movement, MŻPN, also supported the initiative. The union called on the government to do more to help people who still did not have internet access because of socio-economic circumstances.
Ingram Bondin, from the Malta Anti-Acta Group, which staged the protest on Saturday, welcomed the initiative, saying the rights were a “step forward for Maltese society”.
However, he cautioned that the proposals would not stop opposition to Acta, which was driven by a host of other issues.
He pointed out that the details of the laws would be as important as the general principle. “If (these rights) are a genuine safeguard, without too many strings attached, well and good but if they are introduced in a way that regulates the internet, we would not be able to agree with them,” he said.
Communication studies academic Fr Joe Borg also noted that one would need to analyse the details of the proposal but said the initiative was “noble and laudable”. The proposal sent the message that the government wanted the internet to be an environment where responsible freedom for everyone was the basic norm, he said.
“History has taught us that the unbridled control by the few always leads to the diminishing of the freedom of the many. The Prime Minister’s announcement seems to be an attempt to prevent the internet environment from such unbridled control,” Fr Borg said.
He noted that such rights aimed to balance the protection of copyright-holders and the rights of individuals to acquire, share or communicate information.