[theregister.co.uk] Italian
president and media baron Silvio Berlusconi said today that he would
use his country’s imminent presidency of the G8 group to push for an
international agreement to "regulate the internet".
Speaking to Italian postal workers, Reuters reports
Berlusconi said: "The G8 has as its task the regulation of financial
markets … I think the next G8 can bring to the table a proposal for a
regulation of the internet."
Italy’s G8 presidency begins on January 1. The role is taken
by each of the group’s members in rotation. The holder country is
responsible for organising and hosting the G8’s meetings and setting
the agenda. Italy’s last G8 presidency in 2001, also under Berlusconi,
was marred by riots at the annual meeting in Genoa.
Berlusconi didn’t explain what he meant by "regulate the internet",
but the mere mention of it has prompted dismay among Italian
commentators. Berlusconi owns swathes of the Italian mass media.
The left-wing newspaper L’Unita wrote: "You can not say that it is
not a disturbing proclamation, given that the only countries in the
world where there are filters or restrictions against internet are
countries ruled by dictatorial regimes: those between China, Iran,
Cuba, Saudi Arabia."
La Stampa reports Italian bloggers are planning to protest against
any move by the president to tighten government control over the web
tomorrow. They plan to display anti-Berlusconi banners on their
websites.
Any G8 move next year to "regulate the internet" led by Berlusconi
is likely to attract criticism. He has often been accused of using his
power to try to silence dissent. He lost a long-running libel battle
against The Economist earlier this year after it said he was not "fit
to run Italy" and was this week suing American critic Andrew Stille for
defamation*.
However, the governments of industrialised nations have been ramping
up their rhetoric against internet content they view as unacceptable.
The UK has introduced new laws and revived arcane ones to clamp down on
extremist websites and niche pornography. Australia is busy
implementing filters.
Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/12/03/berlusconi_g8_internet/
