summary of the .ua (Ukraine) situation

[Carlos Afonso]

Dear people,

Below is detailed info on the .ua issues as reported by Reporters Without 
Borders and reproduced at the IFEX site. Thanks to Karen Banks from APC for 
calling my attention to this.

It looks like an extremely serious situation regarding violation of freedom 
of information and the right to communicate.

What are the options for us to act on this?

fraternal regards

--c.a.

IFEX - News from the international freedom of expression community
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ALERT AND UPDATE - UKRAINE

25 November 2003

RSF warns of risk of abuse over government's Internet regulation

SOURCE: Reporters sans frontières (RSF), Paris

**New case and update to IFEX alert of 28 October 2003**

(RSF/IFEX) - On 18 November 2003, Parliament gave first reading to a draft
law on computer domain use. The text, which leaves wide scope for
interpretation, gives the authorities new judicial means to censor online
publications. It follows other measures undertaken by the Ukrainian
authorities to establish their control of the Internet.

RSF has called on Prime Minister Yanukovych to hold discussions with
Internet and freedom of expression organisations. "Parliament is adopting
laws which are too ambiguous to guarantee freedom of expression on the
Internet," said RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard. "The draft law in this
field should include safeguards against abusive censorship by the
government. We believe this type of law should be worked out in discussion
with representatives of civil society in order to ensure that the state does
not trample on individual freedoms," he added.

Among the provisions of the draft law is one banning publication of
documents that are considered to "damage the constitutional order", "contain
libellous information about persons" or are "aimed at promoting terrorism".
The bill was adopted in first reading by 260 votes out of 335.

Serhiy Morhun, editor-in-chief of online magazine "UA-today", said he did
not think the magazine could continue operating once the new law comes into
effect. He fears it will force many of the major Internet media outlets to
relocate abroad.

Ukrainian intelligence services had pushed the government into introducing a
draft law to Parliament on 19 August that aimed to legalise the registering
and interception of Internet and telephone telecommunications. Officially,
this draft law was intended to introduce telecommunications surveillance in
order to fight crime in conformity with European standards.

A further debate has also been launched on the management of the Internet in
Ukraine. The Hostmaster Ltd company took the Ukrainian government to court
on 22 July in an effort to halt the transfer of management of ".ua" domain
names to the Information Centre on Ukrainian Cyberspace, a body in which the
secret services have a role. The court dismissed the case in mid-November.
Hostmaster Ltd has decided to appeal the ruling.

For further information, contact Julien Pain, RSF Internet Desk, 5, rue
Geoffroy Marie, Paris 75009, France, tel: +33 1 44 83 84 62, fax: +33 1 45
23 11 51, e-mail: internet at rsf.org, Internet: http://www.rsf.org

The information contained in this alert and update is the sole
responsibility of RSF. In citing this material for broadcast or publication,
please credit RSF.
_________________________________________________________________
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
Carlos A. Afonso
Diretor de planejamento e estratégia
Rede de Informações para o Terceiro Setor - Rits
http://www.rits.org.br
Rua Guilhermina Guinle 272 - sexto andar / sexto piso / 6th floor
22270-060 Rio de Janeiro RJ Brasil
tel +55-21-2527-5494
fax +55-21-2527-5460