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                Date: 2001-05-15
                 
                 
                ES: Hasta la vista E-Kommerz
                
                 
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      Wie Merce Molist aus Barcelona schreibt, ist in ES unter  
dem gern benutzten Mantel der Regelung des E-Kommerz  
der übliche Anschlag der gesetzlich ermächtigten  
Kontrolleure auf die freie Kommunikation knapp davor,  
Gesetz zu werden. 
 
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Say NO to LSSI. Freedom of Speech in Danger in Spain. 
 
Freedom of expression is in real danger now in Spain If the  
Electronic Commerce (Society of Information Services)  
Directive is approved, most websites that are not "properly"  
registered would be considered illegal and have to face  
enormous fees which will in fact paralyse their activity forever. 
 
This directive -ready to be approved in the Spanish  
Parliament any time- has invented the concept of "society of  
information services" and wants to legislate plain exchange of  
information as an economic activity, ruling out therefore, any  
publisher -like NGOs- which do not really perform any  
commercial activities and can not face all the legal and  
bureaucratic activities that the Electronic Commerce (Society  
of Information Services) Directive wants. 
 
According to article 2, free distribution of information, even if  
it implies no direct payments from customers is an "society  
of information services" and, therefore, subjcet to this  
electronic commerc directive. You don't have to be paid to be  
considered an actor in the "society of information services":  
as it is stated later in the article 2, search engines or on-line  
compilation of information are also "society of information  
services", which means that news digests, electronic  
libraries, a repository of academic papers, NGOs that publish  
regular news about violations of human rights... have to  
conduct their actions in cyberspace according to an  
electronic commerce directive, which is absolutely  
preposterous. 
 
Strangely enough, the only exceptions considered under this  
article are: Public Broadcasting -TV and Radio, TV Teletext"  
but no reference to NGOs, universities...e-mail is also  
excluded, as long as you don't use it for "society of  
information services", but then, if you are an NGO and keep a  
newsletter about human rights violations you are again liable  
under this directive. 
 
As you can see, the scope of this directive is not at all  
electronic commerce, but the whole Internet. Article 50  
makes it mandatory to register any webs related to these  
"Services". Therefore this directive may turn ilegal any  
website that has not been publicly registered and has its own  
domain name (most websites in Spain, as you may  
suspect). Article 50 stablishes a fee of 90.000 euros! If there  
is a "lack of communication to the public register in which  
they are registered, of the domain name or names which they  
use to offer society of information services". 
 
Article 11 makes impossible anonymous websites.  
According to this article, it is mandatory to give your 
 
a) Name, social/commercial address. b) All the data  
submited to a commercial/public register 
 
Plus several extra data if you are really developing electronic  
commerce activities. 
 
Also see that, as long as you are a "society of information  
services" provider it is mandatory to present data under b),  
the data submitted to a register, this clearly imply that you  
*must* register before opening a website. So, even if you  
don't mind to put your own name, but you are not registered  
anywhere, it means you are violating article 11 as well. 
 
Also article 30 makes it mandatory to conduct all the  
operations with the user as if it was a commercial  
transaction: that is, you have to provide a proper contract,  
language of choice and several other measures that make  
sense if we are considering a prper commercial transaction,  
but which are nonsensical if we are talking about just people  
exchanging information in the web. 
 
Let's consider this hypothetic case: a registered NGO in  
Spain with no funds to get a proper domain name or  
webspace has decided to put a website where they inform  
about human rights in Spain. They offer webpages with  
general information plus a mailing list devoted to these  
issues. According to the law, they should have registered a  
domain name, but they haven't, plus they are "publicizing  
some activities" and they didn't register themselves  
anywhere, so that's another illicit act, both violates article  
50.4. Plus, they are not conducting this exchanging of  
information with a proper commercial model, so they are also  
violating article 30. 
 
Even worse, if they want to be anonymous, which is  
understandable if they are dennouncing human rights  
violations in Spain, they are also breaking article 11. 
 
All together, this poor NGO could be faced with a fee of  
29.000.000 pesetas (aprox 175.000 euros) just for publishing  
a website. The message for corrupt politicians/judges is  
clear. If there is some annoying group which keeps an  
annoying website, just use the directive and fry them with  
enormous fees. 
 
¡FUERA LA LSSI YA!: http://www.kriptopolis.com
                   
 
If you consider joining our campaign, please cut and paste  
the letter below and email it to info@mcyt.es. 
 
 
 
Excma. Sra. Anna Birulés i Bertran MINISTRA DE CIENCIA  
Y TECNOLOGIA Spain 
 
 
Madam,  
 
In due respect, I hereby request you to recall the first draft of  
the Law of Society of the Information Services and of  
Electronic Commerce, which appears published for public  
consultation at the Internet address  
http://www.setsi.mcyt.es/novedad/consulta_anteproyecto.htm
                   
. Likewise, it’s also hereby requested the immediate  
dismissal of the politicians who are responsible for the  
redaction of the first draft above, since their performance has  
proved an absolute ignorance of what internet does represent  
for the development of the Spanish society. 
 
To my to understanding, the text of the first draft means the  
end of the Spanish Internet, conceived as a free space, since  
it establishes previous censorship of the present contents in  
the Net, as well as administrative obstacles of impossible  
fulfilment for all those initiatives that allow to publish free  
information in the Spanish Net. 
 
The above mentioned first draft contradicts all the  
declarations made either by you and by the President of the  
Government, Excmo. Mr. Jose Maria Aznar, to the effect that  
the evolvement of the Internet in Spain could be fomented,  
and very specially the Action Plan infoXXI, advertised from the  
Ministry that you have the honour and the responsibility to  
conduct. 
 
 
(N A M E) 
 
(I D E N T I T Y C A R D) 
 
 
 
 
 
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edited by Harkank 
published on: 2001-05-15 
comments to office@quintessenz.at
                   
                  
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