Chile
To Strengthen Internet Control
Amid cCntroversy
Santiago - The Chilean
Deputies Chamber on Tuesday approved in
general the Trade Mark law bill to regulate
the contents offered by the Internet
suppliers.
The Law was approved by majority after the
deputies refused to approve specific
articles, which according to them imply
certain censorship.
The Law includes book authors and trade
marks of other products, but the articles
related to the possibility of the Internet
suppliers to block some contents against the
law were rejected.
During the discussion, Chilean Vice Minister
of Telecommunications Pablo Bello said "the
fundamental is the download of digital
contents to be by instruction of the
Justice."
However, according to many deputies, this
initiative gives Internet suppliers the
attribution of previously censoring the
contents based on the possibility of being
against the Law of Trade Mark.
Deputy from the ruling party said the law
was "almost a copy paste" of the U.S.
Intellectual Property Law, which "is
suitable there but not in Chile."
Opposition deputy Gonzalo Arena said in
general the law project is ambiguous and it
does not respect basic principles because
the suppliers "will turn into real Internet
police."
Socialist deputy Isabel Allende said the
Internet suppliers cannot cut the access to
files as prevention, only based on
assumptions, because the tribunals are the
ones to do that, otherwise it will be
abusive and arbitrary.
"We do not want a repressive component for
the information transit by Internet,"
Allende said.
Bello said last week that the Law aimed to
protect the rights of the Internet users to
freely surf without blocking, but "together
with the defense of that non-discrimination
right, we also protect the creators of the
contents, to those who innovate."
Last week, Chilean Internet user filled the
deputies with e-mail against the new Law,
saying the Law project allows censure and
restricts the freedom of sharing.
According to the government the Law has a
guarantee mechanism for the users, where
there will be judicial processes against who
upload contents that does not belong to him.
Currently, Chile offers access to Internet
to more than 1.6 million users.
The broad band service in Chile is the ones
of highest quality in Latin America,
according to a research published last week.
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