"there is concern that what he has planned
will be worse than HR 1955."
Internet Attacked as Tool of Terror
http://www.truthout.org/article/internet-attacked-tool-terror
Friday 30 May 2008
by: Matt Renner, t r u t h o u t | Report
Terror Mouse
http://www.truthout.org/files/images/M_053008J.preview.jpg
(Artwork: For Sunday Midday)
A controversial plan to study and profile domestic terrorism was scrapped
after popular push back, however, the spirit of the legislation lives on in
Senator Joe Lieberman's office. HR 1955,
"The Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007"
passed the House in October 2007 with almost unanimous support.
The bill immediately came under fire from civil liberties watchdogs
because of what many saw as a deliberate targeting
of Muslims and Arabs and the possible chilling effect
it might have on free speech.
The original bill intended to set up a government commission
to investigate the supposed threat of domestically produced terrorists
and the ideologies that underpin their radicalization.
The ten-member commission was to be empowered to
"hold hearings and sit and act at such times and places,
take such testimony, receive such evidence, and administer such
oaths as the Commission considers advisable to carry out its duties."
The bill also singled out the Internet as a vehicle
for terrorists to spread their ideology
with the intention of recruiting and training new terrorists.
After significant public pressure, the bill stalled in the Senate.
However, Senator Joe Lieberman (D-Connecticut),
the current chairman of the Senate Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs Committee,
has embraced the thrust of the legislation
and has been working to push forward some of the goals
of the original bill, including an attempt
to weed out terrorist propaganda from the Internet.
Jim Dempsey, vice president for public policy at the non-profit
Center for Democracy and Technology has spoken out
against the assault on Internet speech.
"I have more concern about what Senator Lieberman is doing
than about HR 1955. [Lieberman] is no friend of civil liberties,"
Dempsey told Truthout, adding
"there is concern that what he has planned
will be worse than HR 1955."
Dempsey spoke out in favor of the spirit of HR 1955,
calling the outpouring of criticism "hypothetical and hyperbolic."
In his view, the study of radicalization and home grown
ideologically based violence is worthwhile. However,
he objects to recent actions taken by Lieberman.
On May 19, Lieberman sent a letter to Google Inc.'s CEO
Eric Schmidt demanding that Google
"immediately remove content produced
by Islamist terrorist organizations from YouTube."
"By taking action to curtail the use of YouTube to disseminate
the goals and methods of those who wish to kill innocent civilians,
Google will make a singularly important contribution
to this important national effort," Lieberman wrote.
Google fired back, refusing to take off material that did not violate
its community guidelines.
"While we respect and understand his views,
YouTube encourages free speech and defends everyone's right
to express unpopular points of view," Schmidt said in response,
adding,
"we believe that YouTube is a richer and more relevant platform
for users precisely because it hosts a diverse range of views,
and rather than stifle debate, we allow our users to view all
acceptable content and make up their own minds."
Google removed some of the videos that violated their rules
against posting violence and hate speech, but made a point to write,
"most of the videos, which did not contain
violent or hate speech content, were not removed
because they do not violate our Community Guidelines."
"I think that Senator Lieberman's actions vis-a-vis Google
were improper," Dempsey said.
"A blame the messenger approach doesn't make sense
as a response to radical violence. The notion that taking
the videos off of YouTube will accomplish anything
shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of the Internet.
Take the videos off of YouTube
and they'll appear elsewhere."
Senator Lieberman's staff failed to return calls for comment.
A New York Times editorial called Lieberman's claims about the
Internet "ludicrous," and warned of an attempt to censor the Internet.
Lieberman defended himself in a response letter, saying,
"the peril here is not to legitimate dissent
but to our fundamental right of self-defense."
According to civil liberties activists, Chairman Lieberman
has been spearheading an effort to censor speech on the Internet.
His committee recently released a report titled
"Violent Islamist Extremism,
The Internet, And The Home Grown Terrorism Threat," (PDF)
a report detailing the use of web sites and Internet tools
to spread pro-terrorism propaganda.
The report repeatedly blames Internet web sites and chat rooms
for "radicalization," calling the web sites "portals" through which
potential terrorists can "participate in the global violent Islamist
movement and recruit others to their cause."
As civil liberties groups have pointed out, the report focuses
solely on terrorism seen as associated with Islam.
Also, the report relies heavily on experts from inside the US
national security apparatus, with only one research study cited.
The study by the New York Police Department details
a hypothetical four step "radicalization process".
The report was criticized by a coalition of civil liberties groups
as "statistically and methodologically flawed,"
in a letter they wrote in response to the report.
Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU Washington, DC,
legislative office, said that Lieberman
"is trying to decide what he thinks should go on the Internet,"
which, she said,
"reeks of an interest in censoring all sorts of different dialogs."
"If someone criticizes Israel's treatment of Palestinians
and favors Hamas, should that be censored?"
Fredrickson asked.
Matt Renner is an editor
and Washington reporter for Truthout.
Comments If you want to give the FBIFri, 05/30/2008 - 18:13
Anonymous (not verified) If you want to give the FBI and the NSA the power to
eavesdrop
on Americans without a warrant,
why interfere with open communication on the internet?
I would think these agencies would have an easier time finding threats
to national security if those threats publicly identify themselves.
Is Lieberman after results or political intimidation?
i'm inclined to agree with
Fri, 05/30/2008 - 18:01 cindi burkey (not verified) i'm inclined to
agree with the people who want to preserve
the internet in a way that gives power to each individual
to speak and demonstrate, and hear. other media
--ways of getting information-- is very much controlled
by money interests--- and is not accessible to everyone;
in fact the more it is controlled by powerful interests,
the more it concentrates their power. having search engines
to find answers to questions has changed so much for us -
- where before you had to hoof it to the library or spend days
and nights investigating on foot or phone just to even find
the different sides of a story, now you can type your question
into a box and get lots and lots of answers, each calibrated
in different ways----this is so precious so worth every effort
to preserve and every caution along the way. CB
I doubt that Lieberman, et
Fri, 05/30/2008 - 17:10 Eric Rogers (not verified) I doubt that
Lieberman, et al, will be satisfied
until they have all the power and we have no rights at all.
Of course the Internet can
Fri, 05/30/2008 - 16:26 PGOBrien (not verified) Of course the Internet
can be used
to recruit people to an ideological cause.
It can also be used to refute an ideological cause.
That's what "free speech" is all about.
Other than promoting a crime (which is prohibited),
you get to say things that others object to,
and they get to say things back.
And most of us get to listen and ponder and make up our minds.
The US Mail was a useful tool for recruiting, before the Internet.
So is free association and the right to gather together
to discuss and share our ideas.
Should we allow our mail to be opened,
and should we put cameras in our homes now,
so no one can call a secret meeting and recruit people
to Radical Islamic Fascism (which seems to be
the only terrorism we're concerned about these days -
- we are incredibly silly, sometimes).
If Lieberman is successful in censoring the Internet,
he will be part of an establishment that will then
have all the power to decide what we get to hear and read.
What he will have accomplished will have little to do
with fighting terrorism and so much more to do
with establishing a system
that looks far too much like the rule of the pigs in Animal Farm.
Given what Lieberman has
Fri, 05/30/2008 - 16:23 Anonymous (not verified) Given what Lieberman
has become,
maybe it's a good thing Gore lost.
This attack on Internet
Fri, 05/30/2008 - 16:10 Anonymous (not verified) This attack on
Internet content is nothing less
than an attack on our Freedom of speech.
First, the Neocons will take 'just a little bite' as an appetizer
...then they will be all set to devour the whole meal
...since their foot will already be in the door.
Sen. Lieberman is a well-placed tool for the ultimate purpose
of taking away the very essence of what makes America..
America. It is a form of ' waging war by deception.'
Wake up , people, and put a stop to this lie
that they are protecting our freedom,
while they are taking it away with a Lie, bite by bite.
Lie-berman is well- named.
First he is on one side ..then he is on another.
I call him a wolf in sheep's clothing .
Now he has shown his true colors for all to see.
danger here was
Fri, 05/30/2008 - 15:46 Anonymous (not verified) The great danger here
was suggested by testimony before
the Committee on HR1955 by a staff member of the
Simon Wiesenthal Center who specifically identified
the 911truth movement as an example of a domestic terrorist
organization using the internet to foment terrorism.
This is also a move by the right-wing to suppress sharing
of information and evidence concerning the "official" explanation
of 911 and who is actually responsible for it.
The scary thing is that
Fri, 05/30/2008 - 15:43 Ceana (not verified) The scary thing is that
Lieberman, who is now called
McCAin's attack dog (but he actually looks more like
that cartoon dog with the saggy jowls, Droopy)
was the VP candidate in 2000.
How did this aHole become chairman of anything?
Can't Reid replace him?
This Sen.Lieberman is a tool
Fri, 05/30/2008 - 15:39 Anonymous (not verified) This Sen.Lieberman is
a tool of the NeoCons and it should be
obvious to any thinking person what the ultimate goal really is.
It is nothing less than an attack on Free Speech.
This whole so-called War on Terror was misnamed
...it should be called the War of Terror
originating right here in the USA.
Bush White House press
Fri, 05/30/2008 - 15:35 Anonymous (not verified) Bush White House press
releases constitute a clear and present
danger to the peace and tranquility of the United States of America.
Bush White House press releases flood the channels
of public communication with dissimulation,
disinformation, and diversion.
Since we're talking tools,
Fri, 05/30/2008 - 15:12 Anonymous (not verified) Since we're talking
tools, Lieberman is a tool:
a tool of his spiritual ego. Kind of like tweezers.
Interesting that he's not
Fri, 05/30/2008 - 14:34 Anonymous (not verified) Interesting that he's
not going after
ultra-right wing AMERICAN terrorists.
Not the abortion clinic bombers, not the radical political
and religious groups right here.
No, it's all Islamists who are bad.
Could SPAM be considered
Fri, 05/30/2008 - 13:54 Anonymous (not verified) Could SPAM be
considered terrorist propaganda??
False Advertising?? Unsolicited Mail?? Predatory Lending??
FIAT MONEY of the BEAST POWER??!! The List goes on....
When is Reid going to do
Fri, 05/30/2008 - 13:49 Mary (not verified) When is Reid going to do
something about Lieberzeller???
Something like a cross
Fri, 05/30/2008 - 13:27 Anonymous (not verified) Something like a cross
between the House Unamerican Activities
Commitee and the Committee of Public Safety -
- Robespierre et al. And I do mean 'cross.'
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