UN hosts conference on safeguarding freedom of expression on the Internet

In fulfilment of its mandate to nurture the democratic debate, the United Nations cultural agency today convened 150 media professionals, policy-makers and freedom of expression advocates to consider ways of safeguarding that freedom on the Internet.

The two-day meeting at the Paris headquarters of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is part of the preparation for the final phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) scheduled to take place in November in Tunisia.

The meeting was scheduled to hear from speakers on topics ranging from freedom of expression on the web, by examining such issues as lack of access, low information literacy and deliberate restrictions on the free flow of information, to the use of the Internet in the political process and whether legitimate concerns, such as fear of terrorism, could justify limiting the free flow of information.

Other subjects to be covered include the impact and social consequences flowing from restrictions and regulations on news media on the Internet, and the issue of continuing to contribute content to the Internet despite the codes some are trying to impose.