LIVRO VERDE – Individuais e Privados: Access

12/05/2012 by admin in Livro Verde No Comments

Access is a global movement premised on the belief that political participation and the realization of human rights in the 21st century is increasingly dependent on access to the internet and other forms of technology. Founded in the wake of the 2009 Iranian post-election crackdown, Access teams with digital activists and civil society groups internationally to build their technical capacity and to help them advocate globally for their digital rights. Access provides thought leadership and practical policy recommendations in the broader field of internet freedom, and based on that expertise mobilizes its global movement of citizens to campaign for an open internet accessible to all. We thus have a particular interest in open and balanced approaches to access to internet services and welcome the opportunity to respond to the European Commission’s Green Paper.

Access supports the Commission’s initiative to address gambling addiction in the EU and to combat fraud and money laundering. However, we regret that much of this debate has been driven by Member States’ eagerness to protect tax revenues from domestic services and revenues from national gambling monopolies. This approach is contrary to the basic principles of the European Union and any online restrictions undertaken for this purpose are unquestionably disproportionate, unnecessary, and unequivocally contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights.

It is nothing less than an affront to shared European values to see the Belgian state, for example, willfully failing to protect consumers from allegedly fraudulent TV gameshows1 while, at the same time, deciding to block access to gambling sites that are legally operating elsewhere in the European Union.2 This is not consumer protection, it is naked protectionism. Direct or inadvertent support by the European Commission for such measures must be avoided, as Access believes strongly that the design and implementation of policies in this area should reflect a citizen-centred approach.

Saiba mais: Documento disponibilizado pela Comissão Europeia