الطعن على قانون حماية الفلبين من الجرائم الإلكترونية

Photo: trick77/flickr

عارض غالبية مستخدمي الإنترنت الفلبينيين وفئات الإعلام تمرير القانون الفلبيني للجرائم الإلكترونية تحسبا من إمكانية إعاقة حرية الإعلام والحريات المدنية الأخرى بموجب هذا القانون. لكن قبل إدخال مادة التشهير أو السب والقذف على الإنترنت وبعض التغييرات الأخرى في اللحظات الأخيرة، دعم الكثيرون القانون. [جميع الروابط بالإنجليزية ما لم يذكر غير ذلك]

في الحقيقة، ظل القانون منتشر بين أوساط رجال الأعمال، وخبراء أمن الحواسيب، والمدافعين عن أمن الإنترنت، وحتى بعد أن أصدرت المحكمة العليا قرار بتعليق تطبيق القانون لمدة 120 يوم قادمين.

تُصر وزارة العدل – الجهة الرئيسية المنوط بها تطبيق القانون – على ضرورة تفعيل القانون لوقف الجرائم الإلكترونية على الإنترنت عالمياً:

غرض القانون بدقة هو حماية مواطنينا من أي مضايقات غير أخلاقية من قبل أشخاص غير لائقين أو فاسدين في المجتمع. نرى خداع كبير وهائل على الإنترنت، الدول الراعية للإرهاب، اختراق الاتصالات، سرقة البطاقات الائتمانية، خداع المستهلك الذي يتوجب على الدولة التحري عنه ومقاضاة من يقوم به. لا يوجد شكل في كون الجرائم الإلكترونية تعتبر جرائم عالمية تتطلب استجابة فورية ومناسبة.

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A Maligned Law to Protect the Philippines from Cybercrime

Photo: trick77/flickr

The majority of Filipino internet users and media groups opposed the passage of the Philippine Cybercrime Law because of provisions that potentially curtail media freedom and other civil liberties. But prior to the insertion of online libel and other last minute amendments, the bill was actually quietly supported by many people.

In fact, it remains popular among business groups, computer security experts, and advocates of safe cyberspace, even after the Supreme Court issued an order to suspend its implementation for the next 120 days.

The Department of Justice – the main agency in charge of implementing the law – insists that the measure is necessary to stop global cybercrimes:

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Occupy Eyes the Drones

In Front of the Left Forum
In front of the Left Forum. Photo: World Can’t Wait/flickr.

A hallmark of U.S. President Obama’s foreign policy has been a scaling down of troop presences in conflict areas, but without scaling down efforts in the War on Terror. Obama has pursued this as vigorously as his predecessor, but he has more strategically come to rely on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)–commonly referred to as drones–to target individual terrorists and terrorist camps.

From the beginning of this program, some groups have expressed concerns over the civil liberty implications of the use of UAVs. Privacy concerns, since UAVs are largely used in reconnaissance, were forefront in the minds of activists–until Anwar al-Awlaki.

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The West’s Uncertain Trade Relations with East Asia

Swiss Ambassador Luzius Wasescha, left, talking to Markus Mugglin (Swiss Radio DRS) at JapanGate. © Nozomi Glanzmann

Deep down Luzius Wasescha is a multilateralist. Until July 2012, Wasescha led the Swiss delegation to the WTO in Geneva, where he was widely respected for his negotiation skills. Ultimately, he is probably not happy about the Doha Round being deadlocked and would prefer a multilateral trade agreement to the proliferation of bilateral accords that have been concluded recently.

Yet, in part, Wasescha is also responsible for the stalemate at the WTO – in his capacity as Switzerland’s representative. As the former speaker of the G10, a group of agriculturally protectionist countries, he fought against a substantive reduction in tariffs on agricultural imports. Those tariffs are part of the conflict at the WTO between developed and developing countries that is holding up the Doha Round.

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U.S. Presidential Elections: What Role for Foreign and Security Policy?

U.S. presidential elections 2012
President Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign slogan – Betting on America. Photo: Anirudh Koul/flickr

On the 9 October, the ISN and the Center for Security Studies (our parent organization) hosted an expert panel organized by the US Embassy in Bern. The panelists, who included Ms. Susan M. Elbow, Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy; Professor Antonius Liedhegener; Mr. Claude Longchamp; and Professor Corwin Smidt, provided their observations on how US international relations and security interests are impacting the current American presidential elections, if at all. You can find out more about their perspectives and opinions by watching the following video.

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