Appendix I: OSCE RFoM Questionnaire

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
The Representative on Freedom of the Media

RFoM project “Study of legal provisions and practices related to freedom of expression, the free flow of information and media pluralism on the Internet in the OSCE participating States”

Questionnaire for OSCE field presences and OSCE participating States
Deadline for submission 15 November 2010

N.B.: Regarding the inquired statistics, the reporting period for this questionnaire shall be 01 January 2007 – 30 June 2010.

We would appreciate if you could provide as much information as available. If you do not have  the  requested  information,  then  please  specify the  reasons  why the  information requested is not available (e.g. not applicable, no such law or legal provision, the data is not available, etc.).

Please  return  your  answers  either  in  hard-copy  through  your  OSCE  Delegation  or electronically via email to:

Ms Adilia Daminova, Project Officer, adilia.daminova@osce.org
Ms Ženet Muji , Senior Adviser, zenet.mujic@osce.org

A. Access related questions
1. Are there specific legal provisions on the right to access the Internet?
−	1A. Please provide the name of the law/s, and relevant sections of these laws if such laws exist.

−	1B. If the answer is No to the above question, please state whether your country is planning to introduce such a law in the near future? Please state whether there is a draft bill involving this matter.

2. Are there general legal provisions which could restrict users’ access to the Internet?
−	2A. Please provide the name of the applicable law/s, and relevant sections of these laws if such laws exist.

3. Are there specific legal provisions guaranteeing or regulating “net neutrality”?

 	   

−	3A. Please provide the name of the law/s, and relevant sections of these laws if such laws exist.

−	3B. If the answer is No to the above question, please state whether your country is planning to introduce such a law in the near future? Please state whether there is a draft bill involving this matter.

B. Content regulation related questions
4. Are there specific legal provisions outlawing racist content (or discourse), xenophobia, and hate speech?
−	4A. Please provide the name of relevant law/s and regulations, and the relevant sections of such provisions.

−	4B. Please state how these offences are defined by law.

−	4C. Please state specifically whether the possession and/or distribution of such content is criminalized.

−	4D. Please state which sanctions (criminal, administrative, civil) are envisaged by law.

−	4E. Please also state (if applicable) the maximum prison term envisaged by law for such offences.

−	4F. Please provide any statistical information in relation to convictions under relevant law/s for the reporting period of 01 January 2007 – 30 June 2010.

−	4G.  Please  state  whether  the  law  (or  relevant  regulations)  prescribes  blocking  access  to websites or any other types of Internet content as a sanction for these offences. If the answer is Yes, then please provide the blocking statistics for the reporting period of 01 January 2007 –
30 June 2010.

−	4H. Please state whether your country has signed or ratified the Additional Protocol to the CoE  Convention  on  Cybercrime,  concerning  the  criminalisation  of  acts  of  a  racist  and xenophobic nature committed through computer systems (CETS No 189).

5. Are there specific legal provisions outlawing the denial, gross minimisation, approval or justification of genocide or crimes against humanity?
−	5A. Please provide the name of relevant law/s and regulations, and the relevant sections of such provisions.

−	5B. Please state how these offences are defined by law.

−	5C. Please state specifically whether the possession of such content is criminalized

−	5D. Please state which sanctions (criminal, administrative, civil) are envisaged by law.

−	5E. Please also state (if applicable) the maximum prison term envisaged by law for such offences.

−	5F. Please provide any statistical information in relation to convictions under this law for the reporting period of 01 January 2007 – 30 June 2010.

−	5G.  Please  state  whether  the  law  (or  relevant  regulations)  prescribes  blocking  access  to websites or any other types of Internet content as a sanction for these offences. If the answer is

 	   

Yes, then please provide the blocking statistics for the reporting period of 01 January 2007 –
30 June 2010.

6.  Are  there  specific  legal  provisions  outlawing  incitement  to  terrorism,  terrorist propaganda and/or terrorist use of the Internet?
−	6A. Please provide the name of relevant law/s and regulations, and the relevant sections of such provisions.

−	6B. Please state how these offences are defined by law.

−	6C.   Please   state   specifically   whether   the   possession   of   content   involving   “terrorist propaganda” is criminalized.

−	6D. Please state which sanctions (criminal, administrative, civil) are envisaged by law.

−	6E. Please also state (if applicable) the maximum prison term envisaged by law for such offences.

−	6F. Please provide any statistical information in relation to convictions under such law for the reporting period of 01 January 2007 – 30 June 2010.

−	6G. Please state whether the prescribed sanctions include blocking access to websites or any other types of Internet content. If the answer is Yes, then please provide the blocking statistics for the reporting period of 01 January 2007 – 30 June 2010.

−	6H. Please state whether your country has signed or ratified the CoE Convention on the
Prevention of Terrorism (CETS No 196).

7. Are there specific legal provisions criminalizing child pornography?
−	7A. Please provide the name of relevant law/s and regulations, and the relevant sections of such provisions.

−	7B. Please state how these offences are defined by law.

−	7C. Please state which sanctions (criminal, administrative, civil) are envisaged by law.

−	7D. Please also state (if applicable) the maximum prison term envisaged by law for such offences.

−	7E. Please provide any statistical information in relation to convictions under these laws for the reporting period of 01 January 2007 – 30 June 2010.

−	7F. Please state whether the legal definition of “child pornography” includes unreal characters (drawings,  paintings,  cartoons,  artificially  created  images  etc.)  and  computer  generated imagery within the concept of child pornography.

−	7G. Please state whether the prescribed sanctions include blocking access to websites or any other types of Internet content. If the answer is Yes, then please provide the blocking statistics for the reporting period of 01 January 2007 – 30 June 2010.

−	7H.  Please  state  whether  your  country  has  signed  or  ratified  the  CoE  Convention  on
Cybercrime (CETS No 185) which includes a provision on child pornography (Article 9).

 	   

8.  Are   there   specific   legal   provisions   outlawing   obscene   and   sexually   explicit
(pornographic) content?
−	8A. Please provide the name of relevant law/s and regulations, and the relevant sections of such provisions.

−	8B. Please state how these offences are defined by law.

−	8C. Please state which sanctions (criminal, administrative, civil) are envisaged by law.

−	8D. Please also state (if applicable) the maximum prison term envisaged by law for such offences.

−	8E. Please provide any statistical information in relation to convictions under such law for the reporting period of 01 January 2007 – 30 June 2010.

−	8F.  Please  state  whether  the  law  (or  relevant  regulations)  prescribes  blocking  access  to websites or any other types of Internet content as a sanction for these offences. If the answer is Yes, then please provide the blocking statistics for the reporting period of 01 January 2007 –
30 June 2010.

9. Are there specific legal provisions outlawing Internet piracy?
−	9A. Please provide the name of relevant law/s and regulations, and the relevant sections of such provisions.

−	9B. Please state how these offences are defined by law.

−	9C. Please state which sanctions (criminal, administrative, civil) are envisaged by law.

−	9D. Please also state (if applicable) the maximum prison term envisaged by law for such offences.

−	9E. Please provide any statistical information in relation to convictions under such law for the reporting period of 01 January 2007 – 30 June 2010.

−	9F. Please state whether the prescribed sanctions include blocking access to websites or any other types of Internet content or the cutting off connections to the Internet. If the answer is Yes, then please provide the relevant statistics for the reporting period of 01 January 2007 –
30 June 2010.

10. Are there specific legal provisions outlawing libel and insult (defamation) on the
Internet?
−	10A. Please provide the name of relevant law/s and regulations, and the relevant sections of such provisions.

−	10B. Please state how these offences are defined by law.

−	10C. Please state which sanctions (criminal, administrative, civil) are envisaged by law.

−	10D. Please also state (if applicable) the maximum prison term envisaged by law for such offences.

−	10E. Please provide any statistical information in relation to convictions under such law (for the reporting period).

 	   

−	10F. Please state whether the prescribed sanctions include blocking access to websites or any other types of Internet content. If the answer is Yes, then please provide the blocking statistics for the reporting period of 01 January 2007 – 30 June 2010.

11. Are there specific legal provisions outlawing the expression of views perceived to be encouraging “extremism”?
−	11A. Please provide the name of relevant law/s and regulations, and the relevant sections of such provisions.

−	11B. Please state how these offences are defined by law.

−	11C. If applicable please provide the legal definition of “extremism”.

−	11D. Please state which sanctions (criminal, administrative, civil) are envisaged by law.

−	11E. Please also state (if applicable) the maximum prison term envisaged by law for such offences.

−	11F. Please provide any statistical information in relation to convictions under such law (for the reporting period).

−	11G. Please state whether the prescribed sanctions include blocking access to websites or any other types of Internet content. If the answer is Yes, then please provide the blocking statistics for the reporting period of 01 January 2007 – 30 June 2010.

12. Are there specific legal provisions outlawing the distribution of “harmful content” (i.e. content perceived to be “harmful” by law)?
−	12A. Please provide the name of relevant law/s and regulations, and the relevant sections of such provisions.

−	12B. Please state how these offences are defined by law.

−	12C. If applicable please provide the legal definition of “harmful content”.

−	12D. Please state which sanctions (criminal, administrative, civil) are envisaged by law.

−	12E. Please also state (if applicable) the maximum prison term envisaged by law for such offences.

−	12F. Please provide any statistical information in relation to convictions under such law (for the reporting period).

−	12G. Please state whether the prescribed sanctions include blocking access to websites or any other types of Internet content. If the answer is Yes, then please provide the blocking statistics for the reporting period of 01 January 2007 – 30 June 2010.

13. Are there specific legal provisions outlawing any other categories of Internet content that have not been mentioned above?

	−	13A. Please specify if any other types of Internet content is outlawed.	
	−	13B. Please provide the name of relevant law/s and regulations, and the relevant sections of such provisions if they exist.	

   	

−	13C. If applicable please state how these offences are defined by law.

−	13D. If applicable please state which sanctions (criminal, administrative, civil) are envisaged by law.

−	13E. If applicable please also state the maximum prison term envisaged by law for such offences.

−	13F. Please state whether the prescribed sanctions include blocking access to websites or any other types of Internet content. If the answer is Yes, then please provide the blocking statistics for the reporting period of 01 January 2007 – 30 June 2010.

C. Blocking, content removal, and filtering related questions
14. Are there general legal provisions which require closing down and/or blocking access to websites or any other types of Internet content?
−	14A. If the answer is Yes, then please provide the name of relevant law/s and regulations, and the relevant sections of such provisions.

−	14B. Please state how these provisions are defined by law.

−	14C. Please provide the blocking or any other relevant statistics for the reporting period of 01
January 2007 – 30 June 2010.

15. Are there specific legal provisions which require blocking access to web 2.0 based applications and services such as YouTube, Facebook, or Blogger?
−	15A. If the answer is Yes, then please provide the name of relevant law/s and regulations, and the relevant sections of such provisions.

−	15B. Please state how these provisions are defined by law.

−	15C. Please provide the blocking statistics for the reporting period of 01 January 2007 – 30
June 2010.

16. Are there specific legal provisions based on the “notice and take-down” principle?
−	16A. If the answer is Yes, then please provide the name of relevant applicable law/s and regulations, and relevant sections of such provisions.

−	16B. Please state whether such provisions apply to content, hosting, access providers (ISPs), web 2.0 based companies (e.g. YouTube, Facebook, etc.), and search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.).

−	16C. Please state how these provisions are defined by law.

−	16D. Please provide statistical data with regards to such removal requests for the reporting period of 01 January 2007 – 30 June 2010.

17. Are there specific (public or private) Hotlines to report allegedly illegal content?
−	17A. If applicable please state if these hotlines are public organizations or privately run.

 	   

−	17B. If applicable please state whether they are established by law (co-regulation) or through self-regulation.

−	17C. Please also provide information on the formation/structure of such hotlines.

−	17D. Please state which types of content can be reported to these hotlines.

−	17E. Please provide statistics and Annual Reports of such hotlines if they exist (for the reporting period of 01 January 2007 – 30 June 2010).

18. Are there specific legal provisions requiring schools, libraries, and Internet cafes to use filtering and blocking systems and software?
−	18A. Please provide the name of relevant law/s and regulations, and the relevant sections of such provisions if such laws, or regulations exist.

−	18B. Please state how these provisions are defined by law.

D. Licensing and liability related questions
19. Are there specific legal liability provisions and licensing requirements for Internet
Service Providers?
−	19A. Please provide the name of relevant law/s and regulations, and the relevant sections of such provisions.

−	19B. Please state how these provisions are defined by law.

−	19C.  (If  applicable)  Please  state  if  the  EU  E-Commerce  Directive  2000/31  has  been implemented into national law. If yes, then please provide the name of the law, and relevant sections of the law.

−	19D.  Please provide statistical data  with regards to prosecutions involving  ISPs  (for the reporting period).

20. Are there specific legal liability provisions and licensing requirements for Internet
Search Engines or Content Providers (e.g. Google, Yahoo, etc.)?
−	20A. Please provide the name of relevant law/s and regulations, and the relevant sections of such provisions.

−	20B. Please state how these provisions are defined by law.

−	20C. If applicable please state any sanctions (criminal, administrative, civil) for breach of legal provisions envisaged by law.

−	20D. If applicable please also state the maximum prison term envisaged by law for any offences.

−	20E. Please provide statistical data with regards to prosecutions involving Internet Search
Engines or Content Providers (for the reporting period).