Ytringsfrihet eller sensur på nettet ved UCSD?

[Trond Andresen]

Hva skal et universitet kunne sensurere av utlagte lenker på
universitetets
nett?

Interessant sak fra University of California vedlegges.

Trond Andresen

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20021011-9999_2m11ucsd.html

> UCSD lets group keep Web links
>
> Dispute involved hookup to pages of suspected terrorists
>
> By Eleanor Yang UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
>
> October 11, 2002
>
> The University of California San Diego will allow a student organization to
> maintain a Web site that links to the Web pages of suspected terrorist
> organizations.
>
> The Ché Café is a student cooperative that describes itself as being
> committed to radical social change and equality. It hosts a Web site, called
> BURN, that uses a ucsd.edu domain name and includes a "favorite" link to a
> Colombian rebel organization. It also hosts a page that provides information
> on the Kurdistan Workers Party, which is designated by the U.S. government
> as a terrorist group.
>
> Last month, after investigating a complaint logged over the Internet, the
> university sent a letter to the student co-op ordering it to remove the link
> to the Colombian organization, called Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de
> Colombia, or FARC.
>
> The university threatened the student organization with disciplinary action
> if the link and alleged hosting of the FARC site were not removed within
> four days. The University designates web sites with a ucsd.edu domain name
> as sites "hosted" by the university.
>
> The university accused the student organization of violating the USA Patriot
> Act, a federal law signed by President George W. Bush last October, which
> outlaws providing material support or resources to foreign terrorists. The
> U.S. State Department has designated 34 organizations for its terrorist
> list, including the Kurdistan Workers Party and FARC.
>
> This week, UCSD rescinded its earlier threat, saying that after talking to
> UC attorneys, it concluded that a link to an alleged terrorist organization
> site does not constitute "material support."
>
> "The first letter was overly broad," said Nicholas S. Aguilar, UCSD's
> director of student policies and judicial affairs. "Links are permissible
> because they are of such minor consequence that they do not constitute
> material support."
>
> The University also asked the co-op to discontinue hosting the Kurdistan
> Workers Party site, but it did not give the group a deadline or threaten
> disciplinary action.
>
> Organizers at the Ché Café said yesterday they are not ready to make a
> statement.
>
> Despite the university's decision, Aguilar said, it is still investigating
> the complaint against the Ché Café to determine if the group hosted FARC.
>
> Legal consultants at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a
> group that is involved with academic freedom battles on campuses, say they
> are encouraged by UCSD's most recent decision.
>
> "We're very encouraged by the fact that they've stepped away from the idea
> of banning linking," said Greg Lukianoff, legal director for the
> organization. "We're keeping an eye on this situation."
>