Dark Side of Free Speech

Old hatreds and sectarian violence emerge with new freedom of expression in divided Burma

Transparency in abuse of human rights and murder: Rohingya families flee attacks by Buddhists in Burma (top); Norways convicted mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik used the internet to fuel his hatred of immigrants

LONDON: Taking little time to rest after a contentious campaign, President Barack Obama heads to Burma, acknowledging budding human rights and a government, after more than two decades, now eager for trade and open to new connections with the West.

For example, Burma, known as Myanmar since 1989, has among the lowest mobile-phone penetration in the world, about 5 percent of the population. Better networks, less expensive phones, offer an enormous upside in human rights terms, provided that the freedom of expression and privacy of users are respected. Phones are now the most common way people go online in most developing economies, many for the first time.

Greater freedoms that come from such a shift can represent new dimensions to old challenges though.Many of the suppressed voices uphold democratic values and human rights; others revive ancient hatreds. Freedom of expression online inevitably faces limits, and the international covenant for civil and political rights permits some limits. The question is, how will these be set in a way consistent with international human rights principles and standards?

Recent examples highlight the issues. International attention recently focused on the violence against the Rohingya Muslim population in Rakhine State, formerly Arakan, in western Myanmar. Last month, satellite imagery obtained by Human Rights Watch showed extensive destruction of homes and other property in a predominantly Rohingya Muslim area of the coastal town of Kyauk Pyu one of several areas of new violence and displacement. Websites promoting anti-Rohingya hate speech have been identified as one of the means to incite violence.

The international covenant for civil and political rights permits some limits on freedom of expression.

Another example involves the tragedy in Norway in which a self-confessed fan of extremist websites and a user of social media killed 77 young adults in order to market his manifesto of xenophobia. Racial hatred and religious intolerance are, of course, not new. The medias role in inciting violence, from Nazi Germany to the fall of Yugoslavia and the Rwandan genocide is well known. Policymakers are faced with difficult choices: whether some aspects of internet content should be censored, including self-censorship by content providers, and what rules and processes might be developed that not only protect freedom of expression but also the rights of those most vulnerable to abuse.

Arguably the internets greatest strengths are also its greatest weaknesses: Mass data stripped from its normal context can justify just about any opinion and aid any lone voice in finding the likeminded, regardless of how extreme the view. Such views can serve as the spark igniting new violence as was seen in the anti-Islamic film trailer posted on YouTube, which triggered protests throughout the region.

The internet provides a permanent and interactive archive of speech and opinion unprecedented in human history old opinions can be recycled within an instant, and global feedback loops are created; local acts can gain global significance. Technology acts to legitimize individual thoughts, breaking the divide between private and public realms. If technology can help foster the Arab Spring, can it also feed a European Winter?

Excerpt from:
Dark Side of Free Speech