Iceland wants to position itself as a model for freedom of commun...

the world to protect freedom of expression and information and provide strong safeguards for reporters’ sources and whistleblowers, IMMI said. The move is the result of the collapse of the country’s banking sector in the global financial meltdown, and is intended to “make Iceland an attractive environment for the registration and operation of international press organizations, new media start-ups, human rights groups and Internet data centers,” it said. One aspect of communications protection is the provision in the EU e-commerce directive which provides indemnity for “mere conduits” such as telecom networks and Internet hosting providers, it said. There are a few, well-defined exceptions to the immunity, but the exemption for general court orders without more definition is “worrying,” it said. The exact circumstances when an ISP or other provider loses its liability should be clarified, it said. The legislation also provides protection from “libel tourism,” a statute of limitations to counter recent European court rulings that Internet page views constitute new publications regardless of how long ago the material was first released, and a court process that can’t be used to suppress free speech through unequal access to justice, IMMI said. French digital rights advocates La Quadrature du Net called the project “a major breakthrough.” Far from the conservative vision displayed by many “confused” governments seeking to control free communications on the Web through “three-strikes” anti- infringement regimes, Internet blocking and filtering or the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, the legislative initiative will be a “historic event,” it said. It urged people to support the proposal, saying ACTA and other repressive measures mean “we might all end up hosting and sending our data through Iceland.”