Rights holders called on to make web blocking proposals public

A coalition of advocacy and public internet organisations have written to rights holders demanding that any proposals put forward to government ministers on web blocking be made public to ensure a fair and open debate.

Key figures from the Open Rights Group, Article 19, Index on Censorship and Global Partners signed off a letter sent to the BPI, UK Music, the Publishers Association, the Motion Picture Association and the Premier League outlining their point of view.

The Joint Letter to Rights Holders states that the organisations are "very concerned" that proposals to have web sites taken down from the internet could infringe on basic human rights and needs stronger legal backing.

"Web site blocking is a form of censorship. Where decisions about blocking are unaccountable and when mistakes occur, there is the potential for infringement of citizens' freedom of expression," the letter notes.

"Furthermore, such schemes jeopardise people's rights to due process and the broader need for oversight and accountability. Web site blocks, if widespread and compulsory for the vast majority of UK citizens, is a law enforcement task."

Jim Killock, executive director of the Open Rights Group, added that the groups felt there was a danger that the discussions would take place in private, and reiterated the groups' calls for openness.

"We're really concerned that proposals for this censorship scheme are developing in the shadows. These are matters of great public interest. That is why we're asking that rights holders make their proposals public as soon as possible," he said.

The issues of web blocking took another twist on Thursday after a legal case in Belgium led to an advocate general of the European Court of Justice arguing that  content filtering could be a breach of European rights.