03. 02. 2014

ANEM WARNS OF ATTEMPTS OF PRIVATE INTERNET CENSORSHIP AND CALLS ON ALL ACTORS IN THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN TO USE ONLY ALLOWED MEANS

Belgrade, February 3, 2014 - On Saturday, we all witnessed the massive removal of video recordings which satirically portrayed action to save children from a snowstorm in Feketić from the portal Youtube. Removal of the content was justified by infringement of copyright of the Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) video recording. Behind the claims referred to Youtube is the company KVZ Music, registered in Austria, whose authorized representative for Serbia is the local company Matricon Ltd, which allegedly represents leading media companies in the distribution of content on digital media, and ensures that duplicate recordings of their clients are not published on the websites of other users in an unauthorized way. Of particular concern is the fact that the representatives of the public service broadcaster publically indicate that their videos are protected by copyright, thus indirectly confirming their participation in the removal of video recordings.

ANEM reminds that the right to freedom of expression is guaranteed by the Constitution as a human right and may be restricted only if it is necessary in a democratic society in order to protect the fundamental values ​​of the society and / or to protect the rights and freedoms of others, and that all forms of censorship are prohibited in accordance with the Constitution and the Law on Public Information, including a form of censorhip originating from private sources.

Copyright is also a legitimate interest to be protected, but not in a way that disproportionately infringes the right to freedom of expression, as confirmed by a number of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights.

Of particular concern is the fact that the private actor, abusing the YouTube terms of use, indirectly removed the video recordings, based on copyright infringement claims, while the video recordings are an obvious example of political satire and although the use of recordings related to daily reporting and processing of such recordings as copyright work are free and allowed by Copyright Law and shall not be considered a breach of copyright.

In the removed video recordings the authors expressed their views on the rescue action alluding that the action was potentially staged, which is a legitimate political stance that can be freely expressed in accordance with the above-mentioned constitutional guarantees.

Of particular concern is the fact that the recordings containing political satire were swiftly removed  with the explanation of copyright infringement, while many videos that belong to the RTS and are of commercial nature still freely exist on YouTube, which shows the arbitrariness of treatment.

ANEM calls on RTS to distance itself unambiguously from these attempts of private censorship, particularly in view of the important role that the public service broadcaster has in the media system. Furthermore, ANEM requests from the competent state bodies to act considering that a violation of free speech and public appearance is a criminal offense punishable under the Criminal Code. Finally, ANEM requests from all participants in the election campaign to respect the election campaign rules.

ANEM President, Milorad Tadic