The United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) passed a resolution...

new resolution affirms “that the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online.” Freedom of expression is applicable regardless of frontiers and through any media of one’s choice, the HRC resolution said (http://xrl.us/bnfqmn). Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights are as valid online as offline, according to the resolution. The HRC also underlines the potential of the Internet for development and urges U.N. member nations to “to promote and facilitate access to the Internet and international cooperation aimed at the development of media and information and communications facilities in all countries.” The resolution was welcomed as a “landmark resolution” by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, who was the main sponsor. One of the experts who had participated in the first HRC meeting on Internet freedom in February said a tougher statement against the growing trend of censorship in many countries including those in the West would have been very helpful. Austrian international law expert Matthias Kettemann wrote that the HRC should have stated that “states need to rethink their censorship policies and provide legitimate reasons (and ensuing proportional normative reactions) for content limitations.” Yet Kettemann said that to be able to include a broad group of countries from Brazil to Tunisia, compromises were necessary. Depending on further initiatives in the HRC, work could continue on the issue.